Making her Sub Pop debut with the mesmerizing Up and Away, the Athens-based painter, visual artist, and performer Σtella (with a sigma) - born Stella Chronopoulou - presents a vintage-flecked pop paean to the pangs and raptures of love. Exploring growth, change and her personal and musical journey so far, it proves Heraclitus was right; you never step in the same river twice.
“Its title comes from the opening track, “up, up, and away we go”! My excitement levels had hit the roof! I felt like I was flying!” Σtella declares. For a Greek-born, English-singing songwriter, Σtella’s prospects for a viable long-term career within her home country’s traditional landscape once appeared slim, but she remained positive. “I was happy doing what I love; making music I’ve listened to my whole life,” she says. Now, Σtella’s Sub Pop debut Up and Away emerges from Athens and London after a long-haul recording session with London-based producer Redinho, that found her rediscovering the 50s and 60s record collection her parents raised her on. “Growing up I loved playing ‘Sousourada’ by Nikos Gounaris on my grandfather’s old gramophone. I was thrilled by Greek folk-pop artists like Grigoris Bithikotsis and the great Tzeni Vanou, as well as international artists like Tony Motolla and Julio Inglesias, ” she remembers, among other sounds; “Living in a close-knit community by the mountains and sea, I vaguely recall being woken by neighbouring shepherds’ sheep bells…everything back then was so pure and innocent!”
Whilst painting at Athens School of Fine Arts, Σtella began writing and uploading her songs into the wild of the Internet.
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