Greek artist, songwriter, and guitar player launches the newest version of himself, Politis Dimitris 2.0. and with it, an EP titled Mortal Trip. An abstract narrative on the vast and complex societal and existential challenges, Dimitris explores meaning through speculative imagery and metaphor, caked in progressive rock, and experimental blues.
When asked about past influences and his inspiration for developing as a musician, he attributes this new frontier to a mix of experiences. Dimitris gives us some backstory: as a teenager, he recalls that rock was only listened to by a small percentage of Greece’s population, so he ventured into his own discovery of US and other international big bands, enjoying the power of rock, specifically the likes of Frank Zappa. He was drawn to Zappa’s genre fluidity and social commentary laced throughout his works.
Dimitris continues, sharing that like many people, he would choose music to cultivate a specific emotional state. As a music fan first, he realized that creating music gave him an even greater power to feel however he wanted, which became a major reason he dove into making music in the first place.
As his friend got him even more into it, Dimitiris started learning drums and rhythm guitar, eventually joining a band and writing songs that spiraled from a drum beat, a guitar riff, or a lyrical thought that came through.
He shares that during the pandemic and lockdown, he also leaned into his fascination with the ancients, studying the starting points of many things. He traveled to ancient Greek learning sites like Ancient Olympia and Delphi. And naturally, with the learning of our intricate histories and the complexities of our modern world, it wove well into his storytelling abilities and lyrical content. Dimitris describes that through his imagination, skill development, and learning over the years that his artistry experienced a metamorphosis.
In shedding previous iterations of himself, we find his latest product, being the creation of EP Mortal Trip. Dimitris shares that the act of creating the EP was his favorite part of this process but also highlights part of this “metamorphosis” involved leveling up his visions by collaborating with top-tier musicians out of Nashville, Tennessee. A partnership with producer Nicky V brought Dimitris overseas to record and team up with decorated session musicians who helped bring the songs to a polished state. The full team included Nicky V on guitars and production, Wes Little on drums, Martin Motnik on bass, Tim McDonald on keys, and Brandon Bankes handling the mix and master.
The kick off track in Mortal Trip is “White Knight,” which showcases poetic vocals that unlayer the heaviness of global warming, and the toll it’s taking on every species, everywhere. In the lyrics:
Chaos now it was king,
The final threat to that string
It parallels humans’ utter mismanagement of our planet and the chaos we’ve created that’s driving the decline of biodiversity. “That string” is a metaphor for how delicate life is, because if we continue down the path we’re on, we’re headed for another mass extinction.
Yet as Dimitris points out, every end is also a new beginning. In the chorus:
Darkness came by as a White Knight,
Luck never game ‘em a fair fight
Straight road yet likely to bend
Every path started to end
He alludes to an example of when the meteor destroyed the dinosaurs at the end of Mesozoic Era, it gave way for mammalian evolution to take pace. Dimitris continues to explore the duality of nature throughout the song, and ultimately conveys that many things can have many meanings simultaneously.
Another track that explores the world’s natural beginnings and ends, is “Born Into This.” With a pragmatic delivery and steady rolling of the beat, the lyrics offer:
Hey it happens, and then, that’s that
You leave and the world right away moves on
And somebody has to mow the lawn
No plow stops for a dying man
So plow m**ther**cker… as much as you can
Everyone has a shelf life, and the sooner we can accept that, the easier it’s going to be to live the life we have while we have it, and truly appreciate the simple things. ‘Cause one way or another, no one gets out alive. So enjoy the “Mortal Trip” while it lasts, and “plow” “as much as you can.”
Listen to Politis Dimitris 2.0 on Youtube:
“White Knight”
“Born into This”
Catch the full EP Mortal Trip on Spotify
Follow Politis Dimitris 2.0 on social:
RELATED STORIES
Today's Top Hits
LET’S TALK
COMMENTS
Leave a comment