Sarah P. - Plotting Revolutions - Album Cover

My new album Plotting Revolutions is out now

When I started writing Plotting Revolutions three years ago, I couldn’t have possibly imagined that I would release it amidst a public health crisis and an actual revolution against racism and police brutality. I’m always writing about one’s need to find their “home” – but what does that mean for the world today? In my head, “home” is safety, “home” is balance. My intention behind my music and write-ups has been to offer shelter for thoughts and conversations that people usually avoid having. Right now, we’re past beyond the point where we can have a casual conversation, exchange opinions, and then move on with our lives. Because social change is so bloody late that even Vladimir and Estragon would have left.

So, is there a point in plotting, or do we just revolt – also against ourselves, for have been complicit – remaining silent for too long against injustice; living our lives, buying goods, sleeping well at night. Not voting because “what will it change”, but also complaining that we’re powerless against the system. Moving forward, there will be a new normal. For once, you’ll hear me saying that we can’t just erase and restart. There’s simply too much hurt that we collectively hid under the carpet. What’s happened is that the carpet’s too old, too stretched and evidently, torn apart. We just noticed – can’t go back replacing the damned carpet.

Our societies are fearful. We are fearful. Each and every one of us for different reasons. We’ve come to find out – in the most tragic way – that life is unpredictable. It took a novel virus – the “invisible enemy” – to make us reflect on things we often took for granted, and reconsider our choices. It even brought us together – briefly. Following the current news, I (re)start believing we’re lightyears away from positive change. Because there are still people who will try to justify brutality, call systemic violence “isolated incidents” and choose to be so inherently, deeply racist and inhuman to the point of no return. My heart’s bursting out in anger and despair, and I can’t even begin to fathom how it must feel to be on the receiving end of scrutiny, taunting, and abuse for centuries. How can some still try to erase history when all facts are laid out?

All we can do is take the time and listen (but really, listen) – educate ourselves, learn from history and quit repeating the same mistakes over and over and over again. There’s racism, all kinds of discrimination, abuse of power, and the victimizers’ disgusting cockiness of “it’s alright, we won’t get caught”. Violence – there’s everywhere in the world and I don’t remember when it was the last time I read about something positive in the news.

Get to the frontline – we must get to the frontline. There’s no excuse. We must do something. Protest – through marching, signing petitions, voting… through art and in everyday life, by becoming more conscious of our actions, by calling out injustice. There’s a greater cause and we must fight for it – social equality, justice, equity. A better future for all. Zero tolerance for discrimination. We must persevere. And only hope we’ll emerge victorious.

Listen to Plotting Revolutions on smarturl.it/plottingrevolutions

The music video for my new song Athena is out now




I filmed this video while being 8 months pregnant with my daughter. (A rainbow baby, after two miscarriages and lots of hurt.) Athena is a song about my hometown. Since I recently moved back from Berlin, we – videographers the MÉTA Project & me – decided to film around the city, almost as if we wanted to document what’s changed; seemingly nothing has changed, but only because so much did. The current population of Athens (based on recent calculations) is about 3.154.000 people – over 3 million people happen to call Athens their home. Whenever I’m asked, I always talk about how compact everything feels in Athens. Considering the current population density, Athens sure feels (and is) as crowded as never before. But what’s that done to its people? Does it leave them room to breathe?

For how long can one go without finding some kind of solace in their surroundings, in their lives?

I’m often writing about the concept of home. To me, home is not just four walls and a roof – it’s way more than that. It’s a place, an idea, a relationship where you feel safe and warm. Everyone deserves to find their home. We’ve been taught to obsessively, hungrily seek for a piece of bourgeois conformity in our lives, but I want to believe it’s becoming clear that simplicity will always offer more comfort than any frilly luxury of any sort.

Providing the space for my daughter to grow – being her home for nine months, has activated an/my almost primal need for safeguarding. All these months, I became my daughter’s shield. I started noting down weird comments and looks addressed to me and sharpened my reflexes. People can be nice, but they can be cruel, too. Bringing to life a daughter, raising her in a world that perpetuates seeing girls and women as breeding machines “of lesser merit” is something truly terrifying. I’m scared, but I shall not show her. I shouldn’t be driven by fear. Instead, I shall become her four walls and roof, under which she’ll feel safe and protected, allowed to be whomever she wants to be.

