#i have no hate for those who choose to interpret floyd that way

[meadow-hearthfire]

Floyd took too long because he was still busy building a new home for baby Branch

I like to think Floyd is like the big brother bird who left the nest to build a new one in a safer place for the baby brother bird. By the time he finally returned to the old nest to pick up his baby brother, the old nest had already been empty for a while, leading him to assume the vultures he sought to save his brother from already devoured him.

[sinceileftyoublog]

Pearl Jam Live Show Review: 8/29, Wrigley Field, Chicago

BY JORDAN MAINZER

Even when Pearl Jam have released a new record that happens to be arguably their best of the millennium so far, the band's priority when playing live is putting on a show. And when the venue represents a hometown return for Eddie Vedder, at the hallowed grounds of the Friendly Confines? Forget it. Last Thursday, Pearl Jam performed their first song from April's Dark Matter (Monkeywrench/Republic) 8 (!) tunes into their set. Wanting to ease in the crowd in, and perhaps themselves, the Seattle quintet opened with Ten closer "Release", whose slow-burn-to-shout-along pipeline has long made for a perfect introduction to the band's notoriously anthemic concerts. Ensconced in silhouetted light, they embarked on the tune's swaying melody, and at the point Vedder and the audience simultaneously shouted, "Release me!", a blue light came over Wrigley Field, as if to say that we were, for a moment, all on this Earth together.

Indeed, Pearl Jam has a way of uniting a crowd due to their willingness to play both rarities and favorites, appealing to newbies and die-hards alike. On Thursday, the sneaky "Of The Girl" gave way to campfire slice of life "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town"; acoustic choogle "Off He Goes", a fan request, was followed by cascading Vitalogy favorite "Immortality". The band also provides moments new to even those who know their early 90s albums by heart. "Why Go" forewent its studio version's urgent thwack for a more patient industrial thump, while drummer Matt Cameron sped up "Even Flow", only for Mike McCready to steal the show with a behind-the-head guitar solo.

I also, though, have to give props to Vedder for continuing to never shy away from waxing on what he believes to be moral and just. The day before the show, I was working on my laptop in a restaurant and overheard a father, his daughter in hand, mention to the bartender that he was going to see Pearl Jam but hates when Vedder "talks politics." Okay, I realize Howard Zinn, to whom Vedder dedicated "Down", may not align with the majority of Pearl Jam's fan base, and few folks nonetheless are going to concerts to discuss political theory. But during "Daughter", when he included a tag from Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 2", he spoke about abortion rights. Singing, "We don't need no thought control" alone is easy--mental gymnasts from across the political spectrum can choose to interpret that line as in alignment with their beliefs--but his amendment of, "Teacher leave our bodies alone," left no mystery as to what Vedder was talking about: the right to choose. I couldn't help but think about whether the dad from the restaurant was momentarily pissed off and how many more like him were in the crowd; it made me appreciate Vedder's outspokenness even more.

As for Dark Matter, it really is an album meant to be heard live. It's the first to feature contributions from touring and session member Josh Klinghoffer, and unlike the band's previous record Gigaton, it was banged out by the band in studio, a much more spontaneous-sounding effort than many of their recent releases. "Scared of Fear", a punk rock barnburner, sports huge guitar solos and virtuosic tempo changes. The chiming guitars and shouted vocals of "Waiting for Stevie", a song the band wrote while waiting for hours upon hours for Stevie Wonder to show up to a recording session, encompassed the upper decks of Wrigley, Vedder's declaration that, "You can be loved by everyone," an affirmation for the ages. "Dark Matter" was Cameron's time to shine, one-upping the studio version's mammoth beats alongside pulsating keyboards and guitars. Vedder invited a crowd member, Abby, to sing with him on "Won't Tell", which may as well have been planned considering it features a chorus practically meant for harmonies or a duet. "Wreckage", the album's best song, was a Petty-esque serving of heartland rock, containing the catchiest pre-chorus melody Pearl Jam has written in some time.

