TIPOTA (NOTHING)

The press release for an album titled “Tipota (Nothing)” should, according to its creator, either not exist at all or, at most, consist of a single word — its title. Nevertheless, there are a few pieces of information about what this album is (and, more importantly, what it isn’t) that potential listeners might find interesting and/or useful:

– “Nothing” is the eighth solo album by Antonis Livieratos and his second release on Same Difference Music, following “Registry of Inadequate Self-Healing Attempts” (2021).

– “Nothing” is as pessimistic as its title suggests, yet by no means a statement of resignation.

– “Nothing” is not released on vinyl, as its duration exceeds 60 minutes — therefore, the CD is the “physical” format for it.

– “Nothing” doesn’t “resemble” any of Antonis Livieratos’s previous albums. (Which is more or less expected, since it would be difficult to find substantial similarities between any two of the seven that preceded it.)

– On “Nothing”, Antonis Livieratos has written all the music and lyrics and played most of the instruments himself. However, the album could not have been completed without the help and collaboration of his friends Manolis Aggelakis, Akis Boyatzis and Ioannis Nikolaou (who passed away before its release). The mastering was done by Yiannis Christodoulatos, and the cover artwork is by Nefeli Livieratou.

– “Nothing” includes several songs, but it is not a collection of songs.

– “Nothing” includes a number of instrumental pieces, but it is not an instrumental album.

– “Nothing” includes a 14-minute spoken word piece, but, obviously, it is not a spoken word album.

– In “Nothing”, acoustic, electric, and electronic instruments are used — yet it is neither an acoustic, nor an electric, nor an electronic album.

–  Quite a few of the tracks in “Nothing” are modal but that doesn’t make it a jazz album.

– In “Nothing”, atmosphere plays a dominant role, but that doesn’t make it an ambient album.

– In “Nothing”, noise occasionally takes center stage, but that doesn’t make it a noise album.

– “Nothing” maintains only a loose connection with what is commonly referred to as the “rock form,” yet it relates more to rock’n’roll than to any other musical idiom.

– “Nothing” is an album that is far easier to listen to from beginning to end than it is to describe in words.

“Tipota (Nothing)” is out on CD and Digital on November 28 via Same Difference, distributed by Inner Ear.