Dressed in long black robes and sporting a fine grey beard, Father Dionysios Tabakis, a 53-year-old ordained priest in the Greek Orthodox church, is orchestrating an unexpected musical revolution from his flat in Nafplio.
Surrounded by musical instruments and religious icons, he challenges centuries of church tradition that deemed secular music satanic.
>>> Bolivia Achieves Historic Success Releasing Captive Jaguar Into the Wild
His favorite instrument is an adapted Harley Benton R-457 electric guitar, bought for €135, which produces wobbly, atonal chords mimicking the human voice.
These distortions feature prominently on Paradise Metal, a home-recorded album blending doom metal, Christmas carols, and religious dubstep.
The project earned a critics' score of 7.6 from Pitchfork, outscoring legendary electronic releases like Aphex Twin's Drukqs and Daft Punk's Discovery.
A DIY Approach to Music
Tabakis grew up in Piraeus in a poor household; his parents attempted to abort him twice, failing because the doctor was out.
He learned Byzantine music from parish priests in middle school and later taught himself obscure instruments like the cümbüş, kabak kemane, yayli tanbur, zurna, and 15 types of ney flutes.
Four years ago, he began recording with a DIY approach: his son taught him production software, a neighbor taught him guitar, and 23-year-old Evgenia Simela Armeni provided vocals recorded on her phone.
Nikolas Rafael, founder of label Elhellell, discovered Tabakis via a Christian forum and was captivated by his unconventional artistry.
"Everyone is a copy of a copy of a copy of a copy," Rafael said.
