“A TRUE HEROINE” stood out immediately as the perfect transition from “THE VILLAIN” to “THE HEROINE.” It reflects serenity in loss and always finding your way home. That feeling makes it the perfect intro track and sets the mood for the rest of the “THE HEROINE” part of this project.
The ANTI-HERO photoshoot marks a fresh visual chapter for you. What story or feeling did you want to capture with those images? How do visuals shape your music and identity?
The ANTI-HERO shoot is about everything good and bad in a person, and most importantly, a battle of both simultaneously. An interplay of power, vulnerability, innocence, menace, lust, and austerity. It is very similar to the themes and narratives within the world of “THE VILLAIN HEROINE.” Visuals are really important because they complement my music and are a key element in my creative storytelling.
Those first images—lace clinging to skin as if protecting what’s underneath, bruises raw and visible, a bunny held quiet against you—feel like grief dressed in grace. What were you revealing in that moment? Does that bruised tenderness still live inside you?
In that moment, together with Petros Aronis — the mind behind the ANTI-HERO concept — I was revealing the internal conflict at its core: the simultaneous presence of both light and shadow within a person. The bruised tenderness you see isn’t just aesthetic; it symbolizes that duality: vulnerability wrapped in strength, pain softened by grace. Yes, that tenderness still lives in me. It’s part of the narrative I’m exploring, where innocence and menace, lust and restraint, constantly battle and coexist. The visuals are my way of extending that story beyond sound into something you can feel and see.
Hair has always carried weight. It speaks to identity, gender, power, or rebellion. In this shoot, some styles feel sculptural, others untamed and provocative. How do you use hair as part of your storytelling?
Hair has always played a significant role in my art. It’s a form of storytelling and self-expression. From the color and shape to the texture of the hair, everything matters in making a statement appearance. If my 20 years of visual experimentation have taught me something, it’s that a bold change often begins with hair.
Stepping on the cake. Tasting it. It brings up something between indulgence and defiance, femininity and mess, ritual and ruin. Was it about hunger, performance, rejection, celebration, or something deeper?
Stepping on the cake, tasting it— that moment lives in the tension between indulgence and defiance. It was deliberate and raw, echoing the core of ANTI-HERO: a clash between control and chaos, femininity and revolt. It wasn’t just about hunger or performance, though those are layers in it. It was about claiming space in contradiction: ritual turned ruin, celebration turned rebellion. That mess is meaningful; it tells the story of someone who dares to hold power and vulnerability at once.
Power and vulnerability run through your work like fire. How do you keep those two alive without one swallowing the other?
I do not necessarily see these two as separate. There is power in vulnerability and vice versa. Over the years, I have been cultivating self-awareness one step at a time. There are moments where I have to set boundaries and show my vulnerability, while in others I must be strong and express my opinion without hesitation. When I give both feelings room, they can exist side by side without clashing.
Now that you run your own label, Kiki Music Group, I assume you can control everything. What doors does that open for you creatively and professionally? What can you do now that wasn’t possible before?
Kiki is our newborn baby. It creates space for artists with restless ideas and sounds that challenge the norm. Kiki allows us to create something free from commercial constraints, driven purely by vision and intention. In my case, MINOS EMI | Universal is still distributing my music—an important 20-year partnership that plays a key role in my new adventures with Kiki Music Group.
Finally, for anyone reading, as you reflect on your journey of growth and transformation, what guiding principle or mindset do you embrace to remain true to yourself through life’s ever-changing seasons?
I try to stay anchored in honesty with myself, my art, and the people around me. I always try to create from a place of truth, not fear. I’ve learned that growth doesn’t mean losing yourself; it means expanding into more of who you really are. So I embrace change, but I move through it with intention.