At first, I was a little skeptical of the band's inclusion of Dark Matter closer "Setting Sun" in the encore, a drawn-out song at the end of a particularly sticky night. But its build-up segued perfectly into "Alive", a song I've heard more times than I've told my wife I loved her, no thanks to its inclusion on classic rock radio rotation. At the moment Vedder launched into the final rousing chorus, the lights went on at Wrigley and stayed that way throughout the cliché but undeniable move of inviting the opening band on stage to help cover Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World". With Vedder donning a glittery Cubs hat and uniform over his Walter Payton shirt, and multiple Ian Happ jerseys adorning the stage (one said "Happer", so you know Vedder and Happ are buddies), even the most cynical, jaded music lover and baseball fanatic couldn't help but be persuaded into fist-pumping along. It's a testament to Pearl Jam that they can continue to inspire, three and a half decades in.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Greetings,

I was curious about additional thoughts on romance in Twisted Wonderland. Most of the analyses you have seem focused on how characters would react to a Yuu-sona/the MC, but what about character/character ships? Are there any such ships you think would make sense or be realistic to the characters? I'll admit to being a big fan of the Sebek/Silver ship, but like with most ships in twist there doesn't seem to be too much evidence for it in-game that a fic writer could lean on.

I want to point out that the vast majority of writing requests I receive from my audience are romantic in nature (typically involving a self-insert or the equivalent to a Yuu/Yuusona). A significant of part the non-writing request asks I receive also speak about Yuu’s relationship with various TWST boys in a romantic sense. Because of this, the romantic situations/dynamics I am asked to speak about and give my thoughts on will naturally also be in relation to Yuu, as this is a reflection of what my audience wants to hear me discuss.

It isn’t that I don’t personally want to discuss canon character x canon character ships or platonic Yuu-canon character relationships, it’s just that it’s (comparatively) not something I am frequently asked about.

As I’ve mentioned a few times before on this blog, I don’t feel too strongly about most TWST ships (I think they all offer their own interesting dynamics to explore), but I can understand why others are into particular ones. People can ship whatever they want (regardless of how “realistic” it is or not) because that’s their business, not mine 😅

Personally, I choose to view the interactions between the TWST characters and each other (and Yuu) as platonic, as I am not someone who is interested in shipping for the sake of romance, but moreso on the entertainment value I get from watching the characters play off of one another (which isn’t something exclusive or unique to romance). Because I myself don’t go out of my way to seek out interactions that could be perceived as romantic (and nor do I focus my own TWST experience on romance), I don’t really care one way or another how “realistic” a ship is or how much “sense” it makes. To me, it’s all fiction so the “realism” or the “sense” of it doesn’t matter. 

Whether a romantic relationship dynamic exists or doesn’t is entirely up to individual perception. What one person sees as a platonic canon interaction between two characters, another could see as romantic. (This is also true of canon character x Yuu/Yuusona ships; ie a lot of people think Malleus is in love with Yuu, while I believe that their relationship is purely platonic.) For example, some may just see Silver and Sebek as close friends and colleagues, and others (like the Anon that submitted this ask) may prefer to ship those two. Ace constantly dunks on Deuce in the canon, but this teasing could be taken by some people as “picking on the kid you have a crush on”. Rook often speaks in a way that can easily be interpreted by others as romantic, but whether it is serious flirting or just a quirk of his character is left up to the player to determine for themselves. There are countless other examples I could think of, but I’ll cut it short here for brevity’s sake.

Literally any and all canon interactions and dialogue exchanges between characters could be interpreted as romantic subtext depending on the fan viewing the content and what tropes they gravitate to. Even hateful interactions (ie Leona and Vil, Riddle and Floyd, etc) can be called romantic if spun a certain way in the minds of some fans (because that could potentially fuel “enemies/rivals to lovers”). Furthermore, if you’re already inclined to certain tropes (ie “childhood friends”) or really like certain ones, you will most likely pay more attention and be more responsive to it when it shows up, even if there is nothing immediately romantic about it (Trey and Riddle are childhood friends; therefore, people inclined to the childhood friends trope may perceive their relationship as being romantic). Again, it just comes down to individual perception.

