Women In Bands: 15 Greek Music Acts Featuring Women
Across non-mainstream genres!
We’ve been following the Greek independent music scene for years (some of you know that Takis used to be in a punk band and Kallia worked as a music journalist), so today we thought we’d talk about music acts across non-mainstream genres (but otherwise non-genre specific), featuring women.
This list is not meant to be comprehensive by any means (also due to space constraints) and is ordered randomly (not an indication of preference). Here we go!
A self-proclaimed “death-inspired love story, a match made in heaven and hell”, this dark wave duo from Athens featuring Joanna Pavlidou on vocals has been a frequent reference in any discussion about the genre in Greece for more than a decade. It must be noted that Joanna and Dimitris also run Fabrika Records, through which they have released numerous records by artists in similar genres.
Iconic all-female black-metal band that formed in 1995 in Athens, named after Astarte, the goddess of love and war. They were active for almost 20 years and released several albums with guest appearances by members of Dimmu Borgir, Septicflesh, Arch Enemy, Rotting Christ and more.
S.W.I.M. (Someone Who Isn’t Me)
Someone Who Isn't Me (aka S.W.I.M.) is a queer feminist female duo, based in Athens. They started in 2015 and they bring together pop and electro sounds with an orchestral character. Their single ‘Gomenaki’ became an underground anthem for queer love and has a fantastic music video.
Formed in 1989 in Athens, this alternative rock almost-all-female group started out as a band with 4 women and 1 man. They are still active today, more than three decades later, but they now only feature singer Vivi Vourou from the original female line-up.
Mary Tsoni was The Boy’s (aka the film director, musician and composer Alexandros Voulgaris) other half in this singular rock/alternative duo that is remembered through their intense and theatrical live performances. Mary went on to star in Yiorgos Lanthimos’ ‘Dogtooth’, but sadly passed away a few years ago.
Formed in 1984, Alive She Died was a short-lived minimal wave band from Athens featuring Daphne Geroyanni on vocals and Tina Goudi on bass. They only released a tape titled ‘Viva Voce’ before disbanding in the summer of 1987. The band had a resurgence in 2015, when Gucci used their cover of Joy Division's "She's Lost Control" in one of their commercials.
Dark/new wave band created in 1981 by Natassa "Streuberg" Syregela, Katerina "Elle" Perpinia, two former members of Parthenogenesis and a former member of Homicide. The band released two hard-to-find LPs and a 12’’ and supported New Order when they played in Greece in 1982.
And yes, Natassa Syregela is actually “THE Natassa Syregela”, whose name is essentially synonymous with film translations in Greece (pretty much every movie/series that has been translated from English to Greek in the past few decades mentions her name in the end credits!).
A modern metal band formed in Athens in 2008 that is influenced by post-metal and sludge. Their sound features slow, heavy and crushing beats and is complimented by the intense screaming of frontwoman Irene. They’re still active after having released an EP and three LPs and played numerous live shows across Europe.
Formed in 1985 in Athens, new wave band Film Noir featuring vocalist Maria Gabriela Loukaki released one EP and one LP (one of the earliest released by the historical Wipe Out Records) in the course of the 5 years they were active. It is worth noting that the band also featured a young Coti K. on bass (who went on to become a pioneering musician, composer and record producer).
Named after the ancient Greek goddess Hekàtē, the deity of the underworld, witchcraft, nighttime and crossroads, this Greek punk powerhouse is comprised by an all-female line-up (Iris, Chara, Vicky and Lydia) and have released a great LP via London’s iconic La Vida Es Un Mus Records. Their sound stands somewhere between anarcho-punk and goth-wave and their song ‘Katarameno Syndromo’ is dedicated to one of Athens’ most iconic punk venues/institutions.
Probably one of the newest bands in this list, although they’ve been around for a few years now, Echo Tides, play nostalgic, well-executed post-punk with Greek lyrics. Raised in the deep basements of historical greek goth club Rebound, but with a strong pop sensibility, the group just released their latest album ‘Στον δρόμο που φυτρώναν φράουλες’ a few months ago.
One of the most legendary DIY hardcore/crust bands, Hibernation, featuring singer/drummer Gianna, was formed in Athens in 1996 and is still active today. Gianna was also a member of influential crust/metal band Nuclear Winter, until they disbanded in 2003.
Hailing from Thessaloniki, rock/post-punk band Moot Point were active between 1984-1996 and self-released two records. Vocalist Lia Yioka was also involved in other bands (such as No Sin and Next & Patient) and outside music she works as an assistant professor of art history and theory at the School of Architecture in Thessaloniki!
Not a Greece-based act (actually a London-based trio), but featuring Greek frontwoman Alexandra, Efialtis was an all-female punk band from London who sang in Greek and released two great 7’’ records and a demo on seminal record labels La Vida Es Un Mus Discos and Static Shock Records.
Synth pop, but more pop and less synth. The duo, comprised of Marianthi Melitsi and Sophie Sarigiannidou, started in 2003 and was super active during the indie sleaze years. Although they’ve not been very active lately, they seem to be generating pretty healthy streaming numbers. Plus, they have released an album titled ‘E-bay Queen’ and a follow-up titled ‘E-bay Queen Is Dead’ - how cool is that?
If you want to dive deeper into Greek female bands, we recommend checking out this podcast by Lydia (singer of the aforementioned Hekàtē), who pays tribute to the women of the punk, hardcore and underground music scene in Greece throughout the years.
That’s all for now, see you at the next one! You can follow us on Instagram or buy our merch.
what power 💖
So excited to check out these bands! Thank you for pulling them all together!