Ithaka (musician)

Ithaka
Background information
Birth name Darin Pappas
Born (1966-07-08)July 8, 1966
Anaheim, California, United States
Origin Southern California, United States
Genres hip hop, west coast hip hop, trip hop, spoken word, Electronic dance music, Alternative hip hop
Occupation(s) Vocalist, lyricist, poet, contemporary artist, writer, photographer, producer
Years active 1983–until present
Labels Sweatlodge Records,[1]
Valentim de Carvalho,[2]
Twisted Records (UK),[3]
Twisted Records (U.S.),[3] Movieplay Records (Portugal)
Associated acts Primitive Reason,[4] Gabriel o Pensador,[5] Underground Sound of Lisbon, DJ Vibe, Rui da Silva, Mario Caldato, Jr.,[6] Norman Cook[7]

Ithaka Darin Pappas, better known simply as Ithaka, is an American hip hop artist, sculptor, Photographer, writer, poet, record producer and surfer, of partial Greek descent. Ithaka was born and raised in Southern California, but later established himself in Japan, Greece, Portugal and Brazil (where the artist currently resides).

In Lisbon he recorded his first two hip hop albums, Flowers And The Color Of Paint and Stellafly. His song, Escape From The City Of Angels appeared on the soundtrack for Columbia Pictures' feature release, The Replacement Killers.[8] He was also the lyricist/vocalist of the A cappella poem "So Get Up" that the dance track So Get Up by Underground Sound Of Lisbon was built upon.[9]

During his active years in Portugal, the artist's musical projects were nominated for a total of nine Blitz Awards (the Portuguese equivalent of The Grammy Awards) including; Best Album (for "Flowers And The Color Of Paint" in 1995[10] and Stellafly in 1997) and Best Male Vocalist (in 1995 & 1997). In addition, the prestigious national newspaper, Publico awarded his 1997 release Stellafly as "Album Of The Year" and considered his most popular song from that record Seabra Is Mad as both the "Song Of The Year" and "Video Of The Year". In an end of the decade retrospective article about Portuguese music, Publico also cited his debut release "Flowers And The Color Of Paint" as one of the country's Ten Most Influential Albums Of The 1990s.

In 1994, the international hit "So Get Up" that Ithaka wrote the lyrics for and vocalized (in participation with Underground Sound Of Lisbon) was nominated for "Song Of The Year" at that year's Blitz Awards, and later climbed to 8th Place on Billboard's U.K. Independent Dance Charts (and 52nd on Billboard's U.S. independent Dance Charts).

In 1998, after over six years in Portugal, Ithaka returned to California where he recorded his third album called Somewhere South Of Somalia with producer Conley Abrams III. The lyrics from this album were written on a two-month journey into East Africa.[11] Later Ithaka relocated his base to Rio de Janeiro where he recorded two more albums, Recorded In Rio and Saltwater Nomad. In 2007, he briefly returned to Portugal to record with former Underground Sound of Lisbon member DJ Vibe, providing vocals and lyrics for the track "You".

In 2011, Sweatlodge Records released Fishdaddy Flashbacks highlighting some of the artist's more memorable songs from the beginning of his career in 1994 until 2011. And in early 2013, Ithaka produced his first all instrumental album, Voiceless Blue Raven. And also collaborated with the seventy-six-year-old trip hop vocalist, Cyncy. Both projects for the indy label Sweatlodge Records.[12]

In addition to creating music, his short story series entitled, Fishdaddy Chronicles, has appeared in surfing magazines around the world including Surfer (magazine), The Surfer's Journal, Water and Transworld Surf".[13] In 2009, his short story "Miracle At Malibu" was published in the book entitled Surf Story, a collective volume of stories and surf culture compiled by Robb Havassy.[14]

His abstract photographic art and body of sculpture work known as The Reincarnation Of A Surfboard have been exhibited globally, his most recent solo showings were hosted by The Camp in Costa Mesa, California in June 2010,[15] Gallery Alma Do Mar in São Paulo, Brazil in October 2010, WOA-Way Of Arts in Lisbon, Portugal in December 2012 .,[16] Hurley International in Orange County, California in October 2013 and F+ Gallery in Santa Ana, California (Feb-Mar 2015).[17]

