Effi

Spotlight by Emily, We7 PR Guru

Let me introduce you to Effi. Born in Los Angeles she lived with her grandfather who was a Greek opera singer and from a young age she was surrounded by the powerful rhythms of Greek music, the heavy guitars of American rock and the soulful sound of blues. Delve into Effi's world and find out what she has planned for the future...

The interview

How are you feeling today?
Very well, thanks!

You are currently writing your 3rd album- how is that going?
It's slowly coming along. I'm thinking about what I'm trying to convey, and I'm thinking about the album as a whole and its general direction.

What inspires you to do what you do?
I think we all have a creative drive in some form. For me it happens to be music. The combination of writing music and lyrics is the most challenging and fulfilling thing I've ever done. For me, music directly targets the human spirit and it's so abstract it can't be blemished by all the ways that people destroy things. Lyrics are a poetic expression of the trials of being on this planet, and I love creating them.

You were brought up with a very musical family, how have you been influenced by that?
My grandfather was an opera singer, and his soul just spilled out all over the place when he sang for friends & family. He was breathtaking. My family had the ultimate respect for the arts as basically the highest form of human contribution.

Who are your musical and non-musical influences?
Greek music has definitely influenced me because I grew up with it. Greek vocalists are the best I've ever heard, and the rhythms are just so deeply ingrained in me. But at the same time, Led Zeppelin is my all-time favorite band. I think Zeppelin was the only band I heard that satisfied my hunger for soulful vocals as well as just fantastic groove and musical creativity. I wish there were more expressive vocals in more mainstream music, but I've noticed that there seems to be some fear of 'too much expression' in the US music culture unless it's pigeonholed as soul or R&B music.

Non-musical influences - well, that would be mum. She would qualify as the absolute biggest all-around musical and non-musical influence. She taught me to stick to whatever it is I love, and stick to it with a vengeance and with serious discipline, no matter what the odds. With all the garbage you have to deal with in the music industry, there is no way I would still be doing it if it weren't for her.

What have you got planned for the future?
To continue making music as much as I possibly can!

How do you feel about downloading music on line- do you think it's helped you as an artist?
It's the best thing that's happened to artists, but there are still challenges for us. It's busted the old-world corrupt music biz model wide open, and it's made many tools accessible to independent artists that were untouchable before. For example, independent artists can use radio promoters and marketing companies that used to be accessible only to the majors. The problem is that this still takes money. Artists still need to promote themselves, and this forces them to become business people, which not everyone is comfortable with (including myself!).

What artists or albums had the biggest effect on you when you were growing up?
Growing up my friends & I all went back to older music like Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Eric Clapton, and Jimi Hendrix. I saw a teenager wearing a Pink Floyd tee-shirt the other day and it made me laugh! We keep going back to the greats! Pink Floyd was the biggest discovery for me when I was a teenager too. My dad got seriously into them at some point as well. My family was all about social statements and thought about the state of the world. Floyd was thoughtful music. Seems like new music (in general) is severely lacking that.

How does music affect you and the world around you?
Good music elicits thought and emotion. It's so easy to get sucked up into routine, and music is a powerful jolt to bring us back to the important things. For me, music transcends all traditional definitions of spirituality & religion & reminds us of what we're truly capable of.