Apostolos Ntias – 'Έντεκα': Greek Rock at its best

Although there are very important and well-known bands in this scene, there's room for new artists who want to get into this club. One of them is the very promising Apostolos Ntias, who with his new album titled 'Έντεκα', lays solid foundations for his place in the Greek Rock scene.

First steps

Apostolos was born and raised in Thessaloniki. From the earliest days of his life, rock sounds rang in his ears, since his mother lulled him to sleep with Vasilis Papakonstantinou and his father with Led Zeppelin! Even though he wasn't crazy about school lessons, he still finished a technical college degree in accounting and then worked in the field of economics and business administration. But he always kept in his bag his favorite music collections and a notebook to jot down images or scribble lyrics.

What he always loved and knew he wanted to pursue was music, and specifically, rock songs in all their forms. He took vocal lessons alongside his studies in classical, acoustic and electric guitar. Quite a bit later, the magic of the piano won him over too, and when an antique piano from 1830 crossed his path, he slowly began creating new stories on it.

Over the last three years he's managed to establish himself in people's minds as the passionate singer-songwriter with rock tones. His strong, distinctive voice has left its mark on more than 100 performances across Northern Greece in recent years.

Since 2018, beyond Thessaloniki he's also turned to many destinations outside the city such as Serres, Alexandreia, Katerini, Kozani, Ptolemaida, Drama, Igoumenitsa, Naousa and many others.

It all began with 'Έντεκα'

In December 2019 he released his first official album, with lyrics and music by himself, titled 'Έντεκα' along with a music video for the song «Νομίζω το αξίζω». Almost three months later, in March 2020, came the second music video from the album, for the song «Πόσο ακόμα».

The reception of 'Έντεκα' was hugely encouraging from the music-loving audience. In particular, «Νομίζω το αξίζω» found a lot of "thirsty" ears, surpassing 50,000 views in the first two months of its release. As for the title ('Έντεκα'), it seems to come from the number of tracks it contains.

On the music

'Έντεκα' is an album that moves between rock, pop and "éntechno" music. There are compositions that lean toward the éntechno and pop character (like 'Νομίζω το αξίζω'). There are tracks that tend more toward rock (like 'Πόσο Ακόμα’, ‘Κρυφτό’, ‘Μια λέξη τίποτα' and 'Λαβύρινθος'). The combination might throw some people off, but trust me, the result is extremely interesting.

Musically speaking, the album can satisfy even the most demanding listeners. If you're a fan of atmospheric romantic music, you'll definitely find songs with exactly that character. On the other hand, if you're into intense rock melody, Apostolos has got you covered there too! The overall aftertaste the album leaves you with is entirely positive. The tracks give off euphoria and a drive toward self-improvement.

On the subject matter

Here Apostolos refers to stories that seem to be personal. This makes the tracks carry a lot of emotion. Generally, the lyrics move between the will to reshape one's character and the tendency to push back against and change society. As mentioned in 'Λαβύρινθος', there's a drive to escape the emptiness and lack of emotion that exists all around us. A drive to break free from the flaws in our character and our self-destructiveness.

Special mention must be made of Apostolos Ntias's performance. On 'Έντεκα' the singer shows he has the ability to cover a huge vocal range. From sweet, romantic ballads all the way to full throttle rock tracks. From vocal lines in low registers to dynamic turns full of grit. Personally, I think he has the potential to 'harden' his musical style even further, should he wish to go in that direction in the future.

In conclusion

If nothing else, this is a very interesting first attempt from an artist who seems to have every quality needed to establish himself in the genre. Personally, I'd really love to see him on a stage performing his songs live, hoping he brings exactly the same energy he brings on the album. So, we're eagerly awaiting future compositions from Apostolis.