Greek Visions Finds Meaning in Incoherence

“It’s an incoherent archive of contemporary Greek culture,” says Greek Visions founder Takis Zontiros. What began as an Instagram account cataloguing movements and moments in Greece’s past and recent present — 1970s to 2010s — grew long, curious arms.

Greek Visions resembles a virtual museum preserving the minute and monumental of the country’s cultural identity, its reach now spanning a popular Instagram account, regular merch drops and a Substack. Newly notched in the brand’s résumé — curator of the in-room vinyl at Ace Hotel & Swim Club Athens (hear a preview here) and collaborator on an apparel collection that revives the decadence of Greek discotheques. “I just wanted to highlight how chaotic I think Greek culture is, how many contrasts there are,” Takis says.

The unpredictability of what Greek Visions spotlights lends it a magical, anticipatory quality, not unlike cracking a Kinder Egg. In spite of its self-professed incoherence, there’s a cogent kinship between the things featured. For instance, there’s Bruce Willis performing with his blues band at the opening of Greece’s inaugural Planet Hollywood next to Mike Lamar, one of the first magicians to appear on Greek TV, next to images showing the linear lines of yellow cabs during Athens taxi strikes.

“There’s a bit of an institutional gap in Greek culture for me, working in the arts in London and realizing how much of the foundation is here in museums and galleries,” Takis says. “In Greek culture, many of those institutions have been degraded over the years, especially throughout the financial crisis. So Greek Visions serves that purpose, filling a bit of a gap.” It’s the internet at its most ideal — harnessed to share stuff for no other reason than to inspire.

To go about finding forgotten things, Takis travels to what he describes as derelict corners of the Greek internet, procuring out-of-print magazines, independent publications and zines on topics like music, architecture, art, food, fashion and more. “I scan a lot of stuff and post them. A lot of things in books and magazines from different decades, if they haven’t been scanned, they don’t exist in a weird way,” he says. Once dusted off, his discoveries have spawned a sprawling Excel sheet, in addition to visual evidence of the country’s charted course toward cultural identity.

“I think there has always been a search for an identity in Greece, being situated at the point between the East and the West … There’s an inner tension to think, oh, we’re more Balkans and Mediterraneans or we’re Europeans,” says Takis. Despite the ancient civilizations, the modern Greek state has only been around for about 200 years, he says. And the people making magazines and stuff? They were just trying to figure out what it all means.

Greek Visions preserves both these larger oomphs at forging a distinct popular culture as well as the quieter, gentler indicators of shared social identity. Tons of life is very ephemeral here, Takis says, describing a fascination with the present that is rooted in coffee culture, warm weather leading to late nights, going out to eat, dance, meet friends and party at the bouzoukia (clubs of theatrical proportions with performance residencies that rival Vegas). This sacred nightlife scene inspired Greek Visions’ capsule collection with Ace — a four-piece drop that captures the electric Mediterranean energy of bygone discos that once dotted the boulevard near Ace Hotel Athens in all its fast car, loud music, night-into-day ’80s glory. The glitz and glamour, though, they’re just one side of the country’s prismatic face.

“Sometimes with Greek Visions, especially with a lot of the archival stuff, some of it’s quite funny and a lot of it’s quite academic. I balance it out by bringing those more ephemeral moments from the present to sort of say, this is what everyday life looks like.”

We tasked Takis with the near impossible  — highlight five songs from the 200 Greek records he curated for the vinyl library at Ace Hotel & Swim Club Athens. He delivered, showcasing the intricate mosaic of art, social movement and meeting point of past and present that undergirds Greek culture today. 

Stereo Nova “Nea Zoi 705”

Stereo Nova was a paradigm shift for Greek music. In the turbulent 1990s, as Greece was negotiating its globalized identity, they presented a hypermodern mix of trip hop and electronica with poetic lyrics about modern life, urbanism and queerness. Nothing was the same after that, and they created a radical change for alternative Greek alternative music.

Trypes “Den Horas Pouthena”

The 1990s belonged to rock music. As grunge music was taking the world by storm, Greece was trying to catch up with the times. Trypes (Holes) were probably influenced more by the post-punk sound of the 1980s than grunge, but they became the biggest rock band in Greece, and arguably one of the most influential in terms of legacy and discography.

Giannis Poulopoulos “To Agalma (The Statue)”

Greek laïkó means Greek popular music. It’s the music you’d expect to listen to in any taverna, restaurant or taxi in Athens. “To Agalma” is a beautiful and timeless example of a laïkó song and forms part of the country’s musical heritage.

Kolida Babo “The Epirus Lodge”

Greek traditional music meets free jazz. This fantastic experimental duo has been crafting their own unique sound by bringing together Greek folk tunes and contemporary jazz sounds. A challenging and rewarding listen.

Lena Platonos “An Unresolved Exercise in Physics”

Futuristic, experimental synth music from a pioneering woman composer, who wrote surrealistic songs about cats and computers in the mid-1980s. There’s no way to beat this. Sounds pretty fresh to this day.

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