Greece

Especially loved by eclectic Greek radio stations and currently having a lot of fans, last year Stella Chronopoulou released her first full-length album, after many successful collaborations with significant musicians in the past.

With ten remarkable compositions that are basically influenced by the 80s, on this self-titled record Σtella balances her disco and indie-pop inspirations and skips to a rhythmic, melodic and groovy result.

The album was released with a little help from her friends, Nteibint and King Elephant (drummer of Baby Guru), in the production process and in the final recording.

♪♫ Listen: “Picking Words”

Σtella on Facebook, Twitter, www.

Mikael Delta, presented quite recently on beehype, revealed a really wonderful record last year. “Life Is Now” contains 11 cinematic and fragile instrumental tracks. Meaningful, with beautiful rotations and a heat-haze melancholy all over it.

At times, the record approaches the listener in a more classical way, and sometimes in a more danceable style influenced by the sensitivity of techno and minimal house. “Life In Now” is a soft landing of warm emotions, melodic moments and elegant sounds, having the piano and strings as its main elements of expression.

♪♫ Listen: “Snowing In Berlin”

Mikael Delta on Soundcloud, YouTube, Facebook, www.

We presented Lamda, the quartet from Piraeus, when I first heard about them last spring. Their electronic vibrations, post-rock background and their essential Greek lyrics with the meaningful political concerns grabbed us here on beehype from the beginning.

“Η Επόμενη Μέρα” (“The Next Day”) is their second full-length album. It collects ten distinct songs that filter the group’s primary influences (from Radiohead to rebetiko music, among many others) in perfect harmony.

Melancholic and aggressive at the same time, this is a unique, eccentric rock album that received very good reviews from most of the music critics in Greece.

♪♫ Listen: “Εικασία” + album stream

Lamda on Bandcamp, Soundcloud, Facebook, www.

With its Greek lyrics, “Που Να Είσαι Τώρα Εσύ” (“Where Could You Be Now”) is probably the most beautiful guitar song that I heard in 2015. Delightfully charming and catchy, coming from one of the most well-known and acclaimed Greek artists, one who follows his own personal path with nostalgic, adventurous and sometimes provocative songs.

Foivos Delivorias (Φοίβος Δεληβοριάς) writes smart, true and thoughtful lyrics. His compositions have various influences, from Greek folk music to american indie-rock to modern pop. Foivos’s new album refers to his Athens neighborhood, Kallithea, and it captures the atmosphere of the 80’s from where his memories stem.

Witty and passionate, this record invites you to listen more closely, even if you don’t understand a word from the Greek language.

♪♫ Listen: “Που Να Είσαι Τώρα Εσύ”

Foivos Delivorias on Facebook, www.

Monsieur Minimal gave us a really interesting interview last year when we presented “High Times” on beehype.

And right now, I believe that he composes the most straightforward pop tunes in Greece. Monsieur Minimal’s songs capture you from the very first second, while he combines – mainly – acoustic guitars and smooth electronic sounds.

His album, which was released by his own record label, is full of heartstring-tugging melodies and includes some really beautiful moments, while his voice flows in gently. Elegant pop that needs a little spark to be spread widely.

♪♫ Listen: “Never Give Up” + album stream

Monsieur Minimal on Soundcloud, Bandcamp, Facebook, Twitter, www.

We introduced Tendts to beehype’s readers at the end of September. And they absolutely succeeded to offer us one of the finest records and most accomplished albums of electronic music for 2015.

Without using vocals, but having partly some samples, they managed to create nine compositions that sound really pleasantly in a small night club, and in your bedroom as well.

Tendts’ tracks are fresh, soulful, with strict melodic lines and caressing textures. And their material is full of emotional intelligence, nostalgia and warm feelings. Fans of Four Tet, Caribou and Kiasmos will duly appreciate it.

♪♫ Listen: “Our Sun”

Tendts on Soundcloud, Bandcamp, Facebook, Twitter.

I was quite skeptical and prejudiced against “Now I’m Ready” when it was released, after the departure of KSiA’s former singer, Sarah P. I forgot about the album and came back to it after a couple of weeks.

I started to distinguish songs. Songs with the same seductive darkness and ethereal dream-pop that the Athenian duet revealed in their debut album. The vocals of the new singer, Myrtha, sound lovely, while the album is filled with sweet melancholy and eclecticism that stems from the 80’s, but still manages to sound fresh and not too retro.

Keep Shelly in Athens continue to write good songs that grab your attention and remain – during the last years – one of Greece’s biggest musical export.

♪♫ Listen: “Fractals” + album stream

Keep Shelly in Athens on Soundcloud, Bandcamp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, www.

“Transcendence” combines the lyricism of classical music with the clarity of jazz, pushing together the cinematic nostalgia with more avant-garde experimentation.

Strongly influenced by the traditional musical patterns of the Balkans, which are successfully integrated in several compositions of the album, the Athens-based composer Tania Giannouli delivers a welcome effort full of lovely piano-lead tracks.

Having a rich arrangement from a well-balanced band, distinctive percussion and moments of heart-breaking strings, the album offers ten compositions that bloom poetically in melancholy.

♪♫ Listen: “Obsession”

Tania Giannouli Ensemble on Facebook, Vimeo, YouTube, www.

Eziak is an outstanding three-piece band from Chalkida. They compose ethereal instrumental tracks basically influenced by the traditional music, but they are doing this quite discreetly without becoming too pretentious in the final result.

With five hypnotic compositions (three of them are more than 10 minutes long), they unfold a complex musicality that draws its inspiration – in addition to traditional music – from modern jazz, psychedelic rock of the past, post rock, and even balearic, that was born in the Mediterranean sea.

Guitars, violin, bass, drums and saxophone are their principal instruments, combined wonderfully in harmony. A true beauty.

♪♫ Listen: “The War Is Over!”

Eziak on Bandcamp, Facebook, www.

Larry Gus’ new album is a welcome haven full of great tunes, afro-funk rhythms, electro oddity and post-punk attitude. A psychedelic trip of mediative pop that makes us here in Greece love him day-by-day even more – we wrote here on beehype some months ago.

And it’s true. “I Need New Eyes” has some of Larry’s greatest tracks, although for some of his fans it approaches a little bit more pop music than his previous – and sometimes chaotic – recordings. The album contains eight lengthy compositions where emotions are equal to his bizarre electro and swung beats.

Smart and moving, with plenty of diverse influences, Panagiotis Melidis is a distinctive producer, a reliable source of tasteful sounds who takes you on a journey in an increasingly surreal and mad world.

♪♫ Listen: “NP-Complete”

Larry Gus on Facebook, Twitter, www.