Another thing I want to add in is that you don’t necessarily NEED canon to agree with you or for there to be “evidence” in order to ship characters. You don’t need to “lean” on canon to create anything. You just need your own thoughts and ideas--that’s it. You can ship the characters with characters they’ve literally never met before. You can ship the characters with characters from an entirely different franchise. That’s just the beauty of fiction; you have the freedom to express yourself and to explore many avenues, and you don’t need to always adhere to the canon or to build off of canon lore in your creations. Make the ship content that you want; no one ever said that there had to be evidence for said ship or else it’ll be instabanned from the internet or something 😅

[blapisblogs]

Oh god... Yeah, right after the in-video ad break, we’re hit with this: Doug Walker dressed like a Nazi with a smudged dotted line around his face and the words “person you hate” written on his forehead in sharpie. Dude, if this moment didn’t make you stop and wonder what the fuck happened with your life to bring you to this moment, then it damn well should’ve been.

Before you ask if this was based on something from the film or album, yes, but as usual there’s context for it. It’s difficult for me to explain, but in short the idea is that Pink’s attempt to build a metaphorical wall between himself and everyone else is making him more and more mentally unsound, right up to the point where after he’s forced to be drugged up for one of his shows he hallucinates himself as a fascist (the very thing his father died fighting against), the fans his zealous followers, and his concerts rallies where he encourages violence against marginalized groups. This goes on for a few songs with the violence and threats escalating in each one, and by the end of the last one he’s ranting and raving incoherently on a megaphone until the hallucination ends as he shouts for it all to stop, finally realizing how dangerous the things he’s been doing to himself are. It’s disturbing, and intentionally so. That’s what I got out of both the album and the film anyway. I have no clue what Doug Walker got out of this part of the film, though, because these next two parody songs have almost nothing to do with it. The first one mentions it so people will know that it’s a parody of something from the film, but that’s about it, and the second one doesn’t mention anything about the film or album at all.

The next two parodies are of “In the Flesh” (the reprise), and “Waiting for the Worms”, neither of which I will post links to based on what I explained earlier, but if you want to look them up yourself I will warn you that there are things said there that are identical to things the Nazis have said and done, and use words like “queers” and others that I dare not say nor want to. (Also, yeah, they didn’t include “Run Like Hell”, presumably because Doug couldn’t think of another full parody’s worth of “fuck you, haters” for it.) In the parody of the former, Doug addresses his crowd of followers, which are the same five people copy-pasted onto the screens of multiple devices (I can’t tell if that’s supposed to be intentional commentary or Doug didn’t have enough people willing to work with him to pull off what he wanted for this), in a place called the “Echo Chamber”.

Yes, really.

It’s supposed to be commentary on how bad callout/outrage/cancel/purity/whatever-we’re-calling-it-this-month culture can be, but considering who this is coming from, what his own fans are like, and the rest of the presentation in this “review” it comes off more like “technology bad” and “social media bad”. Worse than that, the latter parody song is still about callout/outrage/cancel/etc. culture, only now it’s even more apparent that this is his way of commenting on the Change the Channel movement. This isn’t just me saying this either, other people have taken note on it as well, including people who didn’t even completely hate Doug Walker after the Change the Channel thing happened. I’ve seen one person try to (rather weakly) argue that it wasn’t trying to mock the Change the Channel movement, but even if one were to give them the benefit of the doubt and they weren’t making fun of that, then 1: they still should’ve known that doing something like this was going to get people to draw comparisons to said movement whether it was intended or not, and 2: it’s still absurdly over-the-top and out of touch with why “outrage/cancel/callout/whatever culture” has become a thing. It’s about as subtle as, well, a hammer to the face. (Speaking of which, the hammers for this parody are used to make hashtags instead of an ‘x’ and instead of chanting “Pink Floyd” or “Hammers” the fans chant “hashtag”. I’ve been sitting here for five minutes trying to think of how to comment on this, but all I can do is put a hand up to my face like Captain Picard in those memes, I think that says it all.)

