"The death of Death"

The new Playgrounded album "The death of Death" is a study of unity in opposition. It is about revealing contradictory aspects of reality. The band sees it as a disclosure of contradictory aspects of reality and an expression of their mutual relationship. The record will be released on March 18th and definitely deserves attention.

The first single is also called "The death of Death". Playgrounded created the video for it in collaboration with director Dimitris Anagnostou and cameraman Yannis Karabatsos. The duo already made the award-winning short film "Mare Nostrum", for which singer Stavros composed the music.

A very special video

Michael Kotsirakis of Playgrounded told Pelagic Records:

Dimitris's idea about a "study of movement" materialised in early cinema techniques, inspired by Orestis' dialectical lyrics concept, which they eventually adapted into the clip's script. Karabatsos' sinister photography explores movement in contradictions: black and white, direction and diffusion, alienation and struggle, stillness and life."

The second pre-released single, "The Swan", which is the first track on the record, can also already be found online.

There are six tracks on "The death of Death", – which follows a pretty brilliant concept. When listening to the record as a whole, I noticed the distinct arc of tension that runs not only through the individual tracks, but through the entire album, from the first note of the first song, "The Swan", to the final chord of the last track "Our Fire". So I recommend you to not only listen to some individual pieces but also to the complete work, once you find the time.

The passion of composing

The Greek band, which spends most of its time in Haarlem, NL, has created something extraordinary – you can feel their passion for composing in every note.

Catchy riffs and melodies lie over a multi-layered mesh of well-thought-out rhythm and synthesiser worlds. It builds a masterful, progressive picture – harmonious, beautiful and varied. Or as Orestis describes it:

"The shortest sound units become extended themes – steady rhythmical blocks interact with unstable ones. Noise becomes tone and melody. Sonic grains gather to form masses, and masses dissolve into a single entity. With every repetition comes change."

Nikos Michalodimitrakis did the recordings at MD Recording Studios. Christer André Cederberg mastered "The death of Death" in Kristiansand. The Norwegian has also worked with Anathema and Leprous, among others. George Tanderø, who also works on the music of Madrugada and Satyricon, took care of the mastering in Oslo.

A fascinating background

The band's background is quite exciting: producer and primary songwriter Orestis Zafeirou studied sonology, the study of sound, at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague. His education focused on electronic music and production research. He also worked in a synthesiser factory. Singer and co-producer Stavros Markonis graduated from the Amsterdam Conservatory. You may have already stumbled over his name: He is a well-known, award-winning film music composer. Bassist Odysseas Zafeiriou and guitarist Michael Kotsirakis are computer engineers. Drummer Giorgos Pouliasis attended the Rotterdam Conservatory. He is a drum teacher and has made a name for himself as a studio musician in Greece and the Netherlands.

Playgrounded have been making music for 15 years and have toured the world together. They founded the band in 2007 and already played concerts with projects like Nine Inch Nails, Riverside and Anathema.

You can listen to the album on all known music platforms. Pelagic has listed the links here.