There is something about traditional Greek folk music, that carries the identity of all regions; sounds that run deep in the veins of Hellenism.

From, Thrace, to Northern Epirus, Thessaly, Peloponnese and all the way to the Greek islands you get all the distinctive melodic and rhythmic qualities that explore the rich history and culture of Greece through traditional instruments such as the bouzouki, the lyra, the laouto or the clarinet.

It’s natural to assume that the musician playing a Hellenic instrument is of Greek background.

However, Paddy Montgomery challenges that trope.

Born in Adelaide, the Irish Australian musician plays a wide variety of Hellenic stringed instruments, from bouzouki, tzoura, baglama, laouto, lyra… and the list goes on.

“My collection is painfully big,” he says jokingly.

“There is something about the sound of all the instruments and the way that all the melodies work, that was very intriguing to me,” says Paddy to Neos Kosmos.

“I couldn’t ignore it,” he admits.

“It just developed into a massive obsession to the point that if I heard a sound with a technique on an instrument I was interested in, I had to work out the ornamentation.”

“I was just so dedicated to find the secret and the spice that make things sound the way they do.”

A CURIOSITY FOR GREEK MUSIC THAT TURNED INTO A COMPLETE OBSESSION

With parents who “listened to a lot of music,” Paddy grew up “listening to many 50s and 60s rock and roll bands.”

“I started playing the guitar when I was about three years old,” he recalls.

However, the musician confesses that “from a young age,” he was particularly “interested in stringed instruments that weren’t a guitar,” like the mandolin.

Paddy remembers saying to his mum that when he grows up, he wants to be a musician.

“Well, you can’t do both,” he recalls her answering.

In that sense, maybe he didn’t, but his passion for music certainly did.

As he got older, he developed a curiosity for different kinds of folk music, such as Irish, Scottish, Celtic, or American folk music and the blues.

Broadening his musical horizons even wider, his curiosity crossed the borders of Middle East, as “one day after meeting the right people,” he was given CDs “from Indian, Arabic, Turkish music and even the Greek, Rebetika.”

The sounds of bouzouki, introduced him to Greece’s musical elements, but what “really got” him “down the track,” was the Turkish saz (or tambouras as they say in Greece), an instrument that sparked an interest for “Turkish folk music” and “some surrounding places in the Arabic world.”

However, it was when he heard the Cretan laouto, a stringed instrument like a lute which is considered by many, the backbone of Cretan music.

While watching the famous movie “Zorba the Greek,” Paddy was “captivated” and “thoroughly mesmerised,” by the depth and warmth of the passionate pulse produced by this instrument.

“I just remember, hearing the instrument and thinking ‘what’s that sound’?”

“It was like thunder, very dark, very hypnotic kind of thing.”

“I was blown away by it.”

It was after that moment, that the Irish Australian musician, realised that “Greek music had all these regional flavours,” a revelation that immersed him deeper into a passion that would later grow into a “massive obsession.”

“You got Thrace, you got the Northwest, the Northern Epirus, Thessaly, Peloponnese, you got all the Greek islands… and it’s all intertwined and fascinating.”

“All these instruments and all these orchestrations they use, all these melodies that have travelled throughout Greece, but they play them with their own kind of flavouring. ”

“It just became this complete obsession!”

INFLUENTIAL FIGURES THAT PAVED THE WAY AND THE LOVE FOR CRETE

Paddy then started collecting all these instruments, and considers him self “very lucky,” to have performed on many occasions with his teachers, that he describes as “very influential figures” in his life.

Chris Finnen taught Paddy, “music outside the western canon,” introducing him to folk and classical music from all corners of the world.

“He just sets people off, and they find themselves landing in one or multiple spots around the world.”

“My travels landed me in Greece.”

“He’s a really great figure, phenomenal guitarist, singer, exported a lot of music.”

Filip Griffin, another “phenomenal musician who collects and plays a lot of different stringed instruments from the Middle East, the Mediterranean, Balkans,” was the one that helped him cross paths with two of the “biggest influences” of his life, GIorgo Xylouri and Ross Daly.

While visiting his sister in Melbourne, and naturally being gravitated to music, Paddy found himself in a music store. That’s when he came across a CD that changed his life.