This message of “technology and social media bad” is so ridiculously passé at this point that it’s laughable, and yet it seems like Doug Walker is under the impression that he’s saying something new and brilliant. This is also a truly bizarre message to be hearing from a guy who had so much success with his internet career that he quit his previous job to pursue it full-time. You know, that career that’s dependent on technology. (Also, Doug, social media itself didn’t cause those problems with said internet career: that was all you.)

The sad part is that for this sequence we get some brief scenes with actually good CGI of things like marching smartphones (identical to the original’s marching hammers) and a decently-animated 2-D(-ish?) sequence of a six-fingered hand coming up from the ground and forming into a hammer much like something that happened during part of the film (not this part specifically, but a part). It’s weird in context, but these animated parts look far better than any of the other effects that were used earlier. I’m guessing the guest person who made the effects I’ll talk about later also animated this (at least the CGI bits; as I said earlier, the 2-D-ish parts look so suspiciously close to the original that I have to wonder if they were traced over for this). While it is good, that just makes me wonder that if they were hired to make the animation in this part then why didn’t Doug let them animate the black eagle scene for the “Goodbye Blue Sky” parody section too? He clearly had the time and budget to get a talented animator to do this stuff for him, so why not fully use them?

Also, I swear one of the visuals looks more like a mashup between something from the opening of Phantom of the Paradise and The Wall than anything actually from The Wall alone. Maybe Doug and/or the person animating this got their rock operas momentarily mixed. Maybe they did this on purpose to mess with people. Maybe my brain’s making up this shit because a Phantom of the Paradise/The Wall double feature sounds infinitely better than this “review”. Maybe the headache I’ve gotten while watching this dumpster fire is fucking with me. I don’t know.

[Lyrics (and snark) below the cut]

Oh yeah, I’m the P-Person you all think you know That sucks up all your angst and confusion I’m that nameless foe, huh!

[Oh, so you are trying to do an impression of Bob Geldof. ...It shouldn’t take me over half-way into the “review” to figure out for sure that’s what you’re doing. Or did you choose to only actually do an impression of him for just this one part? I can’t even fathom almost any of Doug’s thought process for this “review” anymore.]

I’ve got some weird news for ya, sunshine, This was dissin’ Thatcher’s administration

[So I have seen Wikipedia mention that at least some people have either interpreted or used this part as commentary on Margaret Thatcher, and I don’t know enough about UK politics to dispute whether it was intentional or not. What bothers me is that if this was intentional, then how did Doug pick up on this? That would mean that he either caught this but somehow didn’t pick up on any of the other, more obvious things in this film that doesn’t have “the slightest bit of subtlety”, or he researched this and only this. Or it was a random guess he made that happens to coincide with what some others have interpreted from this part. Who knows.]

But it’s vague enough to put anyone you fear - Politician, showman - just put their face here!

[Uh... Are you talking about how someone edited this part of The Wall so that it was Drumpf in there because of how much he talks about his stupid wall? ...You are aware that the entire point of the film and album is that those kind of walls aren’t good and should be broken down, right? You know that Roger Waters himself openly despises Drumpf, right? ...Right?]

Are there any authority figures in the crowd tonight? Well put them in The Wall! (Get. Them. All.) That one’s looking stressed, he wants to feel oppressed Put him in The Wall! (Post. His. Balls!)

[Oh yes, The Wall - a film about the cycle of abuse and the effects it has on people and how taking self-isolation to its most extreme is unhealthy for the health of one’s self as well as those around them, among many other things - is something that adults don’t take seriously, not like this web video that has lines talking about people posting some dude’s balls on social media for shits and giggles. (In case you couldn’t tell that was sarcasm.)]

And that one looks sheltered, like she never leaves her room I’ll be that friend that you can blame for all your gloom That one looks like he really wants to be outraged! Now with social media, you have the stage!

