Mando is one of the most distinctive and timeless voices of the Greek music scene. With a career spanning more than four decades, she has managed to associate her name with major hits, important collaborations, and a consistent artistic presence that has accompanied her from her early steps to the present day. Her presence in both discography and live performances remains active, proving that her relationship with music is deep and meaningful.
Raised in a highly musical environment, with parents who were significant figures in the field, Mando came into contact with music from a very early age. This experience did not simply serve as an inspiration, but as a foundation for her later career, shaping both her artistic identity and her approach to creation and performance.
Throughout her career, she has collaborated with top Greek and international artists, leaving her own mark on each project. From the pop and mainstream scene to more artistic and international collaborations, Mando has managed to move comfortably across different musical genres while always maintaining her own distinctive artistic identity.
Despite her long career and widespread recognition, she remains grounded and fully committed to musical creation. Today, she continues to work on new songs, live performances, and educational projects, showing that her need for artistic expression has not diminished in the slightest over the years.
In the following interview, Mando talks about her new song “Kartaetos,” her creative process, the collaborations that shaped her, as well as her thoughts on today’s music industry, in an honest and experience-filled conversation.
Your new song “Chartaetos” (“Paper Kite”) marks a powerful return. What does this song symbolize for you?
It primarily symbolizes loss. Any kind of loss. It can be romantic, family-related, or the loss of a friend or an acquaintance, a person we deeply love and lose. At the same time, it can also touch on more social themes, it is not limited to just one level.
You wrote both the music and the lyrics yourself. In a way, is this a personal song? Does it relate to a personal loss of yours?
Inspiration is something that often comes without a specific reason. I may simply want to write a beautiful song. I close my eyes and imagine something I would really love to sing. I visualize myself in front of an audience performing a new song and I think about how much the audience would love it. That is how inspiration usually comes to me.
What I write is not necessarily based on personal experiences. I want to write beautiful music and lyrics. Not everything comes from personal life events. I believe most composers work this way. They express the emotion of the moment, what they feel at that time.
Is “Chartaetos” the precursor to a larger project?
Yes, definitely. Together with Arcade, we are preparing five new songs. “Chartaetos” is the first of them that we will present with this team, with whom I am lucky to be collaborating at the moment. It is an excellent team. These songs will initially be released as an EP, but there is also the thought of expanding it further and turning it into a full album. We will see how it develops.
You have experienced great success while remaining grounded. Do you believe talent is connected to humility?
People who truly have talent do not feel the need to “get carried away.” There is no reason for that. Success should not surprise us. I have always had that principle in my life. Whatever success came, I stayed grounded. I would say it is something beautiful, but what matters most to me is creating good music. That is my main focus.
People do not always want very complex songs. Not that I underestimate them, because I grew up with classical music due to my parents and I was also influenced by jazz. But I believe people also want simpler songs, understandable ones, but still with deep emotion.
You are the daughter of Nikos Stamatopoulos and Mary Apergi. What was it like growing up in such a strongly musical environment, and what did you take from each of your parents artistically?
My mother was for me, and for many others, one of the best light lyric sopranos in Greece, and I believe she deserved an even bigger career. However, the circumstances at the time were difficult, she had me very young, and life did not favor her opportunities. Nevertheless, she had a career at the National Opera, sang many operas, and was a remarkable voice. I feel very lucky to have inherited her DNA and to have continued on this path.
My father was a great pianist and jazz composer. From him I took the compositional side. He was an excellent musician, performed in major orchestras, collaborated with Giorgos Katsaros, played piano and keyboards, and worked professionally for many years. So I took elements from both of them.
In short, was pursuing music almost a one-way path for you?
Yes, in a way. Although my family wanted me to become a lawyer and had planned for me to study law, music ultimately won me over.
What is the advice from your parents that you still carry with you today?
To never give up. Even in the most difficult moments, in the biggest obstacles or failures, to keep going. To persist on my path.
Two years ago you participated in the musical “The Reunion.” What attracted you most to this project?
It was an idea we had together with Kostas Bigalis, Sofia Vossou, and Polina. We were inspired by “Mamma Mia”, the way they took ABBA’s songs and built a beautiful story around them. We thought how wonderful it would be to do something similar with our own hits, to gather our songs and create a musical-style performance with choreography, sets, and a complete story.
The previous year I had worked with Themis Marsellou on “The Sound of Music,” an excellent production in which I performed alongside Nadia Kontogianni and other very talented contributors. Themis Marsellou is one of the best in this field, and for me she was the ideal person to both write and direct the show. I called her, she was immediately enthusiastic, and she wrote a wonderful script with very strong dialogues.
The result was a very powerful performance, full of emotion, with many moving moments. There were scenes that touched us so deeply that we even cried on stage ourselves.
All four of you also impressed the audience with your acting skills.
