Katerina Stikoudi. Singer
Katerina Stikoudi puts her personal stamp and style in the field of music.
BYO: What is the style of your music?
KATERINA: Although music no longer has the clear boundaries that used to exist, we can easily describe what I do as "urban pop". It has a lot of hip hop elements but mainly has the pop sound.
BYO: Which audience are you addressing? It's definitely a more youthful audience, but to whom more?
KATERINA: When I make music I don't think "aaaaa that's who it’s for... every movement takes its own life. For example my song "All in" resonated with teenage audiences. My entire previous album, "Soundtrack", it was appreciated by older and more mature listeners. In general, this all takes a life on its own, all of a sudden... Well, it's the young people who hold the pulse of the time. I like to think of myself at a young age. They have an inexplicably strong sensor.
BYO: Do you think Greece produces generally interesting things?
KATERINA: Nowadays it is easier to produce art in all its forms, but also to reach the world. However, what we call mainstream everywhere is not going through its best days. There are two conflicting things. While in the age of the internet each of us can discover everything, old and new, dominate fewer and fewer things; song, movies, anything to do with creation. So there are two possibilities: either to sit passively and eat what is served to them or to go into the process of discovering other things. I, for example, am shocked at the power that "trends" on YouTube have gained in our country. Like there's nothing else... artists and companies are now rotating their universe around it. Well, our country has capable creators, but I feel like they're not getting what they deserve. I try to watch, follow them and when circumstances allow me to work with creative artists. From street artists, visual artists, dancers - choreographers, creators, musicians.
BYO: What do you talking about in your songs?
KATERINA: The theme is great. It's about a wide range of emotions. Obviously, a lot revolves around love, love, jealousy, sex. What I'm trying to do with my collaborators is make songs that, while they have the personal stamp, could make people identify. When a song is dominated by emotion, a story is described, and that particular one prevails, not the vague one, people can understand and see their own elements within it. What dominates, of course, is the personal experience, which is a key element in all this musical genre.
BYO: Are you concerned about issues that concern people in their daily lives?
KATERINA: Look, at the moment I'm not going into the process of doing a political or social song (if you're referring to something like that). I think it is something that has to do not only with the content but also with the body. But more and more often I have songs that start what we call a conversation. For example, "Botox", "encouraged", "Don't rush to grow up". There can be no complete lack of reflection from pop music. But it's all through the prism of my life, which makes all this a little more convincing.
BYO: Is there anything you'd like to talk about and haven't done yet?
KATERINA: Too much, that's why I'm in no hurry. Music will accompany me for many years, even as an artist, evolution must come smoothly and naturally and not in haste. You can find too many examples, both in our country and outside, of well-known names, out of nowhere, they pull something (good or bad doesn't matter) completely out of their image or style, mainly lyrically. This at the wrong time can only do harm.
BYO: You're a big deal, you like to deal with more than one thing. Do you have something you dream of doing and haven't done yet?
KATERINA: Of course, there are many things in areas that I already understand, that I want to achieve... You can call them "dreams." As for things I haven't done, I'd like to be a part of dubbing... I told you!
BYO: What drives you to what you do professionally?
KATERINA: What I always say is this: when a sentence comes along, I think of myself in what is proposed to me, if it is a song, to interpret it, if it is a TV show, to participate, if it is a role, to play it. And right away if it sits well with me, I move on, if not I leave it. I can't tell you my instincts always come outright, but I've done just fine so far. But it takes power to come up with tempting (and economical) proposals and say "No."
BYO: Do you think fashion plays a part in your life? plays a role in music, in a video clip, in a live performance, overall in the style of an artist;
KATERINA: Very important. In my professional life, of course. Especially in video clips. I can take pride in having changed a lot of things in this area in our country. With very few exceptions my clips are my own productions, they have my vision and every time fashion, it's a key axis on which we move. I don't just mean clothes, but generally the whole aesthetic direction. Its the same thing in a photoshoot and the same in my live performances. I try to give a single character to everything I do. It's not easy nowadays and in our music. Our time is voracious, and when you're asked to do things quickly, you find it hard to put a single stamp on all of this.
BYO: What is your personal style?
KATERINA: If you mean I'm in my everyday life, obviously I'm more casual and more athletic. It is not possible when your professional life is about make up, clothes, hair, stylistic alternations and appearances, you seek the same in your personal life. However, I really like to always watch what I wear, I mean that it's just casual k sport. Sport is a dominant part of my life and I like the style as well. Sneakers, NBA, NFL outfits, custom made collectibles, accessories. As a girl, of course, I have my most fashionable concerns, but I'm not one of those women who's going to buy something just for the sign.
BYO: Professionally, we see you more between street style and more classic choices sometimes. What expresses you most?
KATERINA: The occasion. I wouldn't go to see a basketball game in a tight and expensive dress, but I wouldn't go to an official event with a total sport outfit. Of course, come to think of it, if the second one's done with proper styling, it won't be bad, but anyway. There are times when, not to hide it, the classic women's outfit makes me feel confident and more feminine.
BYO: Do you like Athens? If so, what do you like about the city?
KATERINA: Athens is now my city. I've lived here for many years, I move around all the time, I live and breathe her problems. Although Salonic, I can say I like it here. Of course, with the pandemic much has changed, but I hope that the coveted regularity will return. So I like the alternation of urban environment with the coastal, the infinite choices in entertainment, food, music, art. I really like theatre and cinema, especially the summer and we have a lot of such options here. But what he likes most is the climate. It's perfect. You sleep six hours and get up rested.
BYO: Will you share with us a nice moment of the day when you like to do something specific?
KATERINA: I really like to get up a little slower (when I don't have any professional obligations or gym), enjoy my breakfast, but really enjoy it long enough, go out for a leisurely walk ... it clears my mind and I can organize my thinking much better.
BYO: Would you live in another city or country?
KATERINA: I've traveled quite a bit, I like other cities. In New York in theory I could live because I have too many friends, but I know it's been cold for months and I'm thinking about it again! But what makes me not able to live anywhere else is that I have my family here. It's the first time we've all been together in almost 20 years and I'm not negotiating it ..
BYO: Do you have a new project that's ready or that you're preparing in the near future?
KATERINA: Singles come out all the time, so I will immediately release an album that will have some songs that have already become hits and new ones. For now you can enjoy my new release "Grande" with Kings and KG.