[...You know, as awful as the previous songs in this “review” were, at least they were about the film and album. This, however... What even is this?]

(This is the part where the five-person audience starts chanting “hashtag” which goes on until Doug and his two goons run outside, run back inside due to it being too bright out, and then start the next parody. There’s not much to comment on for that, it’s just stupid.)

[End “In the Flesh” parody, begin “Waiting for the Worms” parody]

(One, two, three, post it!) Ooh, you can’t convince me now Ooh, I’m too far on my side Goodbye, nuance I never will abide

[You are not one to talk about nuance, not regarding this film or album, and certainly not about the Change the Channel movement, which this parody is pretty transparently about as we’ll see soon enough.]

It’s us vs. them, I don’t even know who us or them are

[“Us and them, and after all we're only ordinary men.” Come on, man, I know it’s not from The Wall, but the opportunity was right there. Actually, since Rob Walker is there as the Charts Guy (a recurring character in Doug’s reviews), you could’ve even thrown in a “Have a Cigar” reference if you wanted (also not from The Wall, but still). I know at this point I’m nitpicking, but I’m forcing myself to watch a “review” where a guy dressed himself like a Nazi to make a blatant “take that” statement against his “haters” without understanding and/or caring why the Nazi comparisons were there in the original; if Doug Walker doesn’t give a shit about those kind of details, then why should I.]

I just wanna be angry so I can be (Tweeting) About those who hate me (Tweeting) I need their attention (Tweeting) Love me or hate me, just look at me more

[Sadly one can’t say that this train wreck of a “review” didn’t make at least some people look at Doug Walker again even after they didn’t want to.]

(Tweeting) Whatever side you choose, just don’t ever wane (Tweeting) Waiting for the point

[I’d joke about how that’s how most people felt about the video at this point, but everyone has made that joke already. Everyone.]

Don’t fear that you’re wrong Just fight until the end, my friend

[At this point I could just say “Okay, Boomer” at every line in these two parody songs and it’d be about as meaningful as all of Doug’s comments about the actual film. Remember, the film he’s parodying here and supposed to be reviewing (allegedly)? The film he’s not mentioned once in this particular parody?]

All you need to do is fight off something Don’t worry! As long as you don’t see me as human, You can hate me all you want! Because remember, this can never happen to you! I’m bad! You’re good! The more extreme you can get the more happy you’ll become! They’ll put that person whose face you hate here, and tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet!

[...Doug, please tell me you didn’t have these parody songs in mind first as a sort of rebuttal against your detractors and then used it as an excuse to make a “review” for the actual film in this style as well as a whole parody album of it...

Also, this may be another nitpick, but towards the end the guys aren’t even “marching” in time to the music. Because of course they’re not.]

[dallasareaopinion]

It is a quiet evening now

Ah yes, the blissful sound of sirens roaring by going somewhere because someone decided to be an idiot behind the wheel of a car. Ah yes the the sounds of the night living near the fire station near downtown. 

So this happens all the time, what will happen in the next few days is another story.

I read the charges, the descriptions and what the jury must decide. No matter what someone is going to scream an injustice was done. Or not enough was done. 

And yet if people actually put into practice that simple little phrase, do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Or what ever version of the Bible you choose to read’s interpretation of the most basic of human interaction--respect others.

It is all so simple to say, yet as I have said before extremely impossible to put into practice. Why? I do not know. More people screw this up on a daily basis than can be measured. And yet, if we all were to act on this, the world would be a much better place.

No one wants to hear it, but it is the truth. 

I hope a correct version of Justice is reached by the Jury. And I hope that somehow they can go back to their lives and not become the focus of an inordinate amount of hate. They are citizens doing their civic duty. Something we should all respect. They convict the cop, the alt right attacks them, they find the cop innocent or choose the lessor of the charges and more potential unrest escalates. 

Again I hope justice is done. I have my opinion. No one will like it, because right now no one wants to accept the truth, whatever that may be. The key factor is what the jury decides is what will be written as the truth. 

