Sebastian Boulter: They Are Afraid Of Us Digital Single

Description

In memory of
Zak Kostopoulos | Zackie Oh
1985 – 2018

Lead vocal: Marilena Orfanou
Backing vocals: Apostol Terminal
Cello: Mikko Supponen
Guitars and bass: Sebastian Boulter
Drums and keyboards: Teemu Takatalo

Video: Taija Goldblatt
Music: Sebastian Boulter
Composed to an extract of poem by Tasos Leivaditis

Recording and mixing: Teemu Takatalo / Mutual Sound Studios
Mutual Recordings
www.mutualrecordings.net

2021

****

All the sales revenue will be donated for LGBTQI+ activism in Greece.

****

The song and the video are made in memory of Zak Kostopoulos (1985-2018), also known as Zackie Oh, a LGBTIQ+ activist in Greece. Kostopoulos was killed on a street in Athens in September 2018. The trial over his death began in October 2021 with six people being charged, four of them police officers.

The words in the song are an extract of a poem by Tassos Leivaditis. The extract was written on a wall at the place where Zak was beaten fatally. Leivaditis (1922-1988) was a poet, an essayist, screenwriter, literary critic and amongst many other works, the collaboration with Mikis Theodorakis, whom Leivaditis had first met when they were both in exile in the 1940s, continued in the field of songwriting, with the Greek composer putting many of Leivaditis’ poems to music.

The composer of They Are Afraid of Us is an Athens based artist Sebastian Boulter (b.1974 in Finland). His work includes fine arts and music. Having a background of classical music, compositions for small chamber groups, contemporary dancing groups, theatre and cinematic music, this piece is his first piece of pop music. In the Mutual Sound Studio, where They Are Afraid of Us has been composed, recorded and mixed Boulter has his atelier for painting, drawing and sculptures.

The visual artist behind the video of They Are Afraid of Us is Taija Goldblatt, who lives and works in Tampere, Finland. She works with video, animation and drawing. Goldblatt’s works have been seen in solo and group ehxibitions in Finland as well as in international film festivals such as Tehran International Film Festival, Melbourne International Animation Festival and FAQ – Feminist And Queer Film Festival in Bukarest.