Prayers for the Wicked
Angela Costi

A professionally produced audio CD of spoken word and dramatic storytelling written and narrated by Angela Costi, and interweaved with music and soundscape.

The CD contains 11 tracks which take the listener on a journey from childhood experience with Pappou (Grandfather) and his obsession with anginaras (artichokes) to the dance party rave world where the Orthodox faith seeps into the internal psyche, and further on, the listener visits the taverna where the Greeks and Cypriots dance their woes away … Greek chorus work and Byzantium chant weave within the new blend of Aussie and Greek vernacular that is so much a part of the urban aural landscape.

The title of the CD, Prayers for the Wicked, is meant to be interpreted poetically, and covers both the traditional religious world of the Greek orthodox faith and the rebellious dance world of the younger generation, where words like ‘wicked’ are given a positive meaning.

From intial recordings to the final product, the CD took two years to produce. It began in the home studio of Peter Davis involving the musical talent of Rex Watts (mandolin), Duncan Graham and Paul Huntingford (dance music), and other amazing sounds emerging from mustard seed jars, tiny bells, passing trains and the voices of elderly Greeks.

Prayers for the Wicked was recently launched, below are details about the launch.

when: Thu 14 Apr 2005 8pm
where: Brunswick Library, Cnr. Sydney Road and Dawson Street, Brunswick, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
performers: Joe de Iacovo, Vardos, Grant Caldwell, po, Angela Costi
audience: over 100 attended, of diverse cultural backgrounds and ages, many writers, poets and artists

photos: Bernard Nolan

Publicity profile for the launch: Angela Costi, writer, poet and spoken word performer, is celebrating the launch of her CD, Prayers for the Wicked, as part of the Made in Moreland program, which supports the innovative work of Moreland-based artists. Prayers for the Wicked is a daring and ambitious collage of spoken word, song, music and soundscape, and is recorded by the award-winning Peter Davis of Floodtide Audio and produced by DEX studios. The CD contains Greek choruses, Byzantium chanting, belly dance tunes and urban lingo fused into a rebellious world of clubbing, tavernas and questionable faith. Launching the CD will be the enigmatic po, a poet of international acclaim, known for his tome 24 hours and more recently, his Number poems. The gypsy-influenced trio, Vardos, will be performing together with other well-known Brunswick and Coburg-based artists.

Extract of Angela's launch speech:

"This CD documents a cluster of performance pieces and poetry dealing with my ‘growing up’ identity:

• the Cypriot-Greek world of contemporary myths,
  
• the days of religious clubbing (every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, at one point),
• the farewell salutes to my grandparents as they trod off to their final homes,
• and the questioning of faith and existence while sitting for three hours at a Church service, which I used to attend nearly every Sunday, when I was a little girl and unable to drive away from home.

It’s creative closure on a decade of poetry and spoken word, from 1993 to 2003, which dealt with themes of religion, faith, irreverence and personal spirituality. Obviously, it doesn’t include all the words written and expressed during that decade but hopefully it captures the better stuff."

To find out more about the CD or to purchase a copy - email.