Described by the British press as "A rare diamond", "Brave and original. A remarkably fine singer songwriter" The Guardian,
Athena keeps touching people's hearts with her powerfully emotive voice. On Oct 17th she'll be releasing the "Finding England EP",
a bundle of two tracks: 'Finding England' and 'I'll Never Know'; plus radio remixes of both tracks by Mark Gordon, one half of skibunny and "Belfast's No 1 remixer" according to NME. The first single 'Finding England' was co-written by Athena and Richard Causon who's worked closely with Ethan Johns on several records, has co-written 'Sylvia Plath and 'Goodnight Hollywood Blvd' on Ryan Adam's "Gold", and has worked with artists as diverse as Alanis Morissette, Tom Jones and Rufus Wainwright.
Athena's new album "Peeling Apples" is out early 2012.
UK: DEBUT ALBUM: BREATHE WITH ME ¬¬– APRIL 2008
NEW ALBUM: PEELING APPLES – SINGLE RELEASE OCT 2011, ALBUM RELEASE FEB 2012
BBC RADIO 2, BBC RADIO3, BBC LONDON RADIO, BBC WORLD SERVICE, RESONANCE FM, LGR,
BBC RADIO 4 – INTERVIEWS, SESSIONS AND AIRPLAYS 2005-2008
INCLUDING:
RADIO
BBC RADIO 4 WOMAN'S HOUR LIVE SET & INTERVIEW– 2006
BBC RADIO 3 ANDY KERSHAW LIVE ACOUSTIC SESSIONS – 2006
BBC WORLD SERVICE LIVE ACOUSTIC SET – 2007
BBC RADIO 2 JANICE LONG LIVE ACOUSTIC SESSIONS – APR 2008
PRESS
ALBUM RAVE REVIEWS IN AMONG OTHERS THE GUARDIAN, DAILY MIRROR, WORD, MOJO, UNCUT
TV
CHANNEL 5 DOCUMENTARY ATHENA: MY MUSIC – APR 20, 2008
REPEATS ON SKY ARTS – 2008-2011
BREATHE AGAIN ON TV AD CAMPAIGN FOR CONCERN (UK & IRELAND) – 2010 & 2011
CHARTS
AMAZON UK CHARTS TOP 5
VIRGIN UK CHARTS 17
FANS
OVER 10,000 FANS ON FACEBOOK (FAN & ARTIST PAGE), 30,000 HITS ON YOUTUBE IN FIRST WEEK OF SINGLE RELEASE, AND OVER 100,000 ON MYSPACE
LIVE (HEADLINING):
3 UK TOURS AT VENUES & FESTIVALS INCLUDING:
PURCELL ROOM (SOLD OUT) – 2005 & 2006
JAZZ CAFÉ (SOLD OUT) – FEB 2006
SAGE GATESHEAD (SOLD OUT) – FEB/MAR 2006 & 2007
QUEEN ELIZABETH HALL – FEB 2007
LONDON'S PIGALLE CLUB – APRIL 2008
SOUTHBANK – JULY 2008
TROUBADOUR (SOLD OUT) – JULY 2009
KARAMEL CLUB (SOD OUT) – JUNE 2011
FESTIVALS & OTHER GIGS INCLUDE:
GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL – JUNE 2008
BIG CHILL – AUG 2007
TOWER FESTIVAL WITH MADELEINE PEYROUX – JULY 2006
iTUNES APPLE LONDON – JUNE 2008
WITH ALKINOOS AT ISLINGTON ACADEMY – MAY 2008
DUET WITH JAMIE HARTMAN (BEN'S BROTHER) – 2009
LIVE WITH THE LONDON COMMUNITY GOSPEL CHOIR – MAY 2011
U.S.A.: SXSW LIVE SHOWS & RADIO – 2010
SEVERAL CO-WRITES INCLUDING RELEASES ON ARTISTS' RECORDS (USA):
REBECCA MARTIN 2008, ADAM LEVY 2009, FASTBALL 2010
BILLBOARD MAGAZINE (EDITORIAL) – JAN 2011
ALL OVER AGAIN (PEELING APPLES) US MOVIE SYNC – NEW RICARDO BENET FILM NOMADS WITH LUCY LIU – 2012
GREECE: SONY BMG GR – CHARTS TOP 10, EMI GR – COMBINED CHARTS 12
RADIO ARVYLA ANT1 TV SHOW, MAD & MTV - 2010, 2011
"This powerful emotive debut deserves to mark her out as one of the year's major new stars." **** Mojo
"She's got earthshaking looks and a talent to match. Listen closely and a startling originality emerges"
**** Daily Mirror
"Sparklingly spans the boundaries of music, enhanced by a voice of great emotional resonance." **** Uncut
"Young, vivacious, charismatic. the balance of her own sensual songs with a mix of tradition and classical influence gives her a rare individuality." Word
"Radiating class and oodles of talent. a voice blessed… this rare diamond ought to shine." Daily Mail
"Brave and original. A remarkably fine singer songwriter." The Guardian
"A singer destined for great things." Daily Express
Born in London, Anglo-Greek singer songwriter Athena is part of London's melting pot and creative talent, collaborating, recording, performing and writing with international musicians and songwriters such as Richard Causon (Ethan Johns, Ryan Adams), Chris Difford (Squeeze), Geoff Martyn (Travis), Chaz Jankel (Blockheads), Marti Pellow (Wet Wet Wet), Adam Levy (Norah Jones), Mike Rowe (Sheryl Crowe), Jamie Hartman (Ben's Brother), Darren Berry (La Roux), Eric Appapouley & Richard Cassell (Plan B). Having received rave reviews by the British press and headlining sold out venues and festivals ranging from the South Bank Centre in London to Glastonbury, Athena is establishing herself firmly in the British music scene. A one hour documentary about her voice & music entitled MyMusic aired on Channel 5 in 2008 and SkyArts in 2009-2011 with Athena being hailed as one of the leading new UK singers and songwriters.
She has recently finished recording her new album Peeling Apples in London with Swedish producers Tobias Froberg (Peter Bjorn and John, Ane Brun, Lisa Ekdahl) and Magnus Frykberg (Jay Jay Johanson, Sophia Tanvik), and her UK band, multi-instrumentalist Ben Trigg (Elton John, Arctic Monkeys, Razorlight), Tom Mason (Donovan, Questlove), as well as Al Cherry (Gwyneth Herbert) on guitar, Roy Martin (Aretha Franklin, Joan Baez, James Morrison) on drums, and featuring Ben's Brother (Jamie Hartman) on a duet. Her first record Breathe With Me (Embraceable Records) also received major publicity in Greece (Sony), while Peeling Apples (EMI) reached No 12 in the combined charts for several consecutive weeks, and was playlisted on 6 major radio stations.
Peeling Apples UK release due Feb 2012. First single launch "Finding England' with a show at the 606 Club on 17 Oct 2011.
