Nikos Veliotis

Few Greek figures in free improvisation have established a foothold within Europe's experimental circuits, yet Nikos Veliotis achieved precisely that through sustained exchanges with British players during the closing years of the 1990s. Those contacts developed while he examined questions of graphic-score interpretation as part of his studies at London's Trinity College of Music. On cello, Veliotis has consistently pursued timbral resources beyond conventional technique. He belongs to the trio Cranc alongside harpist Rhodri Davies and violinist Angharad Davies, and he has appeared with the London Improviser's Orchestra as well as in duo settings with guitarist John Bisset and cellist John Wastell. He maintains a firm commitment to contemporary composed repertoire, performing works by Xenakis, Sculthorpe, Cardew, and Bussotti. Veliotis also forms one half of Texturizer, the duo he shares with Greek electronica artist Coti K. Additional encounters have taken place, on an occasional basis, with Evan Parker, Fred Van Hove, and John Butcher. His sole release to date, the limited-edition album Cello issued in 2001 on Confront, was pressed in an edition of one hundred copies. In Athens he served as curator for the local chapter of 2:13, the continent-spanning improvisation network whose other nodes operate in London and Berlin.