You’ll think, what does that all have to do with Athens, its population, the video or my album Plotting Revolutions… Well, in my head, it’s all connected like a thread. Returning to Athens, long after running away from it, has helped me reconcile with my roots. It’s taught me that we can make whatever we want out of our home, hometown, home country, planet. WE create the environment we want to live in. During these tumultuous times where all we used to know gets challenged and empathy runs low, there’s little patience for words. Yet, we must persevere. We must open the doors of our “homes” for all those who feel unsafe and threatened. Despite its (perhaps) troubling legacy, up to today, Athens is an emblem for democratic values and ideals. We must embrace these principles and stop letting the hatred in. We shall resist division and conflict, opt for cultivating tolerance, compassion. Envision the world we expect our children and their children to walk on.

After all, the revolution will come from within.

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You can stream “Athena” on the platform of your choice smarturl.it/sarahpathena

Out Now: Athena & The Poem of a Clear Conscience, the second double-single from my upcoming album

The second double-single, including the songs “Athena” & “The Poem of a Clear Conscience”, from my upcoming album Plotting Revolutions is out now. You can stream the songs on your preferred platform: http://smarturl.it/sarahpathena

A huge thank you to the Week in Pop, Indiepoprock, DepecheMode, and Highclouds for the early support! 💜🔮✨✨

Athena is a beat-driven, disco-inspired song about Sarah’s hometown – her “old/new home”, as she calls it. “Athena is a song I wrote about Athens while I was still living in Berlin and reluctant to resettle in my hometown. Many things have changed since then, but not my complicated relationship with the city I love to call my old/new home. Music-wise, I continue exploring the disco elements and the more organic sound of my Maenads EP, adding a “sturdy” rhythm section and floating synths & vocals that well-represent the paradoxes of my city – the edginess and fragility of Athens and its people.”

LYRICS:
Stories you heard
Money you spent
Voices you speak
Your accent is thick

Family – friends
You sit on a bench
Emotions now leak
You’re not at your peak

Help me go home
Don’t leave me alone

Athena
A goddess to blame
Athena
My city’s first name

Athena
Με κούρασες λίγο
Athena
Και τώρα θα φύγω

Help me go home
Don’t leave me alone

The Poem of a Clear Conscience is carried along by its lyrics and playful synths, keeping up with Sarah’s sarcastic flair for pop music. A poetic take on the times we live in and the incapability of our world leaders to find a common ground for matters that affect us all. “I find it troubling that politicians nowadays still choose to play on and by small party interests, when we’re faced with great challenges that question the longevity of our planet, as well as with big scale social, political, and economical instabilities that undermine the democratic values, worldwide”.

LYRICS:
Bright eyes
Gleaming in the skies
Watching over us
Emotions on the plus
A bee – queen of the hives
she sells all that she buys
Emotions on the plus
The DAX is on the plus

I am observing from right here
I didn’t move and so my conscience is clear
I didn’t move and so my conscience is clear
I am observing the world from right here

Bright eyes
Found refuge in the skies
Watching over us
Laughing at us
How the bee wins, how she thrives
How she sells all that she buys
What she always does
How her wealth she flaunts

I am observing from right here
I didn’t move and so my conscience is clear
I didn’t move and so my conscience is clear
I am observing from right here

I am observing the world from right here
I didn’t move and so my conscience is clear
I didn’t move and so my conscience is clear
I am observing from right here

