Thrax Punks

Thrax Punks are a music group from the Greek region of Thrace – more specifically, from Evros. Their roots date back to 2006, when they first formed as a purely traditional folk band. Over time, the band’s members have – in line with their listening tastes – experimented with contemporary esthetics and styles drawn from a variety of music genres from around the globe, incorporating them into their music. Its core members – Vaitsis Charokopidis on gaida (bagpipes) and kaval (flute), and Yorgos Stavridis on daouli (davul drum) and Thracian lyre – appeared at local events, traditional functions, and weddings, as well as at small festivals across Greece, before making their first appearance as Thrax Punks in 2010. With the arrival of Panos Gkinis on electric and bass guitar in 2015, the group’s sound took on an intensely electronic feel, with live looping, psychedelic bridges, heavy guitars, math outbursts, and a punk esthetic. To date, they have appeared at most major music festivals in Greece, and have also given concerts internationally, in the UK, Germany, and Cyprus. In 2016, they released their first EP titled “Punkopanhgyropsychedeleia” (which roughly translates as “Punkfetepartypsychedelia”), and in 2017 met Markos Koutsianas, a sound engineer who would oversee the sound of their upcoming album, joining the band as its fourth member to date. Together, the four of them presented their first full-length self-titled release (LP) – “Thrax Punks” – in 2019, with which they toured Greece, giving a series of in the main sold out shows. Now based in Athens, they are working with acclaimed artists and writing music for film, while in the near future they plan to record music for ancient Greek tragedy, and put out their latest release on vinyl.