ROMSO Cyprus Knowledge Base

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Vakia Stavrou is a Cypriot singer and songwriter.

Combining the fado, the Greek song, but also the New Wave or jazz, its musical universe oscillates between Greece, Brazil, Portugal, Spain and Italy through a varied repertoire. She thus frees herself from all borders through her music.

Biography
Vakia was born in music: her parents, although they are not professional musicians, they are both music lovers. His love for music developed from an early age. Encouraged by his parents, Vakia thus began a musical course by enrolling in the National Conservatory of Cyprus in Nicosia (E - in Greek) to learn classical guitar for a few years, trained by Professor Rodoula Leonidou.

Later, Vakia left Nicosia for a higher conservatory. She studied first at Jazz Studio in Belgium and then went on to study at the Prague Conservatory, where she learned jazz singing and contemporary music alongside Professor Eva Svobodova.

At the same time, she continues her learning and perfects herself in classical guitar. In this way she signed a contract with Sony BMG Records in Athens, participating in the album "Sparrows of therain / Xελικονια την Βρο χην" by composer Giorgos Andreou and poet Dionisis Karatzas, on which she recorded two titles.

Later, she developed her personal projects and released her first EP, still with Sony Music Greece, "O.H.E".

In 2009, Vakia was named "Best Revelation of the World Song", allowing it to develop greater fame and open the doors to many European cinemas.

On her second album, Anemoessa (2013), she is accompanied by the pen of the Portuguese author José Luis Peixoto, and alternates between original compositions but also taken from the Italian, Brazilian, Greek, Portuguese, Argentinean and French repertoire. She also works for this album with Brazilian Carlos Bernardo, who made all the arrangements; and with the Parisian Brifo, who worked on the album Kabaret by Patricia Kaas and with the group Gotan Project.

In 2016, she recorded the album Alasia. Wishing to write "songs that touch the heart", Vakia speaks of love and sadness, recalling her "recollections of summers spent by the sea, nights spent under the stars, nostalgia, wounded loves, forgotten promises". On this album, she works once again with musician Carlos Bernardo who also accompanies him on stage.

She performed on the stage of Chellah in Rabat, Morocco, during the Mawazine festival in May 2017.

Influence
Attracted since childhood by the mixes of various genres and influences, Vakia sings in Greek, English, Portuguese or even French. His musical universe is influenced by the