Out today, Swedish-Greek indie folk singer, songwriter, producer, and artist Plàsi (born Mikael Bitzarakis) shares "Far from Home," the first single from a forthcoming album. On the track, a meditative epic about "the feeling of suddenly losing all that felt familiar in your surroundings," Plàsi embraces the unknown: "Far from all we have learned," singing, "the world is tilting, soon turned."
When it came time to lay this new song down, Plàsi teamed up with Linus Hasselberg and Hannes Hasselberg, the talented Swedish brothers who also helmed the ship on his previous EPs Mystery and last year's Where I Belong.
About the song, Plàsi says: "The song is about suddenly losing all that felt familiar. The daily life experiences that we had taken for granted - from random encounters to family gatherings - were suddenly gone. Also, topics we fought for, such as open borders and solidarity around the refugee crisis, suddenly weren't a part of the national agenda anymore. My surroundings went from a world that I felt part of to one that felt very far from home."
Last month, Plàsi released a collaborative track called "Chaos" with Icelandic singer-songwriter and labelmate Axel Flóvent. From that collaboration, "a musical kinship" has led to a 2022 co-headline tour (dates below). Speaking about the track and tour, Plàsi had said, "When I first met Axel, I immediately felt it click between us. After writing together, it's clear there's a musical kinship. I can't wait to share that kind of creative 'love at first sight' moment with this track and later with the 2022 co-headline tour!"
2022 Tour Dates:
February 7 Copenhagen, Denmark @ Ideal Bar
February 8 Berlin, Germany @ Kantine am Berghain
February 9 Hamburg, Germany @ Bahnhof Pauli
February 10 Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Melkweg
February 11 Köln, Germany @ Artheater
February 12 St. Gallen, Switzerland @ Nordklang Festival
February 13 Zürich, Switzerland @ Papiersaal
February 15 Vienna, Austria @ Chelsea
February 16 Prague, Czech Republic @ Chapeau Rouge
February 17 Warsaw, Poland @ BARdzo Bardzo
February 18 Leipzig, Germany @ Neues Schauspiel Leipzig
About Plàsi:
Having spent his life bouncing back and forth between Sweden and Greece, the native countries of his parents, Plàsi (aka Mikael Bitzarakis) was not thrilled about the idea of staying locked inside for months on waiting for the pandemic to end. But with the borders closed, he had to get creative. So, he set sail into the ocean of his creation to find inspiration. Since his debut EP Now & Then, his music has made waves in the global folk scene with its natural beauty and romantic charm, earning 65-million combined streams and a loyal live following. With the latest recordings (Nettwerk Records), Plàsi has decided to use his new personal escape as the setting for his most ambitious project yet. A semi-concept album of sorts - a journey to a place where one can reflect on “the world we live in, and what matters.” Writing gentle pop songs in the tradition of nylon-string pluckers like Nick Drake, Vashti Bunyan, Hollow Coves, George Ogilvie and Cat Stevens, Plàsi used the shift in perspective to push his music to a new realm.
