Makis Seviloglou was born on October 31st 1967 in former West Germany. At the age of 6 he moved with his parents to Greece. They returned to the village of his parents which is situated in Grevena (a prefecture in the north of Greece). He started there in the first class of the primary school. After the second class he went to school in Kozani where he also continued his secondary education. According to the Greek tradition he was supposed to continue his studies at the university. However, since he did not like to study, he failed his exam and was not admitted to a Greek university.

He decided to try his luck elsewhere and went to the Serbian capital Belgrade. There he studied archeology. This city gave him also the opportunity to get to know the sound of the Balkan. Late at night, he listened to the songs that were performed in small boats on the rivers Danube and Sava. Because of his Western Macedonian roots this music sounded already a bit familiar to him.

In 1993 Makis returned to Kozani with two things: a degree in archeology and the “strange” habit to “make up” songs. He started working as a contractual archaeologist, but composed music at the same time. Unfortunately one always needs more than one job to make a living in Greece…

For almost ten years he signed contracts as an archaeologist over and over again. This came to an end in 2000 when he came to the conclusion that he was predestined for something else. Ever since 1990 he had been writing songs and he decided that that was what he really wanted to do in life. As time went by he showed some of his songs to friends, some of whom were musicians.

At a certain moment a couple of his songs ended up in the hands of Haris Alexiou. She gave him a first chance in the music industry as a composer and songwriter. His song “We will be growing up together” became the lucky number 13 on her CD “To the end of your sky”. In 2006 Haris Alexiou trusted him with half of the songs on the CD ‘sour Cherry and Bitter Orange”. After that, in 2008, she decided to produce the first CD of Makis himself: “sweet drunkenness”. This was the first production of ESTIAS HARIS PRODUCTION for an artist other than herself.

Makis has also been writing music for children’s theater. He wrote for the play “The Steadfast Tin Soldier” by Andersen (direction: Konstantinas Michail) in which children with physical disabilities play the leading roles. Furthermore he wrote for the “Backyard of miracles” of Jacobis Kambanelis, a play of the amateur theater company “The children playing”.

Additionally, Makis has written music for several documentaries.

Makis’ compositions are also sung by Sofia Papazoglou and Pitsa Papadopoulos.

In 2009 Makis started cooperating with the Dutch production company “Coast to Coast”. This cooperation started because of the friendship between Makis and a well-known Dutch musician: Wout Pennings. As a result of this cooperation a new CD was produced: “Anchors”. This CD was released in September 2010. The album contains 13 songs and one instrumental. Two of the song texts are written by Fotini Lambridi and Giorgos Kordelas.

There is only one of Aesop’s fables that I never really enjoyed and that is the one about the cicada. Perhaps this occurred because I never appreciated the moral behind the story or perhaps because it was my choice to become a cicada, but I know what it is like to make a musical instrument a part of your being, to hold it on your lap, tell it your secrets, lean on it at night and make it your own personal confessor! That is how I grew up; listening to songs, buying vinyl singles, and losing myself among record sleeves and sounds. Though the “ants” kept telling me I ought to be mindful of coming winters, though I sometimes tried to be like them, I never was. Music, you see, is the strongest of all loves and will not easily let you go. She fills your whole being with her love and demands you to be her own. So time goes by and you gradually realize you can do nothing but love her; there is nothing else you can do. You love her as you love a woman who wants you constantly by her side. You love her as you love the sea that might suck you down into her bottom at any given moment. And you grow, grow and protect her as part of you. She is a throbbing vein in your body, in joy or sorrow. Even though you have no inkling where this love might lead, even though she never says she is yours, your love goes on and on. You engrave anchors on your arms to show you love her, but she drops hers alongside all the rest, becoming a dream saved into your heart and she asks you to confess your love to her; these are words for her to wear because words are what she loves!

So time goes by and you grow older. You sing to her, whisper to her, measure how much you love her. You swim with your body ship into her seas, deep into her love, while she, a love like the month of March, sometimes torments you by teasing and tantalizing you, but sometimes surrenders to you. You begin to wonder who is the master of this world, though you know she rules every ounce of your body and mind because you belong to her; because she chose you.

So while I was sitting under a tree, I came up with these songs and recalled all the sounds I have loved since childhood. But other sounds came too, sounds that chose me; the sounds of my roots that I always carried with me when I played on the wastelands with dust and sweat drying on my skin, making me like the bridge over Drino, indelibly marked by everything going on around me.

And I am still growing, curled up in your warm embrace, I float away, my mind traveling just like when I was a little kid and ran to my godmother to hide so she could fill me with her confidence in the world. Take me on more and more journeys again and again, on journeys I never made. I want many things to open up before me because this love will never end, never, never, never…