EraseRestart, 22nd issue: Holiday Blues

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EraseRestart, 22nd issue: Holiday Blues 🎄 . Hi everyone! They say it’s the most wonderful time of the year – is that true? Have you ever experienced the holiday blues? There’s a great deal of pressure for feeling warm and jolly for the season. Families get together, exchange gifts and have big hopes for a new, thriving year. The cities get lit up by millions of Christmas lights and there’re tons of inspired decorations and installations ready to appeal to our inner child. That said, with everything that’s happening in the world, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to get in the celebratory mood. In Greek we have a saying that roughly translates as “last year was even better”, which perhaps suits the current circumstances. I like to think that our societies become more conscious (despite recent events showing otherwise) – that we’re slowly learning to cut back on our yesteryear consuming habits, to become more healthy and “green” for the sake of ourselves and our planet. The holiday season’s promotion of all kinds of overconsumption is not in line with our new, shared understanding of progress. For that reason, I invite you all to stand by the knowledge we’ve conquered. We shouldn’t give in to the pressure and wild expectations of this holiday season. If we need time alone, if we don’t feel like partaking in the feast or prepare for fancy gift-givings, that’s OK. For this month’s EraseRestart, I’ve gathered some facts about holiday blues and tips on how to fight them. As always, we’re together in this and we’re talking about it! Sending you all lots of love and wishing you truly, happy holidays. Thank you for stopping by, SP 🌝✨

Ein Beitrag geteilt von Sarah P. (@sarahpofficial) am

Sarah P. - New song Laying Low is out now

Out Now: Laying Low & She, the first songs from my upcoming album

The first songs “Laying Low” & “She” from my upcoming album Plotting Revolutions are free to fly, ready to be shared with the world! You can now listen to them on your preferred platform: http://smarturl.it/layinglow

A huge thank you to the Week in Pop and LIFO for premiering my songs – so grateful for your support! 💜🔮✨✨

“Laying Low” is a dreamy song about mental health, a song that tells you to stay strong – whatever you’re going through “it’s not that time now stops” and “you will win at last.”

LYRICS:
Laying low
Fighting with the past
Eyes that glow
You will win at last


Hey
Watch the flame
A game to play
Your demons to tame


Laying low
Fighting with the past
Eyes that glow
You will win at last
And all they say
Put it in a box
It’s never too late
It’s not that time now stops


Hey
You’re brave
You swim against the wave
There’re monsters in the cave
Yourself you need to save


Face them head on
Show them you’re strong
Prove them all wrong
Before the crack of dawn


Laying low
Fighting with the past
Eyes that glow
You will win at last
And all they say
Put it in a box
It’s never too late
It’s not that time now stops


Maybe 
Things they say are true
And lately 
They came and cut you through
Maybe
But look how far you came
How greatly 
You do it all your way


Laying low
Fighting with the past
Eyes that glow
You will win at last
And all they say
Put it in a box
It’s never too late
It’s not that time now stops


It’s not that time now stops
It’s not that time now stops
It’s not that time now stops
It’s not that time now stops
It’s not that time now stops
It’s not that time now stops
It’s not that time now stops
It’s not that time now stops
“She” is inspired by Greek mythology and speaks to a siren/goddess who’s holding the time ahead. She watches over us, protects us and gives us the strength we need.

LYRICS:
She
The siren of my dreams
She told me you exist
She
She’s dressed in marigolds
The time ahead she holds


We
So strained as we are
We’re falling from the skies


She
Is looking after us
Our minds to tranquilize


She is like god
She may be the god I’m waiting for
She knows all the words
What the future holds for me and you
She
The siren of my dreams
She told me you exist
She
She’s dressed in marigolds 
The time ahead she holds


Some day (one day)
I’ll ask her what’s her name
I’ll wait for a response (for what she knows and what she holds)
Perhaps she’ll open up to me
And tell me who she is
And where she’s coming from (the places that she’s seen before)
And as the time will pass by
As we laugh and then we’ll cry
And she will tuck me into sleep
Caress my hair, then leave
Before the sun will rise (she silenced all my cries)
Before the sun will rise


She is like a god
She may be the god I’m waiting for
She knows all the words
What the future holds for me and you
She 
The siren of my dreams
She told me you exist
She 
She’s dressed in marigolds
The time ahead she holds


Silence what you’ve got on me
Tell me and then I’ll sleep
That’s all I’m asking for
That I close my eyes without feeling all alone
Alone I am not


