Exposed Vocals Interviews Plàsi

Characterized by stripped productions based on acoustic guitars, Plàsi is now out with his debut single “Who Are We”. The inspiration comes from a wide scope of artists but is related to established acts such as Kings of Convenience, Dotan, José González, Ben Abraham, and Andreas Moe. ”Who Are We” is the debut single lifted from an upcoming self-produced EP, that was recorded in a student apartment last fall with limited equipment.

 

Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?

 

Plàsi:

That’s a bit complicated. I was born in the Island of Crete with a Greek father and Swedish mother, both professional musicians, but mainly grew up in Sweden where I moved with my mother at the age of 4. Both in middle school and high school I specialized in music with drums initially being my main instrument. Eventually though I discovered that I could sing and became more interested in guitar and songwriting. By the end of high school I wanted to try something different and decided to study business during five years, which moved my creative side from songwriting into entrepreneurship for a while. During my last semester at university though, around one year ago, I was working in parallel and felt that something was clearly missing. In combination with major changes in my personal life, I got into songwriting again and today I’m enjoying the combination of music and entrepreneurship.

 

 

Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?

 

Plàsi:

My original name is Mikael Bitzarakis and is too complex for people to remember, believe me I’ve tried. Plàsi comes from the Ancient Greek word for creation (πλάση) and best decribes my passion in life best. Apart for that it’s also easy to pronounce internationally and doesn’t seem to have a weird meaning in any language as far as I know.

 

 

Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?

 

Plàsi:

I think online music sharing has enabled unsigned music to quickly reach out and find an audience, which in turn has been driving the development of sub-genres. Today the evolvement of music sharing has led to a situation where people who never would buy music before are now ready to pay a monthly fee for streaming services. There is more out there for everyone. I want my music to be available for as many as possible, so I share my music both on paid and free services.

Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?

Plàsi:

Define clearly which acts that your music relates to and try to pro-actively share your songs and the definition of them to the group of people that are already listening to these related acts. There’s so much information today on social media that it will be hard to find your core group of listeners if you share things publicly. I believe this is of the same importance when you contact music blogs & festivals. First of all it’s important to only contact the relevant ones for your music, but also making it easy for them to categorize your music quickly will increase the chances of being picked.

 

Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?

 

Plàsi:

My songwriting often starts with an event that I need time to process or reflect about. It can be emotional challenges, unforgettable moments, or topics that frustrate me. Then, I usually try to picture that event with a melody backed up with a guitar or a piano. The actual lyrics are normally the last thing I write. My debut single Who Are We was written after the escalation of the refugee crisis in Europe, where I saw the lack of collaboration between the European countries as a leading factor of people being mistreated. Writing a song about it was my way to express my anger. If I would mention three sources of inspiration music wise it would be singer-songwriter acts such as Dotan, Andreas Moe, and Kings of Convenience.

Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?

 

Plàsi:

Yes, you can find my website on http://www.plasimusic.com. My main platform is Spotify, as that’s where people are listening here at home, but my music is and will be available on most of the main channels such as Itunes, Soundcloud, Youtube etc.

Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?

 

Plàsi:

If you are given that privilege from nowhere I think it’s almost your responsibility to share it with people that didn’t even get the chance to have the basic things in life. How one would choose to do that can of course vary, but if I for example could use the money to give people in poor areas the opportunity to learn instruments and produce music I think that could bring more joy than me spending them on myself.

 

Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?

 

Plàsi:

The best way is of course to play live, which you will see more of after my EP has been released later this year. Then the main social networks, such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, are vital in order to reach out and keep contact with people that want to follow you. That’s for example how I got in touch with you and the way I will continue to openly share my journey.

Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?

 

Plàsi:

My debut single Who Are We is part of a self-produced EP that will be released later this year. Before that I will be releasing another single to start with.

Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?

 

Plàsi:

I’m already today combining music with entrepreneurship, as I’m running a small marketing agency in Stockholm. So my answer would be working with development of start-ups or, if I can dream big, I always had a dream of becoming a soccer pro.

Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?

 

Plàsi:

It’s not a straightforward task to keep many responsibilities and interests in balance but I try to start my week by making up priorities and a clear schedule. It’s easier said than done, but if you are passionate about what you are doing it usually works out in the end.

Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016?

 

Plàsi:

 

At least one more single, one EP, and some live gigs! I’m also looking forward to collaborate with other songwriters and producers to potentially come up with alternative versions of my songs or write new material.