This extraordinary album took 10 years to complete, but the timing is perfect. Greece faces serious problems, and Xáos set out to bring the country a new musical image by mixing the ancient with the new and experimental. Nick “Dubulah” Page has long been involved in global fusion projects with Transglobal Underground, Syriana and Dub Colossus, but here he pays tribute to his roots (he was born to a Greek mother and English father) in collaboration with Greek electronic composer Ahetas Jimi, and helped by a distinguished group of traditional musicians. The opening Pontos Blues sets the mood: an ancient song from the Black Sea is reworked with microtonally tuned keyboards, wailing pontic lyra fiddles, gaida bagpipes, rousing vocals, a bluesy guitar riff and throbbing percussion; while on All the Gods Together, the electronic wash of sound is matched against lyrical nay flutes. Epic and bravely original.