At present the artist creates most of his musical, photographic and sculptural works at Recanto Akahti, his small ranch in rural South America located on the edge of the Atlantic Forest in AkahtiLândia, Brazil.[18]

The Reincarnation Of A Surfboard

In 1989, while living in the Miracle Mile district of Los Angeles, Ithaka began one of the major art projects of his life, The Reincarnation Of A Surfboard. This is a large body of contemporary sculpture work created using garbaged surfboards as raw building material and recycling them into contemporary wall-mounted art pieces. The series to date, which is said to contain an estimated three hundred full-sized sculptures, has been exhibited on four continents and featured in hundreds of magazines and on many TV features. The most recent solo exhibitions of these works were hosted by Hurley Clothing in Costa Mesa, California in October 2013 and WOA: Way Of Arts in Cascais, Portugal in December 2012. He has been active with this medium continuously since its inception and in every area of the planet that he has had residence; Japan, Greece, Portugal and Brazil - with additional individual pieces made in Mexico. In December 2012 during an interview piece regarding his solo showing of surfboard sculptures at Gallery WOA in Lisbon, Fuel TV Europe (a popular action sports channel) declared that Ithaka was "the Godfather of contemporary surf art".[19]

Photographer

Ithaka Darin Pappas began experimenting with his father's 35mm and medium format film cameras as early as age five. He started assisting professional photographers immediately after high school and within a year began publishing much of his own work. His primary early focus was on portraiture, mostly musicians and actors. As a regular free-lancer for hip hop labels Priority Records, Ruthless Records and Quality Records, he helped document the early West Coast urban music scene. He has also worked sporadically in the fashion world, mostly for Fairchild Publications' Women's Wear Daily and Daily News Record. In addition, his photographs have appeared in; Essence (magazine), Elle (magazine), Glamour (magazine), Surf Portugal, Fluir (Brazil), Deja-Vu (Japan), Los Angeles Times,[20] Los Angeles (magazine)[21] North Shore Magazine, Publico (Portugal), Speak Magazine, Revista Super Som (Portugal), Rolling Stone, Shape (magazine), Switch (Japan), Teen Vogue, Orange County Register, The Beach Reporter, Thrasher, OnFire (Portugal), Vibe (magazine)[22] and Water. His celebrity subjects have included; Bebe Moore Campbell, Brian Wilson, Chuck Liddell, Eazy E,[23] Ice Cube, Gabrielle Anwar,[24] Giancarlo Esposito, Lea Thompson, A Lighter Shade of Brown,[25] Marlee Matlin, N.W.A.,[20] Oliver Sacks (writer), Richard Tyler (designer), Robert Anton Wilson, Rudy Rucker, Scott Weiland, Takashi Murakami (artist), Teddy Riley, Terence McKenna, WC (rapper), William Travilla (fashion designer). His advertising clients have included Young Chang Pianos, Independent Truck Company, Priority Records, Quality Records,[25] EMI Records, Polygram Records, Redley Shoes (Brazil) and Ocean Pacific clothing.

Aliens Of AkahtiLândia

In February 2015, the F+ Gallery in Santa Ana, California (founded by owner/director Micah Kersh) hosted an all insect-art exhibit entitled "Aliens Of AkahtiLândia".[26] The exhibit featured over forty original sculpture, photo, and mixed-media works by Ithaka - entirely inspired by insects he had observed and photographed on his property in AkahtiLandia, Brazil, purchased in 2010. Six guest creators were in turn invited to do individual interpretations of some of these same insects. Participating artists included; David Clyde Kersh, Erica L. Ellingson, Ian Morris, Nathan Paul Gibbs, Will Thompson and artist/entomologist/Hollywood insect wrangler Steven R. Kutcher. The opening event also included a live presentation by actress/insect handler Diana Terranova who encouraged attendees to get over their phobias by petting and even holding large, exotic live bugs including tarantulas and giant whip scorpions Thelyphonida.

