Stamatis Kraounakis

Stamatis Kraounakis studied music with Mrs Klelia Terzakis and made his first appearance in 1978, writing the music for the album To Spiti Tou Agamemnona. One year earlier he had made his debut in theatre, with the music for the performance Varieme (1977). In 1981 he made his first big collaboration, with the music for the album Skouriasmena Hilia (Σκουριασμένα χείλια) performed by Vicky Mosholiou.

In Panteion University Stamatis Kraounakis met the poet Lina Nikolakopoulou, with whom he produced more than 80% of his work. In October 1985 they created and released the album Kikloforo Ki Oploforo with Alkistis Protopsalti as leading singer, that sold over 200.000 copies and is considered one of the classic pop records of the 20th century in Greece.

Since 1982 Stamatis Kraounakis has an uninterrupted presence in Greek music and has collaborated with a number of important Greek singers, like Manolis Mitsias, Dimitra Galani, Tania Tsanaklidou, Eleftheria Arvanitaki, also introducing new singers, like Kostas Makedonas, Dimitris Basis, Stelios Dionisiou, and Polina Misailidou.

Since 1990 he has dealt with Greek theatrical plays that could be musically developed, releasing musical monologues, new techniques and songs with extended musical introductions. In addition, he introduced a new way of presenting musical shows, using the songs as a theatrical music dialogue and the singers as heroes of a fictional tale.

In 1997 he accepted the position of artistic director at the Municipal Theater of the city of Kavala, where he established a new era with three significant productions - Ktistes by Giorgos Chimonas, Gro Plan by Giorgos Maniotis, and Aristophanes' Ploutos under the direction of Nikos Mastorakis.

In 1998, Stamatis Kraounakis's seminars for song interpretation led his young students to the creation of the artistic group Speira Speira. Under his direction, Speira Speira successfully performed the All in Black and a Piano show, from October 1999 to April 2001.

In 2000 his music for the movie of Nikos Panagiotopoulos Afti I Nihta Menei (This Is The Last Night) won the National Award in Thessaloniki Film Festival, while his music for the TV series Istera Irthan I Melisses (And Then The Bees Came) (based on the book by Yiannis Xanthoulis) won the Award for Best Music in the Television Awards. In 2002 his music for the movie of Nikos Panagiotopoulos Kourastika Na Skotono Tous Agapitikous Sou (Tired of Killing Your Lovers) won the Arion Award for Best Soundtrack.

During 2004 Stamatis Kraounakis composed the music for Nikos Panagiotopoulos' movie Delivery, as well as music for Aristophanes' Ploutos for the Athens Festival in Epidavros. In May 2004 he was invited by the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London to compose music for the project "Installation 496".[1]

Recently, he has written the theme song for one of the most popular TV series in Greece, Maria, i Aschimi, the Greek version of Ugly Betty.

In 2010 he voiced Louis the alligator in the Greek language version of The Princess and the Frog.

• Album discography: 60 albums and 14 collaborations
• Shows: Music for 20 shows and 1 ballet
• Theatre: Music for 54 performances (31 contemporary theatre, 9 comedies, 8 Ancient Greek drama, 6 children theatre)
• Cinema: Music for 4 films
• Television: Music for 6 TV series

• Official website