His energy is so infectious and puts a smile on everyone’s faces as soon as he enters the room. Yet there is an aura of calmness about Yanni that is soothing.
The 61-year-old Greek composer, instrumentalist and music producer was at a press conference in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, ahead of his two-day concert at du Forum on Yas Island, where he welcomed all questions with a simple, “Ask any questions you like, I’m all yours”.
Through the years Yanni has proven that he does not follow trends, he does not play rock and roll just because it is hip at the time or use a vocalist in pieces which others think he should — a method he has carried through his entire career and one that he says is the only way to create music.
“I want to express an emotion so I will use any instrument known to man, any combination — there are no rules. To me music is liquid. There is an emotion that I want to talk about,” he said at the press conference. “I just write my music when I want to, and I do pretty much whatever I want to. I have been very fortunate and very lucky that I can do all these things and still people enjoy what I do.”
However, he adds that it is a dangerous method and one that he does not recommend other artists to follow.
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Greek composer Yanni speaks to tabloid! in Abu Dhabi ahead of his concerts. |
So what does the man who lives and breaths music like to listen to himself?
“Any type of music is appropriate, everything in its time,” he said. While he enjoyed listening to the likes of the Beatles, Black Sabbath and the Rolling Stones growing up, he cannot explain why he also enjoyed Beethoven and Bach as well. “I love all music, I am open to all of it. I have no judgement.”
Having travelled the world for almost 40 years, there are several places Yanni calls home — the UAE being one of them. Story goes that the first time he landed in Dubai the passport control officer recognised him and said “Welcome home, Yanni” and from that day UAE was home.
After the press conference, tabloid! was whisked to a hotel room for an exclusive interview. It was another 25 minutes before he arrived.
Upon arrival he introduced himself and his daughter, Krystal Ann, who works as his PR Manager, before finding a suitable place to sit.
“So how long are you going to torture me for?” he asked jokingly.
I laughed, and said it was more difficult for me as I had to come up with fresh questions after 40 minutes of non-stop questioning at the press conference.
“Laughing is always a good way to start. You’ll be fine,” he said reassuringly. After all sitting with a music legend that has performed at locations such as the Forbidden City, the Taj Mahal and Burj Khalifa, can be nerve racking.
So we start by where he actually considered home.
“Home is the world now. I rarely go home,” he said.
Non-stop touring
Yanni loves coming into contact with different cultures and is grateful for such experiences as being asked to open the Panama Canal recently. One look at his tour dates and you find him travelling non-stop from North America, Central and South America, to West and Eastern Europe and now to the Middle East. His shows last for about two and a half hours but he manages to make each one fresh, as if he was playing for the first time.
“The audience gives me the energy — it’s adrenalin too, of course. Showing the world what I have been working for in the last 40 years. Also, looking into people’s eyes, some are just crying, some are young and screaming. I walk on to the stage and that’s it,” he said.
But there have been sleepless nights as well, which take a toll on him and make him doubt whether he can perform his best.
“I look at my daughter and say I don’t know if I can concentrate, and she says, ‘Yes you can’.”
Krystal, who is watching her father from a side of the room with a smile on her face, confirms this. She has been travelling with him for the past 10 years, and Yanni says her presence makes being away from home and family easier.
“I didn’t realise what a great role she plays. I see her face and I smile. If I haven’t slept and I am grouchy, I get in the car and she is waiting. I see her face and I smile. We have dinner almost every night together. Then we discuss what happened all day and try and keep it light,” said Yanni.
He admits that travelling as much as they do is not easy.
“The road is very difficult. Not too many people can last a long time and she has stayed with me. There are times, especially when you do the North America tour, it’s like five or six cities a week.”
Krystal adds that at times they are in three cities on the same day.
Does he have a ritual to get himself ready for a show with all this craziness?
“There is a ritual but it is not absolute. If I can get half an hour to myself, it’s kind of good, especially if we’ve had problems that I have been fixing all day. I just want to go to my dressing room.”
He then laughed and clarified that he does not sit in his room meditating. “I don’t sit there and go ‘Ummmmmm…’. I’m just getting ready. And before I go on stage, we mostly have fun. We laugh, we tell jokes, tease each other… I jump up and down to warm up. My new concerts are very physical.”
However, he is not a workout fanatic, he says. He uses the treadmill, does weights, push ups and gut crunches.
“The concert itself is an exercise. Two and a half hours of moving the way I do, try that five times a week, you don’t need to exercise at all. You can come to Abu Dhabi and eat all this great food and not gain a pound,” he said, laughing. Known for playing at locations that others cannot, he said there are a couple of special places he has in mind for future concerts. However, organising them is not easy.
“These kinds of concerts are very difficult to do and you really need a lot of support. It took two years and multiple trips to India to perform at the Taj Mahal. I don’t want to say it is impossible because nothing is impossible. But our times now make it nearly impossible to do concerts of that magnitude.”
Excited about performing in Abu Dhabi for the first time, he said the show is brand new and very different from anything he has done before.
“It is a blend of the old and the new. It is a journey, like life. I want people to be surprised”
After the interview, Yanni agreed to do his very first Facebook Live with us, and as I set-up the phone, I got to see how much attention he pays to details — from the best location to what should and should not be in the frame to how lighting can be improved and more.
“You have no idea,” agreed his daughter.
Don’t miss it
Yanni is performing on September 30 and October 1 (sold out) at Abu Dhabi’s du Forum on Yas Island from 7.30pm.
Tickets for the Thursday show start at Dh495 on ticketmaster.ae
