"Breaking the Spell" is the debut album of EquiVox, a brand-new vocal duet consisting of artists Konstantina Samakovli and Panayota Haloulakou. It is a personal project that explores the world of emotions and beliefs.

In September 2021, the two improvisors celebrated three decades of close friendship with the making of "Breaking the Spell." The project evolved organically: It sprang out of the artists’ deep need for exploration, expression, and communication and the whole process felt easy and peaceful from the start.

The two artists live in different continents. The story of each piece started with a recording of a musical idea by one artist that was then complemented by a musical idea by the other artist. The result was a back-and-forth correspondence that lasted for a few months and which truly felt like a celebration of trust, authenticity, and bonding. Some pieces contain only two vocal layers while others contain more than a handful. As a result, the musical forms range from simple duets to multi-layered chorales and the conception/realization is almost entirely based on free improvisations.

The exception to this is that some of the texts utilized here were written earlier or have been borrowed by other artists such as William Blake (“Smile”) and Linda Barkiel (“The Couple”). “Sayin' the Pain” comprises of selected quotes that are associated with Samakovli’s healing journey from pain: quotes from Frida Kahlo, Karl Marx, Rumi, Dr. John Sarno, and John Updike, to name a few. “Thelo” ("I Want") is an intimate text by Samakovli. The texts in “Yin,” “Pleasure,” “Reset,” “Parigoria” ("Comforting"), and “Victory” were written by Haloulakou and are associated with her healing journey since September 2020.

Breaking the Spell is not music to listen to while in a rush. We recommend that you sit back and allow for the vibrations to embrace you and take you on a journey. Headphones or good speakers and a quiet background are highly recommended. The pieces have been arranged in an intentional order, but we’d like to encourage you to make up your own order based on how you feel in the moment. Note that some of the pieces can be quite impactful.

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Μέσα από 30 χρόνια φιλίας δημιουργήθηκε η ανάγκη το καλοκαίρι του 2021 για μια μουσική αλληλογραφία ανάμεσα σε Αθήνα και Βοστώνη. Είναι μια ιστορία ανταλλαγής σκέψεων και συναισθημάτων των μουσικών Κωνσταντίνα Σαμακοβλή και Παναγιώτα Χαλουλάκου. Ηχογραφούσε η μία, το έστελνε στην άλλη και με τη σειρά της σχολίαζε, συμπλήρωνε, αντιδρούσε, αλληλοεπιδρούσε με στόχο πάντα το όλον. Μαζί, έχοντας απόλυτη εμπιστοσύνη η μία στην άλλη, βρήκαμε τον ήχο των συναισθημάτων και των πεποιθήσεων μας.