(Hydra Island, June 20, 2025) – Mnemosyne Projects proudly presents Hydra: Island in the Sound, an EP by artist and composer Angela Tisner. This exclusive 7” vinyl release, available in a limited numbered run of just 300 copies, offers six evocative tracks that capture the sonic essence of Hydra.
Produced in collaboration with Old Carpet Factory Recording Studio, this collection of compositions was commissioned and curated by Ekaterina Juskowski for Mnemosyne Projects. Created during Angela Tisner’s Hydra Art Residency at the Old Carpet Factory, the project is dedicated to celebrating and preserving Hydra’s rich cultural heritage.
During her time on the island, Tisner explored both the sacred and the profane dimensions of music, drawing from field recordings, interviews, research, and traditional songs—popular and religious—reflecting the pivotal moments in the lives of Hydra’s inhabitants. Through this immersive engagement, the compositions echo the island’s profound musical traditions, offering a unique reinterpretation of its timeless soundscape.
A Journey Through Sound and Myth
The EP takes listeners on a journey where the crafted and the spontaneous merge to create an immersive musical experience. At its core, the recorded voices of the local community form the foundation of Tisner’s original orchestrations, rediscovering and reimagining Hydra’s profound musical traditions. Tisner weaves an imagined mythology of the island, encapsulating its essence through evocative vocal expressions. Each track unfolds as a musical narrative, echoing a timeless past. The compositions embody the spirit of human lives—chants that enchant and transport listeners to an eternal, motionless space on the island, a terrestrial in paradisum.
Through Hydra: Island in the Sound, Tisner presents a poignant Odyssey of colors, musical modulations, and glimpses of bygone eras. Much like Mussorgsky’s and Ravel’s Pictures at an Exhibition, Tisner’s work establishes itself as a poetic promenade—a vivid journey through the resonant echoes of Mediterranean culture.
Accompanying Text & Tracklist
A poetic accompanying text by Alkistis Boutsioukou and Ekaterina Juskowski provides rich storytelling behind each track.
SIDE A: I. Island in the Sound II. Kantada III. Giorti
SIDE B: I. The Ninth Hour II. The Deepest Night III. Sail On
The authors dedicate Hydra: Island in the Sound to the locals of Hydra with the following foreword:
Hydra never asks where you are from; she wants to hear about all the places you’ve been. Known to antiquity as Hydrea (Υδρέα), named for her gift of water, she emerged from the sea an untamed, unruly force—a molten surge that turned to stone in an instant, becoming barren, hard, unyielding. Her waters don’t invite, they dare. For those bold enough to leap, Hydra transforms—no longer an island, but a heartbeat unrestrained.
The title “Hydriot” doesn’t cling solely to birth certificates or ancestral claims—you belong to Hydra if the island takes root in your chest, if you surrender to her rhythm. Often, the bond cuts deeper when you come as a stranger, letting her waters strip you bare until the wind carves your name into her rocks. First, Hydra claims your heart, then she claims you whole.
By late October the island exhales the last of the summer crowd. Hydriots reclaim themselves and settle back into their quiet resilience that has long defined them. Winter arrives on damp footsteps, its chill creeping into the bones of the place. The air grows heavy, the stones slick, but the spirit of the place takes root, fostering a sense of togetherness among those who remain.
We set out to trace Hydra’s backbone—her jagged slopes, her restless sea, the rough trails that test your footing and patience. You don’t walk Hydra—you navigate her, rock by rock, as though mapping the scars of a life lived hard and unapologetic. We follow the life lines of her people—watching, listening, always seeking. Observers, yes, but explorers too, hungry for the unvarnished truth of the island and the stubborn souls that call it home. Hydra doesn’t hand over her secrets freely. You have to endure her seasons to earn them.
Featured Hydra Locals
The EP brings together voices from Hydra’s diverse community, featuring: Sister Efthimia of Agia Efpraxia Monastery, Father Georgios Vlachopoulos of Agia Varvara Church, Dr. Sotiria Valavani of Kouloureio Hospital, Yiannis and Panagiotis Gavalias, Father Theologos and the monks of Prophet Elias Monastery, and Hydra port icon “Pan” Lembesis.
Cover Art
The cover art for Hydra: Island in the Sound EP was commissioned by Ekaterina Juskowski for Mnemosyne Projects and painted by artist Holly Biörklund. Inspired by Hydra’s rich artistic and religious heritage, the artwork is based on the gold-embroidered epitaphios from 1808, held in the collection of the Ecclesiastical Museum of Hydra.
Biörklund’s interpretation merges the historical reverence of the original artifact with a contemporary aesthetic, offering a visual counterpart to the EP’s musical journey—one that echoes both tradition and mythology of the place.
Purchase Information
Get your copy of Hydra: Island in the Sound at the following locations: 📌 Hydra Book Club, Hydra Island – August 31 to October 28, 2025 📌 Old Carpet Factory, Hydra Island – Available by appointment (hello@oldcarpetfactory.com) 📌 Hydra School Projects, Hydra Island – June 20 to September 7, 2025 (Instagram @hydraschoolprojects)
Art Installation
The compositions from Hydra: Island in the Sound will feature in a site-specific exhibition at the Hydra Lyceum amphitheater, alongside works by Dimitrios Antonitsis. Hosted by Hydra School Projects as part of the Lithos/Lethe (Stone/Oblivion) exhibition, the installation—curated by Tatiana Gecmen-Waldek and Ekaterina Juskowski—showcases newly commissioned works by both artists.
Event & Installation Details
EP Launch Event 🗓 June 20, 2025 📍 Hydra Lyceum, Hydra Island, Greece 📩 RSVP: rsvp@mnemosyneprojects.org
Installation Exhibition 📍 Hydra School Projects at Lyceum 🗓 June 20 – September 7, 2025 ⏰ Opening Hours: 11:30 – 14:00 & 19:30 – 22:00