I pray they deliberate well, consider all the facts, weigh the evidence and make a good decision. I also pray they find peace with their decision. They did not choose to be on that jury. They were chosen. 

Be glad you are sitting at home and hopefully you can find peace within you about what you feel is right. No one “deserves” to die. The best we can hope for though is a long healthy life, full of shared love, good times with good memories, and at least a reasonably nice lifestyle. Mr Floyd was robbed of ever getting back to having that opportunity. Mr. Chauvin is on trial for taking life away from Mr. Floyd. We sometimes forget what was taken when we take a life. And for those who may have forgotten, respect of life is for conception to natural death. Did Mr. Floyd die a natural death? The jury will decide and as citizens we are to accept the decision. How many of us will like that decision is a whole different story. They were chosen, it is their decision.

The onus of the work lies with the prosecution. They must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Chauvin had something particular to do with Mr. Floyd’s death. The prosecution though does not make the decision. 

The defense must show doubt. Nothing more. The defense does not make the decision. 

The jury makes the decision, people like you and me chosen to decide the future on one human based on their actions towards another. Again why is it so hard to respect another human being. We wouldn’t be here today if that basic fundamental tenet was lived by all. Yet instead a jury must make a decision about whether one life was interrupted by another. Be glad you are home. 

Once upon a life I was chosen for a jury panel that the death penalty was going to be asked. Certainly not the case in this trial, but when you get to the point of having to decide about another person’s life, you might become a bit self reflective. If you are ever honest with yourself, could you take a life? Hopefully not, yet they are deciding it going the other way. What responsibility does a person have when they have a life at their disposal? Simple answer if you live and practice respect for life. If not, we get a trial.

I hope one day we do reach respect for all life so people aren’t burdened with the hate of others just to make a decision. 

[musicmapglobal]

Video premiere and interview: Aphty Khea

Aphty Khea may seem like she belongs in outer space, but her attention is very much focused on Planet Earth. Adopting the persona of a ‘chameleon humanoid’ extraterrestrial who is dismayed to find a planet ‘poisoned by a myopic perspective and destructive world view’ (sounds about right), Aphty Khea adopts the role of a ‘sonic healer’ set to ease the world’s pain and refresh our perspective, with spacious, downtempo compositions that sound like fka Twigs, Banks and Zero 7 being beamed from beyond the moon.

‘Peacebloom’ is one particularly restorative track. Taking its name from Aphty Khea’s spaceship, the mixture of delicate melodies and heavily swung beats is a combo that will soothe the hardest of hearts. Now ‘Peacebloom’ has a new video, following the artist in full space exploration mode, and we’re delighted to exclusively reveal it to the world today:

Aphty Khea doesn’t just talk a good game when it comes to the planet’s problems though, she walks the walk too. A Greece-born, London-based activist who is unafraid to approach social issues both in her music and her actions, she’s spent extended periods volunteering in the refugee camps of Calais. We asked her to tell us more, and give us some insight into the experiences that have shaped her music and her attitude.

Oh yeah, and we also got the shopping list for the ‘Peacebloom’ video:

MusicMap: The name Aphty Khea – what does it mean?

Aphty Khea is a mish mash of a few words… It’s a combination of ‘afti’ (‘she’ in Greek) and Khea is a mix of my real name and ‘Gaia’. The pronunciation is different however, leaning more towards the Greek sounding way… So yeah, rootsy and mythic…!

In your music you inhabit the character of an alien visitor – in this persona, what are your first thoughts about our planet?

Varied thoughts really… Tremendous beauty is encountered, and equally tremendous ugliness and corruption. Intrigue, curiosity, and beauty at first, I’d say… But the more Aphty gets to experience Earth, the more of the latter she will encounter. She will most probably use her chameleon skills to merge into her environment and gain a deeper understanding. Future music will reveal this or not, however…

You spent time volunteering and teaching music in the refugee camp known as ‘The Jungle’ in Calais – tell us a little bit about your experiences.

