Τhree musicians absorbed in a long-abiding passion for the percussion instruments have joined forces to transform their passion into an intensely colorful acoustic adventure.

The group that makes up Krotala first met in 1997 for a performance given at the Philippos Nakas Auditorium in Athens, and the very first Greek percussion ensemble was to be born right then.

Their name derives from Ancient Greek Mythology – the myth of Hercules who received from goddess Athena a pair of wooden plates in the form of rattles, the krótala, crafted by the god of Fire Hyphaestus in order to help the mythic hero face the monstrous Birds of Stymphalus. By clashing the krótala together, Hercules applied the divine power of their sound that scared the Birds and sent them away.

The Krotala Ensemble have so far given numerous performances and music seminars throughout Greece and abroad, the most important being the cycle performances under the title “Greek Masters and Folk Musical Instruments” given at the Palace Theatre and the Odeon of Herod Atticus in Athens, the 5th World Percussion Festival held in Boston, U.S.A. in August 1999, as well as the 1st Ethnic Jazz Festival of Athens, Greece, in May 2000.

All three members of the group share numerous participations in various concerts alongside world-acclaimed artists [Eleni Karaindrou, Eleftheria Arvanitaki, George Dalaras, Eleni Tsaligopoulou, Elli Paspala, Domna Samiou, Alkinoos Ioannides, Haig Yazdjian and a lot more], and they have been established as leading percussionists and pioneers of their kind on the Greek music scene.

The Krotala Ensemble have submitted themselves with respect to the grandeur of the Greek music tradition, shaped as it is on a land that has been the crossroads of diverse and multi-cultural worlds for ages. This land, a variform mosaic of sounds in itself, is their starting point for a peregrination taking them around the world. Their introspective view alongside a natural interest in experimentation that passes through improvisation has marked their tendency to transform any kind of object into a musical instrument.

The making of their first album saw the world famous percussion musicians Arto Tuncboyaciyan and Zohar Fresco working with Krotala in the studio, signing the credentials for worldwide recognition for the band.

Krotala is the first Greek percussion band to release an album fully based on percussion. This does not mean that melodies are hidden away; melody is dominating on all “Krotala” tracks.

The band is very powerful on stage, since percussions’ nature permits covering the show with movements and body language and gives a theatrical-acting essence to the performance.