Podcast // Accapella or to the Music: ‘Eros’
This week on the podcast I talk a lot about my writing process, especially when it comes to the differences between performing a piece accapella vs to the music. The project in question is my long-form multi-disciplinary project: Agapi & Other Kinds of Love. And more specifically - the scene called: ‘Eros’. Of all of the words for love from Ancient Greece - Eros is probably the easiest one for outsiders to guess in terms of its meaning. Eros is an 'erotic’ kind of love. Eros is actually where the word erotic comes from. This love has to do with lovers, romance, flirtations, sex and butterflies in the stomach.
In this particular scene from Agapi, two lovers: Pavlos and Sophia have fallen in love at first sight, and decide to escape a riot that has just kicked off around them in the streets of Athens and head to Sophia’s apartment in the anarchist quarter of town: Exarcheia. That’s where the good stuff begins, while the streets (and Sophia’s apartment building) start to burn around them.
I really enjoyed writing this scene. And it is one of those pieces that I wrote without music and then sent it to the composer of this project: James Humberstone. He then did a crazy job at making my words fit to a tune he wrote and sending me a full song back that completely blew me away. The process just flowed.
I love that this piece really works both with and without music, so much so that I shot two videos for it while I was in the motherland last year - one with, and one without, the music. See which one you like better.
Scroll down to read the full poem: Eros, from Agapi & Other Kinds of Love
In this podcast I also share the story about filming the music video in Rhodes in Mussolini’s Mansion - an abandoned building in the centre of the island built for the Italian dictator during the Italian occupation.
This podcast includes:
The story of the lovers: Pavlos & Sophia, from Agapi & Other Kinds of Love
How I write the scene for Eros.
How I worked with the composer James Humberstone on this piece
Why I think this piece works well both in accapella and with music
How I filmed the Eros video in Athens
How I filmed the Eros video in Rhodes and the significance of filming in Mussolini’s Mansion.
Read Eros below:
E R O S
Τwo palms grow hot like steel to flint
two hands touch sparks start to glint
she opens the door
and leads him in
he closes his eyes
and lets the dream begin
Outside the sirens
call to the apartment
screaming in the gutters
winding in the darkness
An explosion hits three blocks away
and it hums like a reverberating prayer
the city wakes up
calls the fire brigades
as he runs his hands
through her hair
Their hearts start to burn
as they turn in their feelings
not thinking of the gas bottles
in the bottom of the building
Or flames catching the foundations
the water pipes growing hot
her bedroom will be ablaze
but for now - their eyes are locked
She’s on top
he’s on top
she’s on top
She peels off the last layer
double checks the door is locked
He holds her spine as she breathes him
in he admires her lines
and the desires they bring
their faces are exactly
both grimaces and grins
their souls start to crossover
from the limits of their skins…
Level 1 catches fire
a window cracks
ice melts off the roof
and it drips like wax
They didn’t notice
when the floorboards shook
the first waves of smoke
or the falling books
Or the fire that flickered
because their eyes did the same
he spoke her name like a mantra
on his tongue was a flame
He opened up
forgot where he was
she closed her eyes
and got lost with the gods…
And outside another Molotov
lands on the pavement
a cop car
tries to make its way
through the mazes
a kid in a tracksuit
and full balaclava
holds his crutch to the police
in their full riot armour
Bottles fly
as she bites on his shoulder
her hair stuck with sweat
as his touch feels older
and known
like home
like a wayward soldier
returned after years
but knows how to hold her
She touched him
way better than he touches himself
Sex is a language
unwritten
but eternally felt
She whispers:
“You really are a poet
you speak
without speaking”
He whispers:
“You really are a pilgrim
you seek
without seeking”
She grabs the nape of his neck
as their rhythm increases
their one breath
collapses the past
How beautiful
to fall in love together
as the world
falls apart
They catch their breath
stare out the window
as the room fills with smoke
Though neither is suicidal
or thinks it’s a joke
they both thought of dying
in that moment
what a fucking great time to go.
He says:
“It’s time to go”
They put back on their clothes
break out the window
climb down the outside fire escape
to the road
The steel balustrade is hot
but they hardly notice
the tear gas
already makes it
hard to focus
A petrol-bomb
bangs against a bus
on the block
and it burns
like the sun
right in front
of the cops!
-Luka Lesson
Luka is a poet, rapper, Australian Poetry Slam Champion and Ancient History buff who can’t keep his hands off the classics. Luka has toured extensively throughout the world and is often bouncing ideas off Athenian columns and global politics as he finds his way, giving commentary on life and writing as a modern philosopher, performer and full-time poet.
Luka Lesson draws on his creative powers to either create new poetry inspired by conversations with guests from across the planet, or do a deep dive into his own catalogue of poetry and rap verses, using them as a sounding board for new conversations. His own Greek heritage and the histories of the people he speaks to often filter through, as well as his love of story, mythology, social change and visions for the future.
