A minute with: Nikos DemetriouMusician

Where do you live?
I live in Aglandjia with my wife and son.

What did you have for breakfast?
Rusks with a Cyprus coffee, no sugar.

Describe your perfect day
A relaxing day, somewhere mountainous, at an altitude of over 1,000m. The closer to Chionistra, the better. In the spring or summer.

Best book ever read?
Galatias kai Pygmalionos by Angeliki Smirli. It is a book presenting the history of Cyprus from the end of Turkish rule until the independence of Cyprus, but without being boring. Through the stories of the heroes, the historical incidents of the time are also presented. We also see how people lived then and the hardships they had to endure.

Best childhood memory?
Holding a portable recorder and recording various things. I regret not keeping some of them.

What is always in your fridge?
Cyprus coffee, so that it stays fresh and maintains its aroma.

What music are you listening to in the car at the moment?
Albums on a music platform with live recordings.

What’s your spirit animal?
A cockerel. I grew up in a village and always liked the crowing of the cockerel in the morning.

What are you most proud of?
For participating in the concert For you, Cyprus to mark 30 years of CyBC’s Trito programme. I had the opportunity to meet and play alongside exceptional musicians. The concert took place in 2020 in difficult conditions due to the pandemic, without an audience, wearing masks and observing all measures. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2ITw1E-aLc

What movie scene has really stayed with you?
No scene in particular, but I do remember Grease from when I was young, because the songs made a lasting impression on me, even if then I couldn’t speak a word of English.

If you could pick anyone at all (alive or dead) to go out for the evening with, who would it be?
Composer Yiannis Markopoulos, whose work I especially like.

If you could time travel when/where would you go?
To the 60s.

What is your greatest fear?
Fainting and general anaesthesia. In general, losing touch with the environment. I prefer being in pain and fully conscious.

What would you say to your 18-year-old self?
No matter what I told him, he wouldn’t listen.

Name the one thing that would stop you dating someone
Not being honest about what she wants.

If the world is ending in 24 hours, what would you do?
I would probably be so stressed I wouldn’t do anything. Ideally, I would try parachuting. If something didn’t go well, it wouldn’t make a difference.

Nikos Demetriou is a sound engineer at the Pancyprian Organisation for the Blind, plays the accordion and sings. He is a member of NicoDuo music group, with bookings across Cyprus, and a member of the CyBC music club, which organises concerts three times a year