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Yannis Kyriakides was born in Limassol, Cyprus in 1969 and emigrated with his family to England in 1975. After travelling for a year with his violin in the near east, learning traditional music, he returned to England to study musicology at York University, later being drawn by the music of Louis Andriessen to move to The Netherlands, with whom he studied under at the Hague Conservatory. At that time he also had the inspiring opportunity to collaborate on three projects with the maverick electronic composer/theatre-maker Dick Raijmaakers. He currently lives in Amsterdam where he works as a composer and electronic musician.
He collaborates regularly with ensembles such as ASKO, Maarten Altena Ensemble, and Icebreaker as well as theatre and dance groups such as Hollandia and Leine and Roebana. His own group CIRCADIAN performs regularly at festivals around Europe, and he is active in the live electronic music scene as an improviser, specialising in live processing.
Recent works include:
strobo (30') for six percussionists, glass and strobes,
scape (80') for video and ensemble ,
Spinoza (or I am not where I think myself to be) (90') music theatre
subliminal:the lucretian picnic (45’) ensemble, video, live electronics
lab fly dreams (25’) BBC commision for ensemble and electronics
In September 2000 he won the Gaudeamus composition prize for his large scale work a conSPIracy cantata – which was praised by Wire magazine as ‘ a classic in the making’.
Together with Andy Moor and Isabelle Vigier he founded and runs the CD label for innovative new electronic music UNSOUNDS.
As a composer he strives to create new forms and hybrids of mixed medias. His musical language is often characterised by shifting speeds unfolding on long time spans, often with a high rhythmic energy, the use of unorthodox sound sources and an exploration of spaces that highlight physical sound, temporal experience and the conceptual use of musical language.
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