Future is something from the past.
Andreas Aerakis
In a small village at the foot of Mount Psiloritis, in Sissarha of Anogeia Milopotamou, within an old stone café built stone by stone in 1962 by Andreas Aerakis, also known as Ninandreas, and Eleni Kouvidi, became the origin of the Aerakis family for today's Rural Record Store.
Andreas Aerakis, grandson of the café's founder, embarked on revitalizing this café of his grandfather in July 2019, christening it the "Rural Record Store". His aim was to blend all his childhood and adolescent experiences, the sensations of the café, with the musical productions of the Aerakis family since 1975. This included hosting presentations of records and books, immersing the visitor in the music and hospitality of our region through its living tradition, in the flavors of seasonal local dishes, and finally in discovering the true essence of Cretan life.
In a mystagogical setting, Cretan art and tradition are celebrated.
At the Rural Record Store, the use of audiovisual media is not customary. This allows visitors to become acquainted with the raw truth of art within breathing distance of the artists. During established music nights, young local artists have the opportunity to showcase the history of music inherited from their predecessors, interpreting it through their own perspective, whether beside historic vinyl records or in the courtyard under the shade of the age-old mulberry tree, directly opposite the statue of the Anogeian fighter Evangelia Klados.
Cretan Gastronomy
The Aerakis family takes care of the café-record store visitors with unwavering kindness, offering local appetizers made with seasonal products. Apart from music nights, they also organize events featuring traditional cooking, aiming to revive old gastronomy customs such as Cretan pasta and "mangiri."
A Family Affair
After its establishment in 1962 by Andreas Aerakis and Eleni Kouvidis, in 1974, the first record store opened in Heraklion. Meanwhile, exclusively representing Columbia in Crete, in 1976, their eldest son founded the record company "Aerakis - Cretan Music Company," which evolved into the "Cretan Music Workshop," marking the entire discographic evolution of Cretan music with quality and innovation of the era. Stelios Aerakis, along with his brother and father, the owner of the record store, Michalis Aerakis, undeniably carved out a distinguished name in the field of Cretan music publishing and production.
Continuing with his experience and knowledge, Michalis Aerakis created the significant "Seistron Music Editions" in 2001, blending the old with the fresh, words with notes, music with books, thus placing another important cornerstone in the glorious castle of Cretan tradition.
