Hristos Vlahakis

In 1976, four young friends from Athens form the band "The 4 Levels of Existence". They compose, rehearse in improvised music studios, and record their first and only album, realizing their own musical "revolution". In the ensuing years this "revolution" was gradually forgotten, as normality and the everyday obligations of adult life took over. Their album, however, followed a unique and remarkable course: from the shelves of a few Athenian record stores it reached collectors from all over the world, as well as the ears of music producers in the US. In 2009, representatives from the record company of renowned American rappers Kanye West and Jay-Z contacted Athanasios Alatas, member of the band and composer of several songs of the album, asking him for permission to use part of a song from the "4 Levels of Existence" record.