The Voodoo Drummer Duo – HELLaS SPELLS (2025)
At first glance, HELLaS SPELLS might appear to be an experiment born of whimsy, a cello, a balafon, and a curious nickname like “The Voodoo Drummer Duo” might suggest a sideshow more than a serious musical statement. Yet from the opening moments, it becomes clear that this Athens-based project is no novelty. It is, rather, a tightly woven ritual, a raw and studied exploration of trance, ecstasy, experimentation, and polyrhythmic communion, where ancient Greek dramaturgy collides with Afro-diasporic memory.
Composed primarily for cello and balafon (or its rusted cousin, the self-made “Weirdofon”), this album by Chris Koutsogiannis and Stavros Parginos reveals itself as quirky, ecstatic and architectural. Their music is deeply exploratory and minimalist yet densely referential. In fact, the duo’s “Afro-Dionysian” self-definition is clever branding, it speaks to their intent to collapse time and geography, fusing ritual drumming from Benin and New Orleans with the tragic chorus of Euripides.
Indeed, context matters here. Koutsogiannis did not stumble into this music. His transformation into the Voodoo Drummer followed a funeral ceremony in Benin, a rare, firsthand initiation into rhythm. Later, in New Orleans, where the dead dance and drums speak, he traced those same rhythmic roots to the Afro-Atlantic continuum.
Parginos, a classically trained cellist with deep ties to Greek musical tradition, serves as the counterweight. His playing often functions less as melody and more as drone, pulse, and prayer.
“You can find more harmony in this Afro-Dionysian duo than in our world,” they suggest, “even if it is just drums and cello.”
Buy HELLaS SPELLS.
Author: Tyler Bennet
