Greek’s Evolution Through Sophomore Album ACCELERATOR

The Virginia artist recently announced his upcoming ACCELERATOR tour.

Photography by Chris Metz

Let me introduce you to an artist I found through my Spotify algorithm last year while listening to artists like Omar Apollo, Daniel Caesar, and Dominic Fike. Coming from Southwestern Virginia, Greek is a self-taught producer, songwriter, and artist who uses his musical foundation to experiment with genres of alternative indie and freely create personal reflections through his songs. After hearing the tracks “VIRGINIA CREEPER” and “karma,” I was immediately drawn to Greek’s voice and euphoric sound, leading me to explore his complete discography.

Recently, Greek has been riding high on the release of his latest album, ACCELERATOR, which marks a significant evolution from his debut project, EXTC. That debut received notable co-signs from Zane Lowe and Elton John, as well as several features in Spotify’s Class of 2022 playlists. He also recently announced his headlining ACCELERATOR tour, taking off on September 23 from Atlanta to Los Angeles. We caught up with Greek to discuss his journey from Southwestern Virginia to making a name for himself in the alternative indie scene. Join us as we explore the story behind ACCELERATOR, his unique approach to songwriting, and what it means to find one's voice in today’s musical landscape.

Congrats on the new album! How has it all felt these past few weeks since you shared ACCELERATOR with your listeners?

It's definitely very exciting, to put it simply. I'm proud of it. My first project, EXTC, was very good for the time, but this is the first time I put out an album where I'm going to stand on these songs forever and ever. I had some of my best writing — it's a lot more mature.

I’ve noticed the DMV has been getting tons of love lately in the music scene. Who are some artists, producers, or close collaborators from Virginia that help shape your sound?

Truthfully, collaborators. There hasn't been as much from Virginia because I'm from the bottom of Virginia. The DMV is more noble. But as far as the history of music there, I adore Ella Fitzgerald who is an amazing artist and icon. Newer stuff, I don’t know. Tommy Richman and mynameisntjmack, but I can't say too much about Virginia music because it's a different look for me, and I live in LA now. But when I first started making music, there was this guy named Timothy Bright. I think he still lives there. His music is tight.

I would say that the most interesting thing I've seen is the difference in sound because Jmack and Tommy, to Nettspend, it's an entirely different genre. Even Shaboozey with country and for myself speaking, I can't name one artist that makes the exact kind of music. And I think that's very cool. There's so much variety coming from the state. It's just cool to see how everyone has such a different perspective, even though they're coming from the same place.

Nowadays, making music is becoming more accessible than ever. As an artist who is self-taught in songwriting and producing, what are some elements that you think are important to preserve in the music creation process?

I think the hard part now is finding a way to differentiate yourself more than anything because everyone's goal is to do that. If you produce like me, I'm going to keep producing my music the way that I do, and eventually, I’ll find myself through that. If you have a unique background in music, keep holding up to that and keep holding up to your identity.

Photography by Chris Metz

Building on that, when did you realize you wanted to teach yourself to make music?

I started when I was almost 17, mid-16. I had no musical inclination that I knew about. I played a little bit of piano, but no more than anyone else. My mom told me I could sing, so I started to do it a bit more. I got my heart broken at an event one time, then I went home and recorded a song. It’s an iMovie from a YouTube beat. I sent it to some friends, and they really liked it. So, I just kept going, and some of my friends in high school made beats on FL Studio. That’s what I use to this day. I started making beats for a few weeks, and it became an obsession for me.

Wow. Then, last summer, you went on tour with Weston Estate. Since then, what are some key lessons you've learned from that experience, both personally and professionally?

I'm very grateful to have met them. That was a very cool experience. I learned a lot professionally, for sure — as far as what it takes to have people support you and acknowledge how much you should be appreciative of them coming out to support you. On the bare bones level, I learned what in-ears were, how to properly navigate, and how to feel comfortable doing back-to-back things. Later this year, I’m going on tour, and I learned a lot about how to do a tour at a bigger level. Now that I've been exposed to it, meeting people is a blessing and it lets me understand how my fans like to interact with me as well.

For any fellow artists and songwriters out there, how do you overcome creative blocks? Are there any specific strategies or routines that help you get back into the creative flow?

It is so hard to overcome that consistently. Anyone at any time can get hit with that. What's important is not to let it over-consume your mind. The mind is everything. If you imagine more than you actually are, you’ll feel it. But I think more than anything, getting out and living life is a good thing. If you spend too much time fighting to make something, you'll eventually lose track of what you're trying to make. It's important not to get too sidetracked and too focused on working on music. It is truly not a matter of always making the most creative things but of having a bit of both: a healthy balance between getting out, living life, and working hard.

Do you think you should create when you feel creative and inspired, or just have a daily routine where you schedule yourself to work?

I'm at a middle point with this question because my whole music career until maybe this last year has always been work, work, work. I remember from 2019 to 2022 I spent like at least eight to 12 hours a day working. It was like a job: making beats, mixing, and recording. When I was making this recent album, it was the first time that I gave myself a bit of time to live a little bit. There are ups and downs to both, but when you're learning more about your voice and your sound, know when it's a good time to maybe take a step back and breathe for a second.

Photography by Chris Metz

I like that answer. Can you describe your ideal songwriting environment? Were there any specific places or settings that particularly inspired or helped you during the creation of ACCELERATOR?

My answer is so simple. I make all my music in my bedroom. One thing that works for me is solitude. I have roommates and sometimes it was hard when people were around me when making music. Whenever I was home alone, there was no pressure to make any noise. I would say finding a very independent space and feeling alone is something that really helped me get my ideas out. There’s no pressure, nobody listening to what I’m doing. The times when I am most creative are when I don't have the things I want at my disposal — especially when I was younger. It was much more necessary to have better ideas on what to do than what I had.

With music being very saturated today, it can be hard for independent artists to find their footing. What approaches have you taken to distinguish yourself and engage with your audience?

For the longest time, it was generally just me making friends. It naturally worked out to where a lot of my friends became musicians that were in the same circle and same space as me. It's meeting people by proxy and meeting people at shows. Playing shows is one thing, but having the luck to maybe open for someone by just being a genuine person to them is another: talking to people and appreciating that they're there.

To conclude and circle back to ACCELERATOR, are there any specific tracks on the album that hold special meaning for you?

Two in particular. ‘River’ is my favorite song in the project and it's a very sentimental song to me. I also adore the method by which I wrote it. It was the first song I wrote on the piano that year. It's one of my best music writing to date. ‘Stranger’ is another one I really like. It's about my grandmother's battle with dementia. That's a personal one. A lot of the second half, particularly, is very personal to me.