Get out of my head
Or I will call for her
I’m sure that she would comfort me
I am stronger now
I am stronger now
She showed me how to win


She is like a god
She may be the god I’m waiting for
She knows all the words
What the future holds for me and you
She 
The siren of my dreams
She told me you exist
She 
She’s dressed in marigolds
The time ahead she holds


She 
The siren of my dreams
She told me you exist
She 
She’s dressed in marigolds
The time ahead she holds


She
She told me you exist


She
She told me you exist

EraseRestart, 21st issue: OCD

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EraseRestart, 21st issue: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) 💙 . Hello friends! EraseRestart is back with an issue about OCD. An often overlooked and very complex disorder that’s not talked about as much as it should. Throughout my research for this issue, I was stunned by the lack of studies and resources (always in comparison with other mental illnesses covered by EraseRestart). Looking at various portals, in my humble opinion, the best online source of information can be found on the website of OCD UK. OCD UK is charity that’s dedicated to representing people who live with OCD in the most honest way. As I always say, EraseRestart is about knowledge, education. It’s meant to encourage a bigger, open-minded conversation about mental health. We need more scientific researches in this field. We need governments to invest on mental health right now. It’s absolutely baffling that we’re soon entering a new decade and the last research published by World Health Organization on OCD was in 2006. You get the idea… Closing on a more positive note, I’d like to thank everyone who joined us last month in celebrating World Mental Health Day at Romantso. I will soon publish some photos and write more extensively on creating what felt like a safe space to share experiences, learn more about mental health and consume stunning art. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for joining (physically and mentally). More EraseRestart happenings to follow – keep your eyes open! Happy scrolling and thank you so much for stopping by, SP 🌝✨✨

Ein Beitrag geteilt von Sarah P. (@sarahpofficial) am

EraseRestart, 20th issue: Gardens of my Mind

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EraseRestart, 20th issue: Gardens of my Mind 🌷 . Hi everyone! The first EraseRestart event is coming up next week – in time to celebrate the #WorldMentalHealthDay. “Gardens of my Mind” will take place at @romantsoathens. At the entrance there will be a donation box in support of EDRA, an organisation I got introduced to last April and who are doing an incredible job at promoting mental health within the Greek society and beyond. At the event there will be two interesting speeches – one about trauma and healing and one about the every day life at the two mental health units of EDRA. What will follow is a special DJ set by Sophie Sarigiannidou from Marsheaux and the celebration of the group exhibition “Gardens of my Mind” by the talented photographers @brinkleycapriola , @fotini_chora , @ofcuriosities & @marileoko. The purpose of this event is to spark a conversation about mental health in a time where the crumbles of society as we know it pile up and worries about the future of our planet continuously grow. We all cultivate the gardens of our minds – whether consciously or subconsciously. They become a coping mechanism; a shelter away from high pressure and negative feelings. If you’re in Athens next Thursday, come join me celebrating mental health through information and beautiful art! Thank you for stopping by, SP 🌝💚✨

Ein Beitrag geteilt von Sarah P. (@sarahpofficial) am

EraseRestart, 19th issue: Eating Disorders

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EraseRestart, 19th issue: Eating Disorders 💜 . I never quite felt comfortable with my weight and what I saw in the mirror. When I was 19 years old, I became obsessed with weighing myself and trying to “score” lower. For me, it started after a back injury I had at the drama school. I thought that the thinner I became, the easier the doctor would access my vertebrae during therapy, the faster I’d get out of bed. But even after my back got better, I kept up with my new, unhealthy eating habits. There would be days I wouldn’t even drink water. I reached 38 kgs. Luckily – and with the help of my family, I managed to get out of that spiral… but then the hormonal issues kicked in, leading to weight gain, mostly due to fluid retention… I would starve myself all day but would still gain grams, kilos. Going from the “you should eat something” to the “you’re not so light anymore huh? You’ve gained so much weight” – having people almost constantly commenting on my weight, both at the drama school and in my band surrounding, I felt ugly and useless. Even though my hormone levels balanced out within a year or so – whether I was on the thinner or the fuller end, I never truly managed to embrace myself. So this issue is personal – yet filled with valuable (and hopefully helpful) information. If you’re struggling with an eating disorder, please do seek out for help. I know first hand that it never truly goes away, but it can get better – that I can promise. Thank you for stopping by – SP 💜💜 PS. What helped me get better and re-develop a healthy relationship with food was cooking. I would find the most complex, the most difficult recipes – those that required hard-to-find ingredients and took ages to prepare. Through enjoying the process, I would slowly start enjoying tasting my creations, too. It took a long time, but that’s what worked out for me – shout-out to Nigel Slater for having some of the most creative and delicate recipes. – S. x . . . #eatingdisorders #beatingeatingdisorders #foodfreedom #mentalhealthmatters #edwarriors #edrecovery #endthestigma