Kostas Bigalis is a trained actor and continues to perform in theatrical productions. We first met in a musical, “Jesus Christ Superstar,” which was my first professional job and my starting point. Polina and Sofia are both very strong stage personalities and can perform convincingly in acting as well.
I also had previous experience in musicals, such as “The Sound of Music” and later “Frozen,” where I played Elsa. So everything felt very natural. I love theatre and musicals very much, and I also teach them. For many years I have been running a children’s musical theatre school at the Fakanas Art Conservatory called the Children’s Musical Theater Academy (CMTA), where we do very meaningful work.
You have collaborated with great artists such as Dimitris Mitropanos, Antonis Remos, Sertab, Jessica Simpson, and others. Which collaboration stands out the most?
It is very difficult to choose just one, because I have been in the industry for almost forty years and have experienced many important moments. Dimitris Mitropanos was a true legend. Beyond the duet we recorded, which was a wonderful song, we also toured together, even in America. He was a giant of a performer, and it is very sad that such great figures are gradually leaving us. We also recently lost Marinella, which was another huge loss for music.
On the other hand, my collaboration with Jessica Simpson was a major achievement for me. Writing a song for an American artist, having it become a hit, and having it used as a title track in a Hollywood film was something very special.
From the Greek scene, I have worked with many important creators such as Theofanous, Korkolis, Charitodiplomenos, Papadimitriou, Droutsa, Giannatsoulia, and many others. There are so many that it is truly difficult to name them all, because each collaboration had its own value.
Is there something unfulfilled, an artist you would have liked to collaborate with?
The artists I would have liked to collaborate with are no longer alive. For example, Jenny Vanou, whom I consider one of the greatest Greek singers.
Is there anything from the 80s and 90s that you would like to bring back to today’s music?
The carefree spirit, the romance, and the fact that people used to search for music more deeply. It was not as easily available as it is today, when we hear a song and the next day we do not even remember what we listened to. Back then there was a real thirst for music. I remember going to record stores, buying vinyl records, recording cassettes, listening to them all day, and reading the lyrics. That whole process had a magic that has been lost today.
I would really like physical music to make a comeback. To have large record and CD stores again, like in the 90s, with that experience. Today you walk into a shop and only see a few CDs in a corner, and I really miss that. In some countries it still exists, like Japan, where people still buy CDs and cassettes. I would like that option to return and for things not to be exclusively digital.
How do you see the current state of the music industry and what has changed compared to the past?
A large part of music has now become disposable, and this is not a positive development because there is no longer the same filtering process as before. Today anyone can go into a studio and release something on their own, without the guidance of a producer or a creative team that meaningfully shapes the result. In the past there was more collaboration, more planning, and a shared vision among creators. Today, to a large extent, artists work on their own, find songs, prepare them, and record labels simply release them.
Of course, times have changed a lot. We live in a digital reality where there is no longer physical music as before, and people are exposed to so many different stimuli that they do not feel the same hunger for music. It is no longer easy to create a major hit like in the past. Nevertheless, I continue to try and create. “Kartaetos” is doing very well so far, the audience has embraced it, and this is especially evident at live performances where people already sing it with me, even though it has only been released for a few days. That is a very positive sign for the future.
You studied at Berklee. What did this experience offer you artistically and personally?
I started my studies in Greece, focusing on piano and music theory. After finishing high school, I received a scholarship and went to Berklee, where I stayed for about one and a half to two years. I then continued in New York, where I took private vocal lessons and lived there for several years.
This entire journey developed me greatly as a musician. As a singer, I actually sang naturally from a very young age, in the way I still do today. It was something innate for me. No one taught me how to sing. From the very first time I held a microphone, I could express what I had inside me.
However, my studies gave me all the tools to evolve further. They helped me deeply understand music, develop my ear, learn harmony, chords, and the structure of music in general. They also allowed me to express myself as a creator, to compose, and to fully understand what I play and perform, whether on piano or guitar.
What are your next professional plans?
On April 17 I will perform again at Cafe Theatro, a place I have been visiting often lately and where we spend very beautiful evenings. On the 30th of the month we will perform at Kyttaro with the group, together with Kostas Bigalis, Sofia Vossou, and Polina.
After that, there will be tours. In May I also have several live performances and I will travel to Cyprus. At the same time, we are already preparing the next song with Arcade.
Beyond performances, I continue teaching at the conservatory, where I have been for almost 20 years teaching vocals. I have many students and we share a very warm and creative relationship. Every Saturday I also run CMTA, a musical theatre school for children aged 4 to 15, with three groups where we do very serious and meaningful work. I collaborate there with Vasilis Fakanas, Dionysis Apostolopoulos, and Evangelia Katsantoni.
I do many things at the same time, which I really enjoy because I am a very creative person and it gives me energy.
What is your life motto?
My life motto is to give love, a lot of love, and to listen to a lot of music
Interview: Thodoris Kolliopoulos
