Synth-punk Krista Papista debuts new video for call-to-arms "Modern Girlhood" [Premiere]

Can you explain Krista Papista's origin story?

I grew up in Nicosia, Cyprus to a Greek-Cypriot mum and an Australian dad. I was obsessed with movies and punk music. I particularly loved heroic and decadent characters in movies. I formed punk bands when I was a teenager and by the time I was 18 I learned how to use digital software programmes, then organically my music started shaping electronically. The most pivotal moment for me was when I started learning film programmes in uni 'cause that’s when I realised I could illustrate my music in a cinematic way.

What do you want to achieve with your music?

For me music is one the most interesting dimensions of life. The aims of each track change from song to song. What I enjoy doing through my music is throwing the listener in different dimensions and situations. I construct the lyrics with opposing views and contradicting philosophies. Some songs make direct feminist statements, some songs are about decadence, some songs are about being a walking disaster, some tracks are about me and what I’ve done to people, some songs are about what I’ve witnessed other people do, so I guess what I’m offering to the audience is a music/videographic documentation of my life and what I’ve observed.

What inspires you?

People with ridiculous personalities, rude girls, assholes, humiliating behaviours, reckless bad choices all inspire me. Travelling always awakes the creative side of my brain... what drives me is a desire to create /document what I find interesting/shocking/pleasurous.

Can you tell us what "Modern Girlhood" is about?

"Modern Girlhood" is about the creation of a modern society where women don’t feel repressed and mistreated. The actual lyrics are about living your life in confidence and unapologetically doing whatever you want. From a feminist perspective it introduces a brand new attitude on dealing with everyday life for women, though both men and women can relate to this song as the general idea is mastering your life and shamelessly designing your lifestyle to its full potential. Somehow this attitude has not often been practised in my eyes by women as often as I would’ve liked it to. Through cinema, and through history in general, women are usually portrayed as the passive characters, that takes care of everyone else instead of the dominant one that has all the fun. So this song is about reshaping a new culture, where women get the big jobs too, where this dodgy atmosphere of inequality and misrepresentation of womanhood is demolished.

In the music video I am running topless in the streets, and we filmed my friends topless in a studio, as the censoring of the female nipple is another archaic sexist phenomenon in our modern society I choose to comment on. I think it’s very unfair that if I take my top off in certain states of America I’ll get arrested and if a boy does he doesn’t; Instagram always deletes topless photos women and that's down to how fundamentally unequal our society still is. Women are basically supposed to feel ashamed of their nipples and hide them.

How did you write and record the track?

I wrote parts of the lyrics a couple months ago. I have this notebook were I write ideas/notes in and picked it up when I started composing the actual track... I recorded it in my house... I record/produce everything here.

How was the video filmed?

The video was directed by me and my close friend Claudia Mallart. We had loads of friends involved and it was filmed around East London.

Did you run into any trouble while filming it?

Well not really, a lot of cars were beeping, loads of asshole guys shouting things... the usual macho abusive reactions to a topless girl, nothing new really…

What should people take away from the video/song when they're put together?

What I am hoping for is to inspire girls/women to go topless whenever they want, stand up for themselves and each other. This video is not just aimed for women but also for boys/men; they need to recognise this inequality too. We need their support too cause we live on this planet together.

If you ruled the world, what would be your first actions as supreme overlord?

Stop the meat market then demolish sexism.

What should people expect from a live show?

I want to the audience to have a videographic experience . I sing live with video projections I produce exclusively for my shows. Concerning my physical performance, I do my best to give out a show, I like to shock, I like to entertain and I also love performing, I find it cathartic but for the audience I can only hope to offer them a cinematic experience. I will be playing at Birthdays on 12 July.

Why are the projections important? How do you make them?

The projections are important because they are a good way for one to understand my aesthetic. I understand music in cinematic terms and by watching the projections of my live show you are offered a controversial insight to my work. These videos are not uploaded online , I only use them for my live shows..

Do you have any plans for the rest of summer?

I just finished a new track of which I’ll be releasing soon; I will shoot the music video for it sometime in the summer. I also have a few more video projects coming up, more music, more art stuff...

Watch the "Modern Girlhood" video below. Papista plays Dalston's Birthdays on 12 July.