‘I want to go out as a winner’
Endurance and persistence are enviable qualities in singer Nana Mouskouri who, at age 72, has stated that she will stop making public appearances and continues to travel with the vigor of a 30-year-old. Continuing her global farewell tour, she continues to fill stadiums in places like Taiwan, Seoul and Tasmania, while in Greece she is making a comeback with a new album after a 12-year recording lull. Titled «Moni Perpato» (I Walk Alone), the album contains 17 Greek and foreign tracks, ranging from old favorites by Charles Aznavour and Jean-Pierre Ferland to Greek lyrics by Agathi Dimitrouka and new Greek songs penned by Nikos Andypas, Stefanos Korkolis, Lina Nikolakopoulou and Giorgos Theofanous. Clarinetist Vassilis Saleas also appears on the album. During a brief break in her travels (coming from Cuba and going on to London, Paris and Geneva), Mouskouri took some time out to discuss her new album, her life and her work in general. «Life is a journey, not a destination. It is the journey that matters, and I have enjoyed it very much,» she said. After a 50-year career, Nana Mouskouri is slowly bidding her public farewell. She won’t be sitting around at home of course, she explained, but spending her time working with her foundation and a school for young artists. What does the title «I Walk Alone» mean? It is biographical. You begin your life and take your lessons from your teachers – in my case they were Manos Hadzidakis and Nikos Gatsos, even though I worked with many others – and then you walk alone. We carve our own paths. I never would have expected you to sing «Ta Pedia tis Samarinas» (The Children of Samarina, a demotic song). After 50 years in the business, I heard the song completely by chance on [Samina] Digenis’s television music show. One of the guests was Vassilis Saleas. He asked me if I knew demotic Greek music; I suggested «Gerakina» and then he came up with «Samarina.» It was like returning to my roots. I can’t imagine you listening to that type of music. I listen to everything. I may have sung a few less arty songs in my time, but I did it because I felt like it. I never chose them because someone told me they would be popular. Abroad, there is no distinction between arty (entechno) and commercial music, but intellectual and pop. The same as there is no trepidation between the young artist and the older one. A young artist can start off on a bad note and improve with time. In Anglophone countries, singers are not afraid to go and watch a colleague perform. They visit them in studios and even sing backup. It is certainly not easy to see another man’s success, but that is what you learn from. How does it feel to have a new album out in your country after 12 years? I must admit that I’m quite scared. Gatsos was around in the past and things were different. I haven’t had the courage to sing here since he passed away. But I had to, even it was for one last time. I could have opted to perform Greek songs only, but the truth is that I am not very in tune with the situation here. Anyway, I believe in variety. The album marks your first collaboration with Andypas, Korkolis, Nikolakopoulou, Theofanous and the other Greek artists. Did you have to follow their train of thought, or they yours? Theofanous gave me two songs, but I picked the one that got in. The other had lyrics that just didn’t suit me. At some point, Evanthia Reboutsika suggested I sing «To Tsigaro» (The Cigarette) among many other songs. I said, «Evanthia, how can I sing this song when I have never smoked in my life?» I wouldn’t have been credible. I have turned down a lot of good songs in my time for that reason. Many Greek aren’t aware of the fact that you are among the top five in record sales around the world. Nevertheless, I never cared about sales. Early on I realized that when you are number one, you are very much at risk of becoming number two. What’s important is to have a good overall record so that you can last longer. You have been on your farewell tour since last year and it’s supposed to end in 2007 with a concert in Athens. You have also stated that this album will be your last. Do you think you’ll be able to stick by that? It sounds strange saying it, but I want to thank the public with this tour. They have loved me and now I have their children coming up to me and saying that they grew up with my songs, which their parents listened to. I thank them because they have stood behind me. That’s how I endured as a person and as a singer. But I also have a clear sense of myself. Many artists want to die on a stage. I don’t want to be pitied; it’s a matter of pride. I want to go out as a winner.