When most people ask me this, I usually ask them if they have 3 hours to spare haha… This is always such a hard question. It’s one of those things that you just cannot reply in a few sentences. Well at least not in order to paint an accurate picture. The ‘Jungle’ was a horrible yet very special place, where cultures and religions and people merged into this special little community built on suffering. It’s so weird now that it no longer exists. Talking about a place that once was, and so many aspects of that place, sadly, truly understood only by those who experienced it. And the beautiful aspects of that place were present only because of a lot of suffering.

Assisting in the maintenance of the camp aside, teaching music and English, and just through socialising with the refugees I feel gave to a lot of them a sense of ‘normality’. In particular with one of my very good Sudanese friends, I managed to teach him a few tunes on the guitar, and that gave him such satisfaction and sense of worth. He was so dedicated to learning the tunes and would come every afternoon to practice and learn more. I think he’s one of my best ever students! It definitely added a little bit of light to his darkness… And he was very thankful for it. I really can’t get deeper into this subject in reply to such a broad question, as I will end up writing a thesis..!

The camp has been dismantled since you were there, how much do you know about what happened to the people who were living there?

I’m actually in Calais as I write this. Winter in the northern hemisphere is generally an awful time to be a homeless person, let alone a homeless refugee. I do realise it’s no longer winter, but in Calais it might as well be. When the camp got dismantled, the French government arranged for busses to send people to ‘CAO’ camps around France, without telling them where they were being sent to. Not to mention that they only sent enough buses to accommodate roughly 6,000 people, rather than the actual amount of the refugees that were living in the Jungle, which was closer to 10,000, leaving a few hundred people with no place to go, and as a result getting arrested for still being in the general area of the dismantled camp. Very poor handling by the French government, it was more like sweeping all the dust under a carpet and pretending it’s not there.

I have many refugee friends from the Jungle that I have no idea where they are right now or how they are. Some I couldn’t even keep in contact with, as they were children. During my current Calais visit however, I received positive news about two refugees that I hold really close to my heart (one of them is a child), which brought me great relief and happiness. But to return to the current state in Calais, the vast majority of refugees still there are all underage, unaccompanied minors, some teenagers as young as 13, a lot of them 13-17. My sister is 15, and I just could not imagine her going through what they do on a daily basis for such an extent of time in the freezing cold.

With the organisation I frequently join in Calais (Utopia 56), we distribute food, sleeping bags, clothing, whatever it takes for them to survive the cold nights. Seeing such young faces in such horrid conditions is really disturbing and really highlights how society has failed them. A lot of them, unfortunately, have a romanticised idea of the UK, and because of their great effort and tribulations, it seems like a sort of ‘paradise’ to them. But the current Tory government is nowhere near helpful or has any interest in helping out with this humanitarian crisis, let alone to help out its own UK poor, disabled and minority citizens.

How important is social commentary to your music? Do you feel high-profile artists should be speaking out more?

Every artist has a right to write or create art around whatever subject they feel they relate with and can express themselves through. I do kind of feel, however, that there is not enough focus on social commentary and worldwide issues in recent years, at least in my eyes. For some reason, I sometimes get the impression that there is a notion of it being ‘uncool’. Why? I’m not really sure, maybe because it makes people feel uncomfortable, or dare I say, guilty even, sometimes? Especially in mainstream art, I think existentialism doesn’t really ‘sell’, because it doesn’t make people want to buy, so in return it’s not really promoted.

A lot of popular culture now feels like it’s more about tuning out all the stuff that make us feel uncomfortable and creating a peachy bubble. Now, I really feel that art, in this case music, must provide people with the opportunity to tune out and create their own escape bubble, I really do find it necessary, from personal experience as well. However, when we find ourselves to have so many of these bubbles, mainly due to social media, where you see what you want to see and everything you come across has been tailored to your interests, you’re most probably not going to be confronted with issues that you don’t like or that make you feel uncomfortable. The discomfort in having to ‘deal’ with social issues, especially those of great importance, I feel can be interpreted as the echo of our western privilege. The fact that we can choose to tune out all these issues and not ‘deal’ with them is solely because of our privilege, especially since we are not the ones actually experiencing or truly ‘dealing’ with them.

