Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how your childhood impacted your musical direction?
A: I grew up in a small town in western Greece called Neohori.
When I was ten years old, I was at school when I heard a girl playing the mandolin. It was the first time I had ever heard a musical instrument played live. I remember running home and shouting to my mother that I wanted a mandolin immediately.
The same day, I joined the local music school next to my house, and in two or three weeks, with bleeding fingers, I was playing alongside the same girl who had inspired me. That moment changed everything for me.
Later, I became a member of the Neohori Mandolin Orchestra and went on to study classical guitar. That classical education gave me some discipline, technique, and a deep respect for music. But as I grew older, I felt the need to move beyond patterns and express myself more freely. That’s where my own songs began.
Q: How are you planning on growing your fan base and sharing your music with the world? What message do you have for anyone who is about to discover George Aletras?
A: I don’t think audiences can be chased. They find you when a song feels like it was written for them. If someone discovers my music today, I hope they don’t try to understand me. I hope they recognize something of themselves.
Q: Who is the most inspiring artist for you right now? And where do you find inspiration for making music?
A: It’s difficult for me to choose a single artist because inspiration comes from so many places. Although the person who has influenced me the most was Thanos Anestopoulos, the lead singer of Diafana Krina a legendary Greek rock band. What inspired me wasn’t just his music, but his honesty as a person and songwriter. Through him, I realized that a song doesn’t have to be comfortable or pleasant, it has to carry some truth.
Since then, I’ve tried to follow that idea in my own work. I don’t write songs to impress people or to fit a genre. I write them because they express something I couldn’t say any other way. If a song is honest and carries something real, it inspires me, and I believe it will eventually find the people who need it.
Q: Can you tell us about the story or message behind the song, “Όπως Παλιά”?
A: “Όπως Παλιά” is not about returning to the past. It is about bringing something from the past into the present.
It is a question about what we lose as we grow older, and whether we can still find that part of ourselves that was more open, more honest, and more alive.
Maybe the song is not asking us to remember how things were, but to ask if we can become that way again today.
Q: How would you describe your sound in one word for potential listeners?
A: Unfinished.
Q: Did you face any challenges while writing or recording “Όπως Παλιά”?
A: Not really. The song came together quite naturally. Recording the vocals is always the most demanding part for me, because I don’t consider myself a professional singer, I’m a songwriter first.
The real challenge is finding what to leave out. Every song is tempted by things that try to impress. I try to strip those away and keep only what truly is needed. In the end, simplicity is often the hardest thing to achieve.
Q: What is the message of your music? And what are your goals as an artist?
A: Usually, people (including myself) listen to music to forget themselves for a while. When I write music, I’m trying to do the opposite: to remember myself.
I don’t think I have a specific message to deliver. I’m simply trying to preserve a feeling, a moment, or a part of myself and the world before it disappears.
My goal as an artist isn’t different from my goal as a human being: to create and maintain a connection with something inside myself that everyday life makes me lose so easily.
The search for that connection and the obstacles that stand in its way, is the very often the main theme of my music.
Q: Who is your dream artist to collaborate with? (dead or alive)
A: I have never really dreamed of collaborating with a specific artist.
I think the most interesting collaborations happen when there is a genuine connection between two people and something unexpected is created.
Of course, there are many artists I deeply admire, but if I had to choose someone, I would say my sister.
She has a voice with natural musicality that communicates emotions, but she never really had the chance to explore it with me further.
I think sharing a song with someone close to me, without expectations or pressure, would be something truly beautiful.
Q: What is your advice for people interested in pursuing music as a career or for those trying to enter the industry?
A: I don’t know if I’m in a position to give advice. I am still learning, making mistakes, and trying to understand my own path.
Maybe the only thing I could say is: don’t lose the reason you started. The industry will always change, and there will always be voices telling you what you should become. But the connection you have with music before anyone else hears it, is something worth protecting, especially from yourself.
Q: If you could go back in time and give a younger you some words of wisdom, what would they be?
A: I don’t think I would give him any advice. I would ask him if he would like to become friends.
I’m sure he would have a lot to teach me and then maybe I would play him “Όπως Παλιά” (“Like the Old Days”).
