Connections

The Buccaneer Of Souls

Dimitra Dourouda from Byron, Greece



Dimitra's the name, music is the game…
And I hope I am not bound… to go underground!

I have been a restless traveller on the Road to Freedom of the Spirit and the Soul paved by the unique Crusader of contemporary music, Chris de Burgh, since 1983, at the age of ten. I have had the great fortune of enjoying him "live in concert" as well the true pleasure and honour of meeting him personally on several occasions in Greece, the UK and Germany. Other influences since childhood include Mike Oldfield, Richard Clayderman, Abba, Ennio Morricone, Yanni and Manos Hadjidakis.

For the past 8 years I have been working as an executive secretary in a private institute for counseling and psychological studies, which has turned out to be a fascinating on-going process of personal and professional development for me. I live in Byron (a municipality named after the famous British romantic poet, Lord Byron), about 20 minutes form the center of Athens, Greece. My street is no longer as quiet as it used to be, this being the reason for deciding to… cheat on my wonderful Ackermann (my old German piano) and record in a studio. Moreover, I always wanted to go through this challenging experience, but I never had a solid… excuse for it, as I am not a musician but an amateur piano player.

"The Buccaneer of Souls" was ignited by a TV show 10 years ago, presenting parents who had lost their children to a certain New Age "philosophical movement", which is merely a cult masked in a lot of Hollywood flamboyance. Those parents were so desperate when they talked of their young son being totally brainwashed by those charismatic yet manipulating people: "They won't even let us see him. We went to this hill overlooking Piraeus harbour, just to take a glimpse of this large ship they use to sail around the world and recruit youngsters. They promise this new world of fascinating experiences and spiritual freedom, but all they want is to turn our children into slaves, working for free to support this global cult-enterprise system and profit from the youth's merits and energy. Our children are gone forever!" I sat on the piano overwhelmed by feelings of anguish, fear, being on the alert, yet armed with the courage and determination to fight and getaway from a horrendous peril.

Those feelings usually emerge in a similar emotional state when listening to my favourites, "Don't Pay the Ferryman" and "Heart of Darkness", and the music started to flow through my fingers. After several months, with different parts lingering in my head on a stagnant point, I thought of testing myself by playing "What about me?" by memory without listening to the CD simultaneously. Surprisingly, I found the right key immediately, but I kept confusing the chord progression! I got so dizzy that I finally let my hands lead me to a new theme! Instead of starting a brand new piece, I thought of transposing it to the key of my old tune remaining half-finished. And there it was, the chorus of my Buccaneer! Working on my piece, was like a journey where I would join this youngster in my imagination. I could see him standing on the shore, his white shirt wide open, his chest full of hope, optimism and dreams for his voyage, as he is about to aboard his small boat, seeking for a new world. In the middle of the sea, he discerns the figure of an impressive sailing boat in the horizon. Full of curiosity and anticipation, he approached this tall ship, hoping to meet interesting and fearless sailors. He is, of course, more than welcomed, and he even looks up to his Captain at first, but eventually he realizes that he is the tragic victim of a ruthless buccaneer, who takes advantage of his innocence and dreams in order to enslave him! Being totally shuttered and horrified, he gradually struggles to find the stamina to break free. There he is again, on the shore, still full of dreams yet a lot wiser, observing the Buccaneer of Souls sailing away in search of new victims.

The Buccaneer is a symbolic feature, taking different forms in the lives or inner world of each one of us, always misleading, always menacing, always threatening our soul and our esoteric peace and free will. Be aware, he is always there… sliding in the dark sea…