Dimitra Galani

As a child she takes classical guitar and music theory lessons.

1968 Recording debut: “ENA HAMOG ELO”, music by Dimos Moutsis, lyrics by Nikos Gatsos.

From the 1970s to the 1980s – Impressed by the singular quality of her voice, many of Greece’s top contemporary songwriters begin to write songs specifically for her. Some of them are: Dimos Moutsis, Stavros Xarhakos, Manos Hadjidakis, Eleni Karaindrou, Yannis Spanos, Vassilis Tsitsanis – one of the greatest popular music (rebetiko) songwriters – Mikis Theodorakis, Manos Loizos, Christodoulos Halaris.

Dimitra Galani has sung lyrics by some of the most renowned poets of her country, such as Nikos Gatsos, Odysseas Elytis, K.P. Kavafy, and lyricists, such as Manos Eleftheriou, Costas Virvos, Costas Tripolitis, Lefteris Papadopoulos, Lina Nikolakopoulou, Paraskevas Karasoulos etc. 

1976 First US and Canadian tour. First contact with Greek expatriates in New York, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Toronto and Montreal.

1976-77 Appears at the Wiener Konzerthaus (Vienna, Austria)

1978 Second US and Canadian tour. Concerts held in large theaters and concert Halls such as ‘Kennedy Center’ and Auditorium.

1980 Performs Mikis Theodorakis’ orchestral and choral work “HERETISMI”, conducted by the composer himself, in the East Berlin Political Song Festival in Volksbuhne (Berlin).

1980 Participates in the International Avignon Arts Festival with Christodoulos Halaris. A France Culture production (Byzantine hymns performed in the main church of Avignon’s historical center). 

1980 Shares the first prize with Italian singer Riccardo Cocciante at the French “Rose d’ or” Song Festival, that was held in Greece that year.

1981 Moves to Paris, where she stays until 1983, performing concerts in Europe, America, and Australia, either as a solo artist or alongside other major acts.

1984 Release of the film “I TIMI TIS AGAPIS”. Dimitra Galani collaborates with the great Greek composer Eleni Karaindrou on the title track of Tonia Marketaki’s film. (Original Soundtrack: music by Eleni Karaindrou, lyrics by Tonia Marketaki) 

1985 Australian tour with renowned singer Yorgos Dalaras. Highlights of that tour include concerts in Sydney (Horden Pavillion), in Melbourne, and in Perth. 

1985 Records songs by Vangelis (Papathanassiou).

1988 Concerts in Brussels (Palais des Beaux Arts) and Helsinki with the great Greek composer Manos Hadjidakis. 

1989 Piano and voice recital in Nouveau Theatre de Belgique with Thanos Mikroutsikos in the context of a four-day tribute to Greek music. The recording was later released as “Gia piano ke foni”.

1990s In this decade she begins writing songs and music for television and film. In 1990 she represents Greece at the 7th Mediterranean Song Contest in Majorca.

1993 Second tour with Yorgos Dalaras in US and Canada, with concerts in New York (Madison Square Garden), Chicago (Chicago Auditorium), Boston, Washington, Florida, Montreal, Toronto and elsewhere. 

1996 Attends a three-month seminar at the BERKLEE College of Music in Boston.

1998 Performs concerts in many European cities: Paris (Theatre de la Ville), Berlin (Haus der Kulturen der Welt), Munich, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Lyon (Biennale de la Dance, invited by Guy Darmet), Marseilles, Brussels (Cirque Royale). 

2006 Guests in Cesaria Evora’s album “Rogamar”, singing a duet with her on the song Um Pincelada.

2007 Records and appears on stage with Italian songwriter Vinicio Capossela.

2009 A special moment in her career is her collaboration with the great Argentinean composer and producer Gustavo Santaolalla (2008) and the band Bajofondo. 

That year saw the release of the album “PIXEL”, featuring cover versions of several of Dimitra Galani’s iconic songs as performed by younger artists, along with brand new tracks. The album includes Gustavo Santaolalla and Bajofondo’s version of Querer (new remix). 

2011 Tours the album “PIXEL” all over Greece.

2011 Performs with Vassilikos (from the Raining Pleasure) in selected venues all over Greece, recording the concerts for future release. Highlights of that tour include an appearance at the Little Theater of Ancient Epidaurus as part of the Athens Festival. 

2012 Olympia (Paris) concert in October marked the ending of the one year tour and collaboration with Charis Alexiou (live cd recording). 

2014 Release of the album “Allios” in lyrics by Paraskevas Karasoulos and music by Chrisostomos Mouratoglou, Jun Miyake and hers. The album was presented through a series of concerts in Athens and around Greece between February, 2014 – September, 2015. 

December 2014 

The «Chronos» project was presented in various venues and festivals throughout Greece as well as in Israel. The project/performance premiered in Gazarte in December 2014 and at the Little Theater of Epidaurus as part of the Athens & Epidaurus Festival 2015. It was also performed at the Sani and Andros Festivals in the same year. The project’s audio and visual was recorded and published by NORTH KNOT, produced by Dimitra Galani chronosproject.net.

The project was created in collaboration with the internationally acclaimed Greek musicians Petros Klampanis, Thomas Konstantinou, Spiros Manesis and Christos Rafailidis.

Chronos is based on the improvisation of traditional Greek music and songs to connect Eastern and Western music. Greece is a country located in between these two musical worlds and the influences from them are very powerful.

The project, as a performance, premiered in Gazarte in December, 2014, and was also presented at the small Theater of Epidaurus in the context of the Athens & Epidaurus Festival 2015, in Sani Festival 2015, and in Andros festival 2015. 

In the years since its launch, the Chronos project remains Dimitra’s focus and it is continuously developed. Each time it is performed, more elements are added.

The latest performance was the concert at the Athens Megaron in January 2018 where Takim, an excellent group of traditional musicians, joined Dimitra. Shortly, this concert will be published by NORTH KNOT. 

November 2016 Release of the album “To vals ton xamenon meta” in lyrics by Nikos Moraitis and music by Eustathios Drakos. The album was presented through a series of concerts in Athens (March 2017) and around Greece between May, 2017 – September 2017 . A new series of concerts are being planned for July, August and September of 2018 all over Greece and in Cyprus.

October 2017 Release of a new song “Se pion na po to s’agapo” in lyrics by Lina Nikolakopoulou and music by Michalis Xatzigiannis. A beautiful duet with the famous Greek singer and song writer Michalis Xatzigiannis.

During her long career, Dimitra Galani as a producer, has been promoting several important young songwriters, she has given her own music compositions to other singers to perform, she has written music for film, television and the theater, and she has been repeatedly awarded many prizes in music contests and in annual film and theater festivals.