Learn more about the voices of Perperúna
Dimitra Kandia
Dimitra is originally from Athens and has been based in Berlin since 2014. She has a deep-rooted love for folk songs and tales, “converses” with contemporary poetics, and combines her background in psychology, neuroscience, and music to investigate the role of early musical experiences in cognitive development through her doctoral research. As a vocalist and creative, she views the voice as a vessel for memory, cultural continuation, and communal connection. Through travel and archival research, she deepens her encounters with diverse oral traditions, particularly drawn to their ties with womanhood and preserving vanishing heritage.
Her creative pursuits span interdisciplinary dramaturgical concepts, original vocal compositions, experimental soundscapes, and contemporary folk interpretations, with a focus on polyphonic singing from the Eastern Mediterranean and Balkans. Active in folk and experimental music collaborations, she regularly leads a Polyphonic Laboratory, viewing communal singing that blends trans-traditional topics and vocal practices as radical acts of social cohesion and empowerment within often alienating urban realities.
As co-founder, creative lead, and vocal arranger of Perperúna, Dimitra trusts in the transformative power of expressive plurality that emerges from an ensemble of (more than) voices. She envisions female polyphonic sound reaching diverse platforms, exploring its emotive and narrative dimensions across various acoustic and performative settings.