MUSIC
APHTY KHÉA EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT ART
Discovering the cosmopolitan electronic artist
BY CATERINA BIONDI
Where does your artist name come from?
It's a mixture of my given name, different pronouns in Greek and ancient Greek mythology figures, mainly Gaia, the entity that gave birth to the Titans.
Your music education is extensive and varied, from classical singing and piano to the most recent development in contemporary singing and songwriting. Why do you think music has become your medium of expression?
Music has been a major part of my life since I was a child. I started singing around the house from the age of 3 and I joined a choir when I was 6. By the time I was 10, I had started music school and, in the same year, I competed in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest for the first time. During my childhood, my mother was a dancer and performer at a hotel resort, and since kindergarten, I would spend all my after-school free time there watching and participating in rehearsals and shows. I was also massively influenced by one of the very first CDs I ever owned which was Destiny's Child’s Survivor album; their music and visuals really sparked a deep fascination with music and most definitely facilitated a yearning to become a music artist.
Besides being a musician you also are an activist “in solidarity for dignified living, LGBTQIA+, anti-capitalist, antiracist, antifascist and anti-sexist scenes”. Would you say that your music is also a way to fight? Or do you separate the two things?
I tend to write lyrics and produce music which are inspired by my life, experiences and people I have met, so naturally, those themes will find their way into the tracks I make. I have released tracks in the past like Alerta that were purely political and inspired by systemic issues (Alerta is an antifascist track calling out state/police violence and abuse of power in Greece) with all the revenue going to small local grassroots projects and groups that battle state corruption.
I have also released music which was inspired by very personal matters, but more often than not, a very personal thought or experience is shared by many others, which is also why music is such a powerful, universal force. Making it brings me joy, but it especially brings a sense of relief and release. Of course, sometimes, I just want to share an amazing feeling and will make a track that translates that, which is fun, but it's in the moments when you are dealing with loaded, complex emotions or struggling against something that feels impossible to defeat, that I truly feel how liberating and cathartic making music is. That's what makes it special for me, and why I continue to make it. I guess in some ways this was more of an answer to your previous question, but they do overlap for me!
In your last EP, you explored very personal themes touching on subjects of queer gender identity, social anxiety, sex, menstruation, existentialism, death and radical self-love. Which is your favourite track of the EP and why?
It really depends on my mood! I would have to say it's a tie between Company and Salt & Copper. They are both very special and important to me on both a lyrical and musical level, representing different emotions and experiences. Company is about queer gender identity and social anxiety, and Salt & Copper is about menstruation, companionship/sex and self-love.
Your life and music career is split between London, Berlin and Athens - three very different European cities. What would you say is your favourite thing about each city and how do their differences contribute to your creative process?
Ah, so hard to put into words the essence of these cities! I gravitate to each of them for different reasons. The culture, music scenes, lifestyles and people I know and have met in each of them play a big role, but the one thing they all have in common is a sense of home and belonging. In a way they are all 'my' cities, I know them like the back of my hand, they all played a huge role in my character and musical development, and wherever I will be they will always make me feel nostalgic. Both Athens and Berlin have kept me on my feet when it comes to political organising, and as far as music goes, London is undoubtedly at the core of my artistic foundation, while, both music and attitude-wise, Athens brings out the punk and grit in me, and Berlin keeps me laid-back and experimental.
What’s next in your music career?
Some new collaborative music will be hopefully coming out this year, and I am also working on some new solo music which is currently in its infancy stage, but nevertheless, I am definitely feeling excited about it all.