“I found a CD with a laouto on the cover. It was Giorgos Xylouris Ensemble.”

“I put the headphones on and listened to it in the store.”

“From that moment I thought, this is exactly the thing I have been looking for.”

Paddy went home and listened to it, “five times on the same night,” describing this as being the “pivoting point,” along with Ross Daly’s album, that defined his path in music.

“Giorgo Xylouri was someone who turned my world upside down. It’s because of those people that I basically learned another language.”

This unlocked a whole new world, exposing him to the diversity of Greece’s musical palette.

It also enriched his perspective around the sounds emerging from Greece’s geographical neighbour-countries that “are equally versatile, and have so much variation in each region,” with a “never ending supply of fascinating music and tunes,” that somehow interestingly “all tie together.”

While Ross Daly was in Adelaide for a music production, and seeing Paddy’s musical inclinations to Cretan music, Filip Griffin made sure the two met.

“I was probably fifteen at the time,” Paddy recalls.

“He had spoken to Ross Daly and ended up speaking to my mum and dad, telling them he thought it was very important that I go to Greece, and visit the Labyrinth music school where Ross teaches.”

With his parents taking that “on board,” 11-year-old Paddy, went to Crete for two weeks, accompanied by his mother. This trip was only the beginning.

Two years later, he got a government grant that allowed him to go back to Crete and study after he was done with high school, which he did for two and a half months.

In 2009 Paddy went back and studied for another two months, creating strong bonds and friendships that have lasted for years.

“Crete is an absolutely amazing place; I miss it all the time.”

“The first time was a cultural shock, but then you learn to love it very quickly.”

Apart from his Greek musical mastery, what also comes as a surprise is his ability to speak Greek quite fluently.

These experiences, and the people, helped Paddy “gather what he needed,” and so he became a full-time musician, moving to Melbourne in 2011.

Paddy has visited Greece five times now, and apart from Crete he has also been to Northern Greece, Thessaloniki, Kastoria, Chalkidiki, sharing that one of the places he is longing to visit is Northern Epirus.

“I’ve always loved Ipirotika…all that clarinet umbrella… the rhythm, the way they play slowly. The pentatonic use, makes you think very specifically about the melody.”

FOLK MUSIC IS INCLUSIVE

Greek is not the only “musical language” that Paddy likes to “speak.”

“I have some sort of split personality,” he says jokingly, referring to his music taste.

“I also like Bluegrass and Appalachian music from America.”

“Everyone can get together and play them without having to rehearse them, we have these great jams and it’s the most wonderful experiences.”

Paddy has also been playing for years, in a band called Sionnach Rua’s Great Irish Song Book, transferring listeners to the land of Ireland, and its deep Celtic sounds.

He believes Greece and Ireland “share a lot of common things,” with the most basic one, being the concept of “parea,” meaning that in both countries, musicians will mostly play for the purpose of people getting together and having a good time.

“That is what love about traditional music, that especially in Greece and a lot of other places around the world, folk music is inclusive, everyone can play it.”

“When you see 100, 200 ,5000 people dancing in a circle, because you are making them do that, it’s really wonderful,” he adds.

Philhellene restaurant, has become a meeting point for Paddy and other musicians, who gather there every Tuesday night and jam.

John Rerakis, owner of Philhellene, admits that he was “taken aback,” when he saw Paddy playing “heavy Ipirotika.”

“It’s not only about learning an instrument; it’s about origins, finding out who wrote the song,” says John.

“He really honours us and our tradition.”

“It’s deeply moving.”

A JOURNEY OF NO REGRET

Paddy’s fascination and talent with Greek music doesn’t go unnoticed by other Greeks who laud him.

“They tell me ‘You play like a Greek’.”

“The way people react is beautiful, I am forever grateful.”

“To me for whatever reason, it hit me, it resonated with me, I can’t put it in a better way”.

“I didn’t expect it to happen. It was so rich and rewarding.”

Thinking about the ways Greek music and tradition has shaped him both personally and musically Paddy reckons that he would “retire a happy man,” if he wanted, attributing this to all the experiences he’s had throughout his journey.

“I didn’t see this journey happening, but it just did.”

“And I’m not regretting it one minute.”