To saxophonist Nikos Koulouris, his creative development is embedded with his personal growth; they reached maturity together. “My evolution as an artist is closely connected to my evolution as a human being. Realizing through the years who I really was and who I wanted to become helped me express myself musically,” Koulouris explained. “Accepting myself, my capabilities, my limitations, my desires, and my dreams gave me a sense of balance and inner peace that helped me free myself musically.” It’s no surprise that Koulouris’ latest EP, …Dare to Dream, adopts a decidedly progressive take on smooth jazz, unafraid of venturing into funk and electronic music.
Although Koulouris takes his craft seriously, he doesn’t neglect the giddy sensation of melodic discovery, breathing in new sounds and ideas with childlike wonder. It is an attitude that Koulouris never wants to fade from view. “My artistic evolution is a process that I have enjoyed so far, and I hope to enjoy even more in the future. I don’t really think that this process ever ends,” Koulouris added. “Life has to do with change, and in this continuous change within time, we realize what remains the same. Sometimes we feel we change, but in reality what happens is that we evolve towards the being that we really are. For me this is a marvelous procedure and is something that I welcome and enjoy.”
Koulouris is an artist whose relationship with music is on a deeper, personal level, which consequently adds layers of feelings to his compositions. “In music, I discover myself,” Koulouris revealed. “For music is a means of contemplation, self-fulfillment and knowledge. Every new song I write is a new way to see myself through a different angle. And every song I share with people in live performances is a new way to discover my connection to people. It is one thing to fulfill one’s need for self-expression and creativity and yet it is another thing to share that creativity with people. It never stops amazing me to see the reactions from my performance in every kind of audience. And that, of course, keeps me going. It doesn’t mean that I would ever stop creating music or playing that music for the public if people stopped responding to my musical proposals. Music is creativity, and creativity is life, and how can one deny life? At least I don’t.”
Although Koulouris takes his craft seriously, he doesn’t neglect the giddy sensation of melodic discovery, breathing in new sounds and ideas with childlike wonder. It is an attitude that Koulouris never wants to fade from view. “My artistic evolution is a process that I have enjoyed so far, and I hope to enjoy even more in the future. I don’t really think that this process ever ends,” Koulouris added. “Life has to do with change, and in this continuous change within time, we realize what remains the same. Sometimes we feel we change, but in reality what happens is that we evolve towards the being that we really are. For me this is a marvelous procedure and is something that I welcome and enjoy.”
Koulouris is an artist whose relationship with music is on a deeper, personal level, which consequently adds layers of feelings to his compositions. “In music, I discover myself,” Koulouris revealed. “For music is a means of contemplation, self-fulfillment and knowledge. Every new song I write is a new way to see myself through a different angle. And every song I share with people in live performances is a new way to discover my connection to people. It is one thing to fulfill one’s need for self-expression and creativity and yet it is another thing to share that creativity with people. It never stops amazing me to see the reactions from my performance in every kind of audience. And that, of course, keeps me going. It doesn’t mean that I would ever stop creating music or playing that music for the public if people stopped responding to my musical proposals. Music is creativity, and creativity is life, and how can one deny life? At least I don’t.”
