Magic de Spell are still in action! Having released 10 studio albums, 3 singles (on 7’’ and 12’’ formats) and 2 compilations, Magic de spell is the oldest band of the so-called Greek new wave / punk scene and probably one of the few, that, although having a totally different sound and using the Greek language since 1993, still captures the mood and vibe of the obscure, frustrated and socially polarized early and mid 80’s era, which, in many ways, has striking similarities to our days…
This year the band is celebrating 30 years of (recording) existence, by releasing - through Geheimnis Records - a compilation / concept album with its first songs, many of them unreleased till today. This album is consisting of the band’s first ever (and long sought-after) 7’’ called “Nightmare”, including the songs “Poor Johnny’s Lonely Blues”, “Sweating All Over” and “Virgin Freedom”, 2 songs from the “Happening ‘82” compilation [“End Of Nirvana” and “C.B. (City Is Burning)] and 6 previously unreleased songs from the 1981-82 season. All tracks were performed by the original first line-up: Alex Kyriakakis (vocals), George Scarlatos (bass), Theodore Vlahakis (drums) and George Alahouzos (guitar). With these songs they were established as a punk rock band (although their influences were not totally “punk” and their sound is not what a “punk rocker” would define as “punk”), successfully combining elements of the first generation British punk bands with the 70’s rock. More complex riffs (this is where the 70’s rock influence is apparent), compared to their British contemporaries, razor-cut guitar, dominating bass, edgy drums and lyrics in English (back then and for the rest of that decade) – in the end a unique sound, that set the wheel on fire ! That’s how the Greek “punk” sound was born. A couple of years before them, “Parthenogenesis”, had kickstarted the whole thing with powerful live appearances, but they never recorded any material. So, Magic de Spell is the first ever Greek “punk” band, which had its sound pressed on vinyl, with the helping hand, of course, of “Happening Records”, owned to Kerasiotis’ brothers. The only song, which does not come from that era, is “Snakes Of The Night” written in 1984, after the band had abandoned its “primitive” punk period in 1982 and moved towards more new wave / dark synth directions, with a brand new vocalist and frontman and with the contribution of several new members… But this is another story…
The record comes in a limited edition of 320 hand-numbered copies, in clear (transparent) vinyl, fully remastered and restored from the original master tapes. “Nightmare” was the only song, extracted from a 30 year-old ordinary tape, in order to save it from certain extinction… Additional information can be found in the record-size insert, including Magic de Spell’s Words (lyrics), some photos and live footage of that period and an editorial, written by the “bass” itself, Mr. George Scarlatos.

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