The dynamic and immensely talented Greek singer, multi-instrumentalist, and electronic producer Aphty Khéa crafts a deeply personal and beautiful record on their 5 track ‘Salt & Copper’ EP, which has gone through many transformations and emotions during the four years in which they took to make it between London, Granada and Berlin. Title track ‘Salt & Copper’ is about an emotional, sexual encounter by the sea whilst menstruating – “Salt” being the flavour of the sea and “Copper” the flavour of blood – and embodies radical self-love, accepting and finding a home in your own body, even when society deems it as filthy, unwanted or taboo.
I make videos using mainly Instagram filters and my phone camera reprocessing the footage through multiple filters, edited humbly on the most basic of basics, iMovie. In my mind, ‘Salt & Copper’ is a dreamy, sensual track, with instrumentation that is meant to take you on a journey to other worlds. The musical arrangement, as well as the galactic and oceanic lyrical imagery were elements I really wanted to translate visually.
Aphty Khéa innovatively blends warm, blissful, driving electronica with soulful melodies and captivating vocal harmonies. Produced mostly by themselves (with the exception of a couple of collaborators) they use a mixture of chopped, pasted and edited samples, surgically dissecting every sound they make including the bass, synths and piano. Every single vocal sample that exists is Aphty’s voice.
With a musical background that spans choir from the age of six, studying classical singing and piano at music school, winning junior Eurovision in Greece, then swapping their home country for London at 18 to study contemporary singing and vocals at the ICMP Music Institute, and finally a degree in songwriting, Aphty Khéa is fully equipped. Beyond composing, performing and producing their music Aphty has participated in the radical left scenes of Greece, France and Germany Standing strong in solidarity for dignified living, LGBTQIA+, anti-capitalist, antiracist, antifascist and antisexist scenes. There is no doubt this record has a heady amount of depth, but this reflects the remarkable personality and journey of Aphty Khéa.
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Feature photo by Teresa CG
Salt & Copper EP will be released September 23rd on Athlete Whippet’s Squareglass imprint