Ein Beitrag geteilt von Sarah P. (@sarahpofficial) am

EraseRestart, 18th issue: Self Care

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EraseRestart, 18th issue: Self Care 🌸 . Hi everyone! EraseRestart is back with an issue dedicated to self care. It took me many years to accept that practicing self care doesn’t mean being selfish. While I’d go around and preach to the people around me “take some time off, respect your limits”, I would constantly cross mine, oftentimes, leaving me completely floored. I wouldn’t say I’ve now mastered the art of self care, but I’ve most certainly become better at it. Self care is an ancient concept that’s somehow misunderstood, in today’s world. It isn’t a luxury, but a necessity. It’s absolutely VITAL to practice self care, in order to maintain good health. I encourage you all to consciously take a break, think of your needs and make a plan to fulfill them. Happy scrolling and happy relaxing. SP 🌝💕✨ . PS: This is the issue I published last month and then deleted it because it barely showed to people. I’ve had some troubles with IG and its algorithm – apparently it doesn’t ~love~ the EraseRestart format. But as I’m looking for alternative platforms (already working on an event here in Athens ✨✨), I decided to re-upload this issue because truly, simply – self care matters and also we can’t let those bits & bytes mess with our projects and passions. A HUGE THANK YOU to all those people sending me sweet and encouraging notes last month about EraseRestart. Lots of love to you all 💕💕💕✨✨

Ein Beitrag geteilt von Sarah P. (@sarahpofficial) am

EraseRestart, 17th issue: Bipolar Disorder

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EraseRestart, 17th issue: Bipolar Disorder 🎭 . [REPOSTING BC SOME OF THE PAGES TURNED BLANK 😬🖤] . Hi there! This month’s issue will be looking into bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder is one of the most stigmatised mental illnesses. Perhaps, that’s because of the unrealistic portrayal of bipolar disorder in arts and culture – those struggling with it are often presented as mad criminals, (self-)destructive people who can’t separate reason from emotion. Unfortunately, stigma spreads fast, leading to people living with bipolar disorder left without a support system and/or ways to handle and treat their illness. EraseRestart means education and that’s what this and all issues are about. For this issue in particular, I decided to make it less visual and more factual – something that may not agree with Instagram’s algorithm. Regardless, I’d like to start a conversation about what we can do to make it better for those struggling. How can we improve our understanding of (in this case) bipolar disorder and help those around us? I was recently told by a friend that it’s probably about time to change the cover and the style of EraseRestart – but EraseRestart is hardly about aesthetics. It’s about learning more about mental health, educating ourselves (myself included, of course). It’s about erasing stigma and restarting with more understanding and kindness for those struggling. There’s nothing glamorous and/or aesthetically pleasing about mental health. There’s nothing mystifying about it and frankly, for a generation that claims to break the stereotypes (and does so well, so often), we still have a long way to go in understanding that achieving good mental health means facing mental illness. For real, though. I hope you’ll find this issue informative and helpful. Until next month – thank you for stopping by, SP 🌝✨✨ . . . . #bipolardisorder #bipolardisorderawareness #yourenotalone #mentalhealthmatters #breakthestigma

Ein Beitrag geteilt von Sarah P. (@sarahpofficial) am