I don’t really think there is currently a balance between escapism and social commentary in music, but then again this is just my opinion, and I am no art-subject-dictator. Art is meant to liberate people. But, like Nina Simone has said before, ‘an artist’s duty… is to reflect the times’. Social commentary is not the main focus of my music, but it plays a major role in it, especially recently… And I will continue to experiment with ways of expressing it… And keeping the balance, as well.

You currently live in London, how has the city influenced your music (if at all)?

When I first came to London, I wanted to front a rock band… How my aspirations have drastically changed! The city has inspired me and influenced me in many ways, and the people I have met here have all influenced me in their own way at different periods of my London life. From soul and hip-hop, to experimental and noise rock, to electronica, techno and house. And it will hopefully continue to influence and inspire.

What sort of music were you exposed to when you were growing up?

Some of the first CDs I ever owned were ‘Justified’ by Justin Timberlake, ‘Survivor’ by Destiny’s Child, ‘The Eminem Show’ by Eminem and ‘Fallen’ by Evanescence..! But I grew up with my mum playing a lot of Pink Floyd and 80s music. I was also exposed to a lot of musicals and especially a lot of classical music, due to my classical studies from when I was 10. When I was a teenager I didn’t really appreciate electronic music… Now I can’t imagine not listening to it! I do love me some techno, any time of the day.

You’ve represented Greece in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest – can you tell us about that experience? How did it affect your perspective on the music industry?

The Junior Eurovision. What an experience. One that kind of haunts my past. I can never seem to escape it, as hard as I try! At the time I wanted to participate in the competition, because other than my music studies, that was the only musical related thing I could do on a professional level. It really taught me a lot. A lot about the entertainment industry, and especially TV. I really did hate TV by the end of it all. It was a really ‘dirty’ industry. Everyone was constantly out to stab you in the back for their own personal gain, you couldn’t trust anything anyone would say… it was tiring. But at the same time I had an amazing experience, and learnt all the right things about the wrong things, if that makes sense, at a very early age. Something that I am extremely grateful for. I now know what to not waste my time, aspirations and energy on as an adult and artist.

TV is all about the views and the show. Even if it is a music contest/show, as much as you’d like to think it’s about the music, it’s most likely not, but it would be more about the ‘story’, even if the story isn’t really that real, cos that’s what brings in views. In addition the Eurovision in general is all about politics, believe it or not, hah! Whether it is about the politics of what country you’re representing, or to do with the relations you have with those in the entertainment business. I just didn’t expect it to be so ingrained in the kids’ version as well. But again, it was an experience that taught me a lot and one that I am extremely grateful for.

Are there any Greek artists past and/or present who’ve particularly inspired you?

There are actually! But it’s usually specific songs of theirs, rather than their whole discography. Usually I get inspired by greek folk songs that have been done by many artists throughout the years, one specific song is ‘Thalassaki Mou’, because it reminds me of my dad, since he sings it all the time. Whenever I get homesick, I use some manipulated Greek elements in my music, it’s my form of paying tribute (again, you will hear this more in future releases).

But some Greek artists I really respect and sometimes find inspiration from are Stelios Kazatzidis and Haris Alexiou.

What/where next for Aphty Khea?

Social commentary will be evident in my next releases, if you know where to look, or listen… Musically, there are some progressions and ventures onto deeper electronic grounds, but done quite subtly (I won’t be releasing a one-hour techno set, if that’s what you’re thinking!) Also in the near to further future, there might be some further clarification and experimentation on Aphty’s story/past/future… We shall see!

Aphty Khea’s Aphty Khea EP is available now on The Sound Of Everything UK.

‘Peacebloom’ Video Credits:

Creators: Charlie & Ben Assistant: Ashley Robinson-Dodd

http://www.cargocollective.com/jegmigfilms http://www.benjaminbrookes.com/