ONAR (in

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: ΟΝΑΡ), is a Greek

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

group, primarily composed by Lefteris Pliatsikas throughout the band's career. The band's name is the

ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

word for "dream".

History

The band was formed in 1998. In 1999, they released their first LP, produced by Pliatsikas' brother, renowned Greek songwriter

Filippos Pliatsikas Filippos Pliatsikas (Greek: Φίλιππος Πλιάτσικας) is a Greek musician, composer and lyricist. He was the main composer, lyricist, and lead singer of the Entekhno rock group Pyx Lax (Πυξ Λαξ) and now a solo artist. Car ...

, under the title "To ergo pou paizoun ta matia sou". From the very first instant, the album won positive reviews. Songs such as "Me tromazeis", "Hartina Fanaria", "Galazies Erwmenes" became popular, making the LP

Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

. In 2000 they released their second album entitled "Min petas tha se doun", which marked the participation of

Teresa Salgueiro Maria Teresa de Almeida Salgueiro OIH () is a Portuguese singer. She is best known as the lead singer of Madredeus from 1987 until 2007. She also appeared in Wim Wenders' film '' Lisbon Story.'' Career Salgueiro joined Madredeus after other ...

Madredeus Madredeus () are a Portuguese musical ensemble formed in 1985, in Lisbon. Their music combines traditional Portuguese music, fado and folk music. Madredeus are one of the most successful music groups from Portugal, having sold over 3 million al ...

in a song based on a poem by

Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936) was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27, a g ...

. Manos Ksydous, another renown Greek songwriter, also participated with two songs. This LP had a notable commercial success, as well. Their next work was released in 2003 and is titled "Aladdin...Teliosan Oi Efhes sou". The album's hit song was "Den hrostao se kanena" (which had been pre-released as a

CD single A CD single is a single (music), music single in the form of a compact disc (CD). Originally the ''CD single'' standard (as defined in the Rainbow Books, Red Book) was an 8 cm (3-inch) "mini CD" (''CD3''); later on the term referred to any si ...

and had already become ''golden'') with the participation of

Vasilis Papakonstantinou Vasilis Papakonstantinou (Βασίλης Παπακωνσταντίνου) (born 21 June 1950) is a Greek singer known mostly for his work in Greek rock. Many of his songs have gained considerable popularity, mainly in Greece and Cyprus. Early ...

and later an adaptation to αν old folk song called "Istoria mou". Other songs that stood out from this record were "Na sai kala", "Posa ploia eho hasei" and "Fisaei sta stavrodromia tou kosmou" (based on a poem by

Tasos Livaditis Tasos Leivaditis (; 20 April 1922 – 30 October 1988) was a Greek poet, short story writer and literary critic. He belonged to the postwar generation that was deeply marked by the struggles and failures of the communist movement. His early and p ...

). In the next three years, they released two more albums, "Stin Αkri Τis Gis" and "Pou Τaksideveis" containing popular songs such as "Mahairia twra ta filia sou", "Kimata tou Aigaiou", "Mi fevgeis", and "Peta psila". In 2007 they released an album titled "Tipota Den Einai Opos Fainetai", from which songs such as "An m'agapas", "Kaseta" (lyrics by Efstathia), and "Perasmena mesanihta" stood out.

Touring and collaborations

ONAR have been touring in Greece ever since they released their first LP and they have participated in all the major festivals of Greece. They have collaborated with some of the most important representatives of the Greek pop-rock scene such as:

Lavrentis Mahairitsas Lavrentis Machairitsas (; 5 November 1956 – 9 September 2019) was a Greek rock musician from Volos, Thessaly, Greece. Biography Early years Machairitsas was born in Volos and began taking piano lessons at the age of six. These lessons las ...

Dionysis Tsaknis In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ...

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, and Lakis Papadopoulos. They have also participated in concerts dedicated to

Lefteris Papadopoulos Lefteris (Eleftherios) Papadopoulos (; born 14 November 1935) is a Greek lyricist, writer and journalist. Lefteris Papadopoulos was born in Athens, Greece on 14 November 1935. He was the son of Greek Pontian refugees, with a father from a vill ...

in Athens and Salonica and they have given concerts in Megaro Moussikis under the artistic supervision of

George Dalaras George Dalaras (, born 29 September 1949) is a Greek singer and musician. He is one of the most prominent figures of Greek music. In October 2006, he was selected as a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency. He was born in Piraeus. His ...

Band members

Current members

*Lefteris Pliatsikas (guitar, vocals) *Kleoniki Xrysanthakopoulou (vocals, keyboards) *Lia Michailidou (keyboards, bass synth) *Loukas Kalantzakos (drums)

Former members

*Peny Ramantani (vocals) *Michael Kexagias (bass) *Stelios Makryplidis (guitar) *Kosmas Brousalis (drums) *Diamantis Karagiannakidis (keyboards) *Hlias Karoumpalis (sound technician)

Discography

* 1999 - "To Ergo Pou Paizoun Ta Matia Sou" (Harvest) * 2000 - "Min Petas Tha Se doun" ( Minos-EMI) * 2002 - "Aladdin...Teliosan Oi Efhes Sou" (Harvest) * 2003 - "Stin Akri Tis Gis" (Mercury) * 2004 - "Ton Oniron Ta Hromata" (Compilation) (Harvest,

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

) * 2006 - "Pou Taxideveis" (Mercury) * 2007 - "Tipota Den Einai Opos Fainetai" (Lyra) * 2008 - "14 Megala Tragoudia" (Compilation) (EMI Records Ltd.) * 2009 - "De Mporo Na Haramiso Alli Anasa" (Virus Music) * 2010 - "Osa Antio Mas Menoun" (Legend Recordings) * 2017 - "17" (Live Album) (Spider Music)

References

External links

MySpace site
* {{Authority control Greek pop rock music groups Musical groups from Athens