"So Get Up" Controversy

In 1993, Ithaka wrote and recited a poem called "So Get Up" for his weekly segment of a radio program called Quatro Bairro on Antena One in Lisbon, Portugal. The next year he re-recorded it as a guest performer to be the primary vocal of a B-Side single for the Portuguese dance music group called Underground Sound Of Lisbon. The song became an instant national hit and was later released internationally as a ten-mix, double vinyl set on New York's Tribal Records (a subsidiary of I.R.S. Records/E.M.I. Records). The song climbed to 8th place on the Billboard's Independent Dance Music Chart for the UK - and number 52nd in the United States. Since 1995, the song has been remixed a minimum of a hundred times including versions by such greats as Fat Boy Slim, Junior Vasquez, Danny Tenaglia and has appeared on over fifty compilations with combined sales in the millions. As the original music has been stripped away by each succeeding producer, the only singularly unifying element of all 100+ mixes is Ithaka's poem and his vocals. Ironically, the song which was considered the first modern "Portuguese" musical export was released without even a "featuring Ithaka" credit even though Ithaka, a Californian, was the primary publishing rights owner of the track and never a member of the Underground Sound Of Lisbon project. Reportedly no actual record royalties were paid to Ithaka for nearly two decades and lawsuits followed, finally being resolved for an undisclosed amount.[27]

The Tomas Blots

Omni-present in all of Ithaka's forms of expression are The Tomas Blots. These are a series of eleven blot-like symbols that Ithaka's father, Tomas Pappas drew before him approximately two hours before his death on February 13, 1991 in Mesa, Arizona. These symbols appear in almost every aspect of Ithaka's artistic life; on his record covers, in his photographs and sculptures and very frequently as collage-paintings.

Influence in marijuana and cannabis culture

Although never publicly advocating its use, through the years Ithaka's name has been periodically associated with marijuana and cannabis culture, perhaps due to the street credibility of his hip hop song Escape From The City Of Angels or his long term sponsorship agreement with Hemp Hoodlamb (Hempworks)[28] an organic cotton and hemp street wear company from the Netherlands. In 2011, Kommunity Growers, a legal Hydroponics Cannabis cultivation facility in Southern California introduced a potent hybrid strain of marijuana called Ithaka Blue in honor of the artist and his favorite color. However, the product was short-lived and taken off the market within a year, most users complaining it was too much like Skunk (Cannabis) to be considered anything other than by that name. In 2013, an e-cigarette atomizer/Vaporizer (inhalation device) named Ithaka,[29] largely designed for the inhaling of marijuana oil vapor, was introduced to the public by Oakor Industries.[30] However, it is unclear if this was an authorized or unauthorized usage of the artist's name.

Personal life

In the late 1980s, Ithaka was romantically linked with academy-award winner Marlee Matlin,[31] according to the actress' autobiography, "I'll Scream Later",[32] (published in 2009 by Gallery Books).

Ithaka: poem

Ithaka borrowed his pseudonym specifically from the title of the poem "Ithaca" by the Greek poet, Constantine P. Cavafy, which in short summarizes that a journey is more important than the destination, that enjoyment of the journey of life, and the increasing maturity of the soul as that journey continues, are all the traveler can ask for. The poem, Ithaka has stated publicly, has served as a kind of life guide for the artist since he was in his early twenties. It should be noted that Cavafy's poem itself was inspired by the Homeric return journey of Odysseus to his home Ithaca (Island), as depicted in the Odyssey, even further connecting the artist Ithaka to his Greek ancestry.

Works

Solo releases

Solo art exhibits (sculpture, painting, photography)

Group art exhibits

Guest musical appearances

Music used in other media

Articles and short stories - written by Ithaka

Book appearances

Magazine and web - articles and interviews

Documentaries

Selected commercial photography work

"So Get Up"

Documented uses of Ithaka's vocal & poem, "So Get Up" (1993) in modern music appearing under varying titles. Poem was originally recorded for Radio Antenna 1 in Lisbon, Portugal. However, most musical versions stemmed from uses/sampling of the a cappella version that he recorded for Underground Sound Of Lisbon in Portugal, 1994. Note: This list includes both legal and unauthorized uses.

References

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External links

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