INTERVIEW: Antigoni on her new single 'Nervous': "I listen and create music through every emotion, happy, sad, angry - it’s my therapy and purpose."
Exciting new talent British talent Antigoni has recently released her new single ‘Nervous’, the follow up to her March collaboration with Zion Foster ‘Messy’.
Written with Connor Mullally and Amira El-Shafie, ‘Nervous’ is a sultry, addictive slice of dance pop that sees Antigoni mix sounds of her Greek-Cypriot background with the sounds of the Middle East. Lyrically it talks of meeting someone you are instantly attracted to but nerves overtake you and you struggle to speak to them.
“I consider myself a confident person, and I never really get nervous speaking to someone I think is attractive," Antigoni says. "But I was talking to this guy at a bar and actually felt nervous for once; I didn't know what to say! That was the moment that inspired the song. I think people are going to relate to this song because everyone has been in a situation where they've felt nervous around someone they find attractive. It's something that's universal, and I wanted to capture that feeling in a way that was both flirtatious and vulnerable."
Antigoni has been releasing music since 2019 and in that time has accumulated over six million streams on Spotify alone, alongside airplay from BBC Radio 1. Her music is a delicious combination of contemporary dance and R&B music with the sounds and flavours of her ancestry, and with her beautiful and powerful voice she has everything it takes to become not only a major star, but also your new favourite pop star. We recently caught up with her to chat more about the creation of ‘Nervous’ and her career to date.
Hey Antigoni! Thanks so much for sparing the time to chat. How is life with you right now?
My pleasure! Life is good! I’ve just spent the last couple of weeks locked into the studio with my team finishing off a bunch of music for the rest of the year.
Congratulations on the release of your new single ‘Nervous’, which is such an addictive, summery bop. Can you tell me all about the inspiration behind this track?
Thank you! Honestly the song is literally what it says on the tin. I was talking to this guy at a bar and I felt myself feeling nervous, which was unusual because I’m generally quite confident regardless of who I’m talking to. It got me thinking how everyone must have that feeling sometimes and how it’s kind of scary and exciting at the same time when you feel like that. Seik (the producer of the track) had this beat that he was working on and ‘Nervous’ was born.
You are of Greek-Cypriot ancestry and much of your music has elements of traditional Greek-Cypriot music and instruments, but on ‘Nervous’ there is a heavy Middle Eastern vibe. What was behind the creative choice to explore this soundscape?
Greek music shares a lot of the same soundscapes & melodic scales as music throughout the whole of the Middle East (a lot of people don’t even realise that Cyprus is a Middle Eastern country). Exploring this sound happened so organically. I’ve been making music my whole life and my culture has always been such a huge part of my identity and who I am. I’ve always adored listening to and singing Greek music and I slowly started introducing elements of it into my own music, and this sound combining my Cypriot heritage & London upbringing was created. This is truly when I knew I’d found my sound. It was through this process, that who I am as a person and who I am as an artist became one and everything I was doing made sense.
Speaking of the creative process, how did this song come about?
We were doing a little writing camp at my house last summer and that’s where we started the song. I wrote it with my manager Connor Mullally, who I write so much music with and an amazing writer called Amira. The beat was produced by Seik Beats and finished by my main producer Trey Qua. We wrote the song in a few hours in my sister’s bedroom haha and then finished it over the following months. We got Mario (incredible bouzouki player) to come lay some bouzouki on the track and that brought it all together. It was a super fun and easy process.
What role did music play in your life when you were growing up?
Music has always been the essence of who I am. I don’t have any memories where I didn’t know that being an artist was all I would ever do. Music is such an important part of Greek culture too and my family in Cyprus would always come together every summer and sing for hours which were such special moments. I listen and create music through every emotion, happy, sad, angry - it’s my therapy and purpose.
Was a career in music always a given for you, or did it grow organically?
Yeah it was always a given, I never even considered anything else, I just knew it was what I am meant to do.
You have been releasing music for around four years now, how do you think you have grown, or changed, as an artist during this time?
I’d need a couple of pages to answer this properly lmao!! I really didn’t have a direction when I started releasing music. I’d just been desperate to release music for soo long that I just went for it and in hindsight I wasn’t quite ready. It took finding this sound that incorporates my culture to really be like, “okay now I know who I am as an artist.” It’s since last March when I released ‘Red Flag’ that I’ve been on the right path
As a person, I’ve definitely grown a lot in the last few years and learnt a lot about myself. I’m grateful for good and the bad that’s happened in my journey so far and feel like I’m so ready for this next chapter - both musically & personally.
For so many years the music industry has never been a particularly welcoming or safe space for female artists, mainly because it has been run by older, straight, white men for decades. What are your thoughts on gender (in)equality and sexism in music?
I think it’s inevitable to say that the scales have been very unbalanced for a long time with the treatment of women and men in the industry. As a man, if you’re in a session or a meeting, you would know it’s because your talent and artistry is being recognised and respected. Sometimes as a woman I’ve felt/known that I’ve only been given the opportunity to be there because someone maybe had an ulterior motive and so I’d have to work extra hard to prove myself and earn the respect of the people in the room.
Thankfully, I think we are in a place in the world where women have rallied together to create a safer environment, where we can voice our concerns and be open about shadiness in the industry. I believe women in music are more powerful than ever and it’s only going to get stronger!
‘Nervous’ is out now, what else is coming up for you for the rest of 2023?
I am working towards dropping a project that brings all the music I’ve been releasing since ‘Red Flag’ together, as well as some new songs too. I think that will be around September and then I’m ready to go with the next few singles too which I’m diving even deeper into my roots with sound wise! I have some collabs on the cards too which I’m so excited about!
‘Nervous’ is out now. You can buy and stream here.
To keep up with all things Antigoni you can follow her on Instagram and TikTok.
