Sock Free Hideaway

BEATS OF LOVE 

57. Charmed by Σtella

I WASN'T aware of Greek musician Σtella (pronounced "Stella") until one of the finest connoisseurs of horizontal indie, Jason Boardman, recently mentioned her randomly. 

Cheers again! That it's out on Sub Pop made delving absolutely necessary, and I am glad I did. An LP that is evokes Oldham's away strip, circa 1978, would normally be a bad thing, but not now that they've dropped out of the footy league. RIP. 

The mighty Khruanbin were the contemporary fix that drew producer Redinho and Σtella together but  their main inspiration came from digging through her parents' record collection. Namely, the sounds of Nikos Gounaris, Grigoris Bithikotsis, Tzeni Vanou, Tony Mottola and Julio Iglesias, among others, that she loved playing on her grandfather's old gramophone. She recalls with the Brooklyn Vegan that 

“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!” 

By comparison I was walled into suburbia and my most pure childhood idyllic memory was watching Heidi. Imagine my disappointment when I learned not only was the telly show American, but the snow was fake. At least my grandparents never played Julio on their gramophone, but I did have to listen to Strauss then say a full decade of the rosary before they'd give me the money for a chippy supper. I'm unsurprisingly more of a sucker for the nostalgic bents of other people. Especially musicians that add a bit of musical purity and innocence with them like Σtella.  

This tune for dreamers bobs and weaves with a colourful intensity and works wondrously despite the seeming fragility of the vocals. Vocals, that like my yukka, are better at the pre-flowering stage and slightly restrained. 

The folk on Pitchfork vehemently disagree, which makes me happy for the first time in weeks.