Music has always been in the life of Thassos Meletopoulos, but not many people know this. Rarely has such a closed and silent person like Thassos found himself at the center of public life, and even then for decades. Thassos Meletopoulos is an artist hidden from prying eyes. An artist, because he was not just the owner of the Factory, Airport and Atom clubs, but something more. These clubs were more “art installations” (art installations) of Meletopoulos than clubs. The concept, the scenery, as well as their world, their function was as an artistic metaphor, as a narrative, as a representation of the social life of Athens in the 80s and 90s.

These clubs were not “liquor stores” but places of special energy and civility. “Good Athens”, artistic Athens and lively Athens of all ages took part in the Tasos club installations. He himself was there, every night, imperceptibly, did not pretend to be the “owner”. Behind the businessman was a director, writer, poet, artist and, above all, a musician. Known only to his few friends, he never worried about publicity. Today, he focuses almost exclusively on music.

– I started writing songs at the age of 18 and continue to this day, but this has never been my only occupation. This happened because I simultaneously had business activities that required a lot of my productive time, and also because I enjoyed doing other art-related activities such as writing novels, poetry, and drawing. Music, however, is the most important way for me to express myself.

– My main problem has always been that because of my work (co-owner and founder of the entertainment centers “Fabrika”, “Airport”, “Atom” …) I had to be very sociable, while I am a very introvert by nature. I am glad that over the years I can listen more to myself and my needs and maintain social interactions that I really enjoy.

– Nefeli Fasouli sang four of my songs with English lyrics. The first one, “Totally Tangled”, was released in January, and a few days ago, the second one, called “as##OLE”, was uploaded to YouTube. These days I am preparing five new songs with English lyrics for a male voice. I also wrote a piece of music for the dance theater to the words of the poet Giorgos Kakulidis “The Song of the Faun”, which I am currently working on, hoping that someday it will be presented.

“I don’t understand why people in Greece hate the term ‘pop’. If a lot of people like something even more, we don’t need to make “complicated” music for it to be good.”

– When I write songs, I don’t think about what category they belong to. I am not a music theorist and have not studied music. So anyone can describe my songs however they want or put them in any category. They are definitely emotional and I hope they become popular. I don’t understand why people in Greece hate the term “pop”. If a lot of people like something even better, we don’t need to make “complicated” music for it to be good.

– Yes, it absolutely corresponds to my way of life and way of thinking. I don’t like seriousness and I often see artists fall into this trap. I like emotion without drama, I like humor without offense, and I like acting without competition. I like to express myself without pretending.

– I always write music first, and then, listening to it, I think about stories: who could be the main character in this story, what does he think about, what does he want to say and to whom? When I come up with the story I want to tell, I start writing the lyrics. It’s a bit difficult to find words that fit both semantically and rhythmically into the composition, but I struggle with it until I succeed. I am also mistaken, but this does not really bother me, and if I was mistaken, then, probably, I would not write anything at all.

All songs of Thassos Meletopoulos on the YouTube channel of Anastasios Meletopoulos.