Pera Sta Ori / ΠΕΡΑ ΣΤΑ ΟΡΗ is the project of Giorgos Kontogiannidis, an electronic producer originally from Greece, currently based in Cologne, Germany. His early steps into music date back to 2007, when he began releasing material under the alias Fragile Balloon, following his studies in Music Technology. Since 2017, he has been working as Pera Sta Ori, gradually shaping a more rhythm-driven and club-oriented language, drawing from DnB, breakbeat science, leftfield bass mutations, IDM structures and the sharper edges of Sheffield bleep. His work moves between tension and release, balancing dancefloor energy with a more abstract, exploratory sensibility.

His music has been released on labels such as brokntoys, Furthur Electronix, Yellow Machines, Touched Music, Musar, To Pikap Records etc and has been featured by Bandcamp Daily (Best Electronic Music selections), DJ Mag, Igloo Mag, Magnetic Mag, Hyponik and others. He has received support from platforms such as NTS, LYL Radio, KEXP and Rinse France, alongside monthly radio shows on 1020 Radio and Paranoise Radio. He has also performed within a wider experimental and club-oriented circuit, sharing stages with artists such as μ-Ziq, Pita, Ziur, Rian Treanor, Mark Fell and Daedelus. Across his work, the focus remains on rhythm and texture, moving between club immediacy and more abstract ideas.

Could you share with us what mood or feeling guided you while putting this mix together?

I think what this mix conveys most is a sense of free flow. There isn’t a single clear pattern, since the style shifts throughout. I like my mixes to feel like small sonic stories, where there’s always a bit of surprise. I picked tracks that I listen to in my everyday playlists and wanted them to lead, without too much intervention in the mixing. If I had to tag it, it would be: bleep, breakbeat, dnb, jungle, leftfield bass, ambient, syncopation, wobble, motorik.

Are there patterns or habits you’ve discovered over time that consistently help you reach your most authentic or natural creative flow?

I’d say experience, combined with spontaneity, has helped me find a kind of consistency, and made me feel that my sound has developed its own identity.

Your project’s name translates to 'Beyond the Mountains'. How much of your sound is a dialogue with the Greek landscape and the memories of the countryside? Is your music a way of returning to a place you've left behind?

Pera Sta Ori is a phrase I’ve always liked a lot. It carries the purity of rural life, a world that doesn’t really follow the rules or pace of urban living. At the same time, it’s a nod to the place where I grew up, which was the base for this project in its early days. So it’s not really about nostalgia for something I left behind. It’s more like a bridge to the present, and it also creates this abstract, sometimes slightly playful dialogue between my music and both the Greek landscape and the wider Balkan environment.

I really enjoy the creative process. In my case, the first ideas usually define the track. When I start recording with a certain feeling, the core of the piece is already there. So I prefer to preserve that original energy.

In a fragmented industry, does the DIY path feel like the only way to keep your artistic vision uncompromised?

I don’t think there’s much of an alternative anymore. We now have all the tools online to work independently and create for ourselves. Good music will always find ways to travel and reach a wider audience, but it does take a lot of work and some kind of safety net to be able to sustain it.

Beyond music, what kind of imagery or books have deeply influenced your artistic vision?

Mainly cinema, and to a lesser extent industrial design. But one of the biggest influences for me is travel — the feeling of encountering something for the first time, something unfamiliar.