Kieran Webber
Director and Founder of CLUNK Magazine, CLUNK Events, and other CLUNK affiliate businesses. You’ll probably find me tucked away somewhere sending emails, listening to music, and creating content.
Laertis discusses his new single ‘San Liono’, the change from Athens to London, and much more!
Originally coming from Athens Laertis has made himself a home in the bustling capital of the U.K, London. Here, he has found a musical home among like-minded creative types which has helped shape him as an artist. Recently, Laertis dropped his new single ‘San Liono’, a soft, subtle, yet delightful number that tells the story of home (and more).
Off the back of this we wanted to find out more about Laertis and what makes this fledgling artist tick!
Kieran: Great to chat with you today! How have you been?
Laertis: Nice to meet you Kieran. I’m very well! Looking forward to take some time off and enjoy the sun to be honest. It also has been a quite challenging year for me.
Kieran: How’s your 2024 shaping up? Any highs? Any lows?
Laertis: There’s been lots of both highs and lows with many changes. But changes in life always made me a better person in the end so I’m trying to embrace it all (haha).
Kieran: You are originally from Athens, Greece and moved to London, what was it about London and the UK specifically that made you want to move here?
Laertis: Initially I just wanted to explore more life and get involved more in music with other people. Most of my social circles in Athens at the time, were not so music related. I needed to explore different cultures and find a place to inspire my aspirations. After looking for a music institution to study I found one in North London and that was enough for make this change and move to the UK.
Kieran: How have you found it so far?
Laertis: So far it’s been an amazing journey. 8 Years in London made me create friends I now consider family which that’s a huge thing for me and my priorities in life. Also I fell in love for the first time. I always consider myself Athenian but London has shaped me so much to who I am now. Something that makes me always grateful for the choice I made back in 2016.
Kieran: Do you feel it has helped shape you as an artist in any way?
Laertis: It definitely did. Also the fact that living in London made traveling around the world easier for me it was fantastic (haha). This gave me the opportunity to experience a vast amount of cultures which constantly inspires me. Both to what I create in art and also in my personal life.
Kieran: You recently dropped your new single ‘San Liono’, can you talk us through what this single means to you?
Laertis: Few years back I was in Athens when wildfires all around Greece were happening. This event made the sky extremely orange almost red for weeks and this paradox of the beautiful vermillion sky and the origin of this natural spectacle, triggered a big question inside me of ‘how and what is my relationship with people and nature?’.
When I then came back to London, I sat down and started writing lyrics reflecting on this duality of pure beauty and destruction. I also thought it would be nice to blend organic sounds of acoustic guitars with electronic elements. Basically a kind of a display of this duality in the music too.
Listen to ‘San Liono’ here:
Kieran: What was the writing and recording process like on this one?
Laertis: After I had a few lines of words- The chorus- I played them with a classical guitar and found the groove that felt right. Also this hip hop inspired beat keeps the drive going as a fire that hardly can be stopped. Most things happened in my home studio in Tottenham and a few synth bits with my good friend Rob Woods at his studio in Hanger Lane. He is great with spontaneous ideas!
Then I decided to record some real drums for the choruses, vocals and bass at 123 Studios with Brett Shaw. With my other two companions on this. Simone and Bruno. They are so good at their craft and i’m beyond pleased making music with such dear friends of mine.
Kieran: Lastly, what else can we expect from you in 2024?
Laertis: I’m planning to release a EP in autumn. ‘San Liono’ and a previously released single ‘Things’ will be included alongside two more songs. I went back to my Hard Rock and Thrash Metal teenage years and derived the love I always had with the distorted element in music, so I’m sincerely excited to share them all as one project. It will be called ‘Free’.