Skarakis Stratis

Stratis Skarakis is a performer from Crete. He is a violinist singer and songwriter in the folk music genre, performing mostly in the wider area of ​​Crete and Greece. In recent years he has opened the door to composition and lyricism based on the roots of traditional Cretan music and is constantly inspired by the people, nature and his surroundings to create new melodies and lyrics.

Born and raised in Gramvousa Kissamos, Crete, the first signs of his inclination towards music were at the age of 4-5 with his mothers two wooden cooking ladles, pretending to play the violin and humming with his mouth. At the age of 7, his father's brother, who ran a carpentry shop, brought him a violin which had been donated to him by a local instrument maker... 

At the age of nine, he started lessons with the famous local violinist of Kissamos Michalis Kounelis, then with Thodoris Polychronakis (violin), and Charalambis Anousakis, (lute)

 The first festival he played was at the age of 12 and by the age of 15, he is continuously invited to traditional social events. As a teenager he learns to sing Rizitika songs from genuine traditional singers and becomes a member of the youth chorus for the next four years taught by  Yiorgos Mixelakis.

Stratis Skarakis' first album entitled "Only the Night Sea" is released in 2019 by Seistron-Aerakis music publications, which received rave reviews taking the first place in the "Balkan world music chart" for 2020 among big names of Balkan artists and the wider Mediterranean area.

During this time, a new section of songs entitled "Provlita" is in progress, which is released on various online platforms. He participated in the albums of  “ Mikri mou lemonia” by Antonis Martsakis in 2018 and in  2021 “To arismari vgeni sto afti” By Niko Margaritaki. He was a traditional violin teacher for 5 years at the conservatory of "Metropolis Kissamos Selinou" (2015-2020). From 2016 until today, he has been teaching traditional Cretan violin at the "Meron Music School" of Amari Rethymnon. In 2013 he participates in the Contemporary Cretan festival of arts and culture of Heraklion. In 2014 & 2015 he participates in the "Houdetsi Festival" concerts. In the summer of 2017, he participated in Herodeion as part of a pan-Cretan music and dance presentation entitled,  "The Music of Crete in Herodeion".

He makes appearances in various parts of Greece in venues and Cretan events in Athens, Thessaloniki and other cities. He visits America from January 2020 until now every year, at the Panhellenic Music and Dance events "HDF" & "FDF" and other social events in various States of the Greek Community. He has also perfomed in Sardinia, Italy and Munich, Germany.