Plastic Flowers

George Samaras, better known as Plastic Flowers, is a London-based Greek songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who has released three full-length studio albums, Evergreen in 2014,[1][2] Heavenly in 2016[3][4] and Absent Forever in 2017.[5]

Plastic Flowers
Plastic Flowers live in Berlin, 2014
Born
Georgios Samaras

(1990-08-01) 1 August 1990
Thessaloniki, Greece
NationalityGreek
EducationAristotle University of Thessaloniki (BA)
King's College London (MA, PhD)
Notable work
Evergreen (2014), Heavenly (2016), Absent Forever (2017)
StyleDream pop, electronic, experimental
Websiteplasticflowers.eu

Career

George started recording music on a TASCAM Multi-track and released a series of bedroom pop influenced EPs that have received praise for their lo-fi touch.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]

In 2014 his debut album Evergreen was released through Inner Ear Records,[15] and Crash Symbols[16] in Europe and the United States respectively. He later moved to London[17] and recorded his second full-length album Heavenly[18] in November 2015,[19][20] and Absent Forever in 2017, both via The Native Sound and distribution by Warner ADA.

He became the first Greek act ever to perform at South by Southwest[21][22] and toured USA and Europe. Plastic Flowers has also performed live at the Royal Academy of Arts,[23] Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center,[24] Athens Concert Hall and Thessaloniki Concert Hall,[25] and shared the stage with Bonobo, A.R.Kane, Emancipator, Still Corners. On his debut album he collaborated with Keep Shelly In Athens[26] and NY-based folk artist Ed Askew.

Theodoros Pangalos Sample

In 2012, Plastic Flowers sampled Theodoros Pangalos' controversial ministerial statement "We [government and citizens] fooled away the money together" in Sinking Ship/Vanished Crew.[27]

Academia

As an undergraduate studying German at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki between 2009 and 2014, Samaras read modern and contemporary literature. He later completed a Master's Degree in Education Policy, and started his Doctoral Research at King's College London,[28] where he investigates the rise of right-wing extremism in Greece during the fiscal crisis.

He is currently writing for Greek newspaper Kathimerini.[29]

In June 2020, during the Black Lives Matter protests, he started a campaign against a local school in West Hampstead,[30][31] named after slave owner William Beckford. The campaign received coverage from national newspapers and support from Emma Thompson,[32] resulting in a name change.[33]

Discography

LPs
  • Evergreen[16] (2014, Inner Ear Records – Crash Symbols)
  • Heavenly[34] (2016, The Native Sound – Track & Field Records)
  • Absent Forever (2017, The Native Sound - Distributed by Warner-ADA)

EPs and singles
  • Meltdown EP (2011, Cakes and Tapes)
  • White Walls Painted Black – Single (2011, Cakes and Tapes)
  • Natural Conspiracy EP (2012, Cakes and Tapes)
  • Empty Eyes – Single (2012, Bad Panda Records)
  • In You I'm Lost – Single (2012, self-released)
  • Aftermath EP (2013, Manic Pop Records)
  • Fog Song/Silence – Double 7" (2013, Manic Pop Records)
  • Now She's Gone – Single (2014, self-released)
  • Summer of 1992 EP (2015, self-released)
  • Falling Off – Single 7"[35] (2016, The Native Sound)

References
  1. Neves, Sergio. "Plastic Flowers Evergreen review". Vice. Portugal. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  2. "CHASSEUR INTERVIEWS MUSIC DUO PLASTIC FLOWERS – Chasseur Magazine". Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  3. Murray, Robin. "Plastic Flowers – Diver". Clash Magazine. UK. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  4. Phillips, Nicola. "Plastic Flowers Album Premiere". Kaltblut. Germany. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  5. Murray, Robin (13 September 2017). "Premiere: Plastic Flowers - How Can I". Clash Magazine. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  6. Robinson, Tom. "Introducing Mixtape". BBC. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  7. Neves, Sergio. "OS PLASTIC FLOWERS PREPARAM-SE PARA O SXSW EM PORTUGAL". VICE Mag. (in Portuguese). Portugal. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  8. "August's best new music from across the MAP". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
  9. Evans, Dayna. "Plastic Flowers – Populists". Impose. USA. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
  10. Carson, Dan. "Plastic Flowers – Dead Promises". The Line of Best Fit. UK. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
  11. Milton, Jamie. "The Neu Bulletin 20th June 2013". DIY Magazine. UK. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
  12. Listen to "Strange Neighbors" by Plastic Flowers, retrieved 7 December 2018
  13. Subscribe. "Tracks: White Denim, Swearin’ & More". DIY. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  14. "Plastic Flowers "Lucy" (video)". exclaim.ca. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  15. "Evergreen". Inner Ear Records. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  16. "Evergreen". Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  17. "Interview: Plastic Flowers - Greece – beehype – Best Music from Around the World". beehy.pe. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  18. "10 best songs of the week". For The Win. 19 February 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  19. Darley, Andrew (25 May 2016). "Heavenly: An Interview with Plastic Flowers". The 405. The 405 Ltd. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  20. Bushell, Glen. "Plastic Flowers: "I like to remind myself that there is a past"". Punktastic. UK. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  21. "SXSW: Plastic Flowers". SXSW. USA. Archived from the original on 8 March 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  22. "SXSW 2017 Adds Nearly 500 Bands to Bill: Sad13, Merchandise, Pill, More". Spin. 10 January 2017. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  23. "The Academicians' Room Members: RA Schools Curate | Event | Royal Academy of Arts". www.royalacademy.org.uk. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  24. Wedia. "Plastic Flowers". www.snfcc.org (in Greek). Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  25. "PLASTIC FLOWERS". www.tch.gr. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  26. writer, About Dayna Evans Dayna Evans is a; www, editor based in New York full profile/ twitter/ (7 October 2013). "Plastic Flowers, "Ghosts (feat. Keep Shelly In Athens)" - New Music". Impose Magazine. Retrieved 7 December 2018.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  27. Palast, Greg. "I upset my least favorite greek minister". VICE Mag. UK. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  28. "Georgios Samaras". www.kcl.ac.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  29. "Ανάλυση: Το Black Lives Matter ως πυλώνας αλλαγής, ΓΙΩΡΓΟΣ ΣΑΜΑΡΑΣ* | Kathimerini". www.kathimerini.gr. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  30. Berry, Franki. "Petition urges West Hampstead primary school to reconsider slave trader name". Hampstead Highgate Express. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  31. "Now primary school could have name changed over slavery link". Camden New Journal. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  32. "Primary school to drop name of slave owner in wake of BLM protests". Evening Standard. 13 July 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  33. "Calls for London primary to be renamed after first black headteacher". Evening Standard. 24 June 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  34. "Heavenly". Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  35. "Feel Everything at Once with Plastic Flowers and "Falling Off" - Noisey". noisey. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.