Four track EP from Christos & The Violet Crown featuring the vocal talents of Olina and the mysterious guitar of Christos.

Release Date:  15th April 2022

Label: Distrokid

Formats: CD / digital

Described as a “guitarist extraordinaire” and with lashings of R&B, jazz, hip hop and rock coming together in a twenty-first-century Blues cocktail, the four-track debut EP from Christos (& The Violet Crown & Olina) has more hooks than a velcro patch.

We’ve had the heads up on No More – hugely topical with its call against some of the bleak realities we face in the world today. Fair enough, but back to The Black Is On; an opening track that lulls us in with a smooth groove for a minute or so before Christos creeps up with a snaking solo that’s reminiscent of Robert Fripp in the Eighties. Is it guitar or is it a horn at the deeper end?

It’s that injection of something that sounds quite like a guitar but might not be that rears its head again in Goodbyes. There’s Olina getting all cool and sophisticated and then up pops Christos with something weird, wired and wonderful. The arrangement on No More is much more standard blues fare as Christos takes centre stage to indulge in some guitar improv and noodling in the good old way, supported by some layers and interjections of brass.

Bringing things to a close is the retro TV drama soundtrack feel of Move Over. Picture flared trousered detectives with big hair and big collars in lurid fabricsand (heaven forbid) a series of mini skirted/hot panted dolly birds as I believe they were called. Once again, some Frippertronics surface in the hard to distinguish class. We could be down at the lower end of the neck or blowing a restrained storm through something brassy or windy.

Proof that too much of a good thing always leaves one wanting less. These four tracks offer up a taster of what’s to come and the main course much anticipated.

Here’s the EP opener – The Black Is On:

Christos & The Violet Crown online: Web / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Youtube

Olina on Facebook

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