Up And Away

Description

Greek artist Stella makes her debut on Sub Pop with her fourth album. Based in Athens, Stella is also a painter, visual artist, and performer. Up and Away explores her journey and the changes so far. She proves that Heraclitus was right: you never bathe in the same river twice. For a singer-songwriter born in Greece and singing in English, the chances of having a viable long-term career are slim, but Stella remains positive. Up and Away was recorded between Athens and London after a long session with London producer Tom Calvert, aka Redinho, who helped her rediscover the collection of 50s and 60s records she listened to as a child. While painting at the Athens School of Fine Arts, Stella began writing and composing songs that she posted online. Her first EP, Keep Me Naked, is inspired by the libertarian spirit of mid-century American and Greek pop. This pop music she discovered in record stores as a teenager: from Whitney Houston to NOW compilations, as well as The Doors, Fleetwood Mac, Kate Bush, Queen, Annie Lennox, and George Michael. A founding member of the bands Fever Kids and CHEST, Stella released her self-titled debut album in 2015, followed by Works For You in 2017. She gained attention and became one of Greece's most popular indie stars. Stella lives in the lively neighborhood of Kypseli, where she can be seen wandering through the market and hardware stores, or making music in her studio HAVABANANA. Her meeting with artist and producer Tom Calvert happened after he attended one of her concerts during a visit to Athens. Their shared tastes for Khruangbin, Elias Rahbani, and Aris San led them to capture the sound of Stella's homeland. Stella's voice is accompanied by the improvisations of Christos Skondras on bouzouki, Sofia Labropoulou on kanoun, and a bass-drums rhythm section. "Another Nation" highlights the confidence of an artist happy to stand out. "Titanic" describes a journey into the unknown and recites the names from a list of shipwreck survivors, before "The Truth Is" makes a leap forward towards acceptance. "Who Cares" shifts into a mechanism of alcoholic adaptation, and the aptly named reflection "Is It Over" concludes the album. Always ready to connect the past and the present, Stella depicted herself, with Tom as a medieval bard, on the album cover, inspired by medieval wood engravings.