MusicVita interview with "The Human iPod"

Alex Stassi is the very funny talented musician behind the very funny parody of Alicia Keys "Empire State of Mind Part II."

Mocking the simple Greek Cypriot lifestyle, Alex's comedic piece has gone viral. Its all over the world now. Aussies, Americans, everyone's heard it. With over 100,000 views, Greeks around the world praising his stuff, we at MusicVita got to interview Alex who is also dubbed "The Human iPod."

“Born in the mid 70’s to Greek Cypriot origin, Alex Stassi grew up listening to Motown records in East London as a child. Having already become a published cartoon artist, Alex is now known as the ‘Human iPod’ after 15 years experience being a professional singer. Alex has the greatest set of songs from the 50’s all the way up to the present day.

Singing a vast range of styles and genres, he has excelled in his craft to become one of the most exciting performers on the circuit with 500+ songs and counting, under his belt. Not just a singer, Alex has a comedic side to his show with his antics, such as dancing on tables and bringing members of the crowd onto the stage with him, getting everyone involved. Always seeking the attention of his audience, Alex has an un-equalled take on performing songs by his idols – and your idols too.”

You have created a video which has been increasingly watched by people all over the world. How does this make you feel?
I’m absolutely gob smacked. I only uploaded to youtube because it was quicker than uploading to facebook. My intention really was to just post it on my facebook page and send the link to my mates, but before I knew it, I had over 30,000 views in the space of two days. So yeah, I’ve been enjoying my 15 mins of fame.

How did you come up with "Cypriot State of Mind"
I had “oooooooh ooh Kypro” going round in my head the night before, and I woke up Sunday morning and had a couple of hours to kill before I set off to do an engagement with my Brother Tas.
I literally brought up the words to the original and began re-writing every line, and then cut a verse and chorus out to make it short and sweet. I used a backing track and recorded the vocal in one take, even the add libs and nattering, were done just off the cuff in one go. I added a little reverb, roughly mixed it, and created the video clip with the lyrics, all in the space of a couple of hours. As I said I literally rushed it all out as a joke to send to my mates.

You are the youngest of seven brothers, and music is always been in your life. But what song or artist really wanted you to work with music?
I loved Michael Jackson as a kid. For me it was like, ‘hey I can move about and entertain people, I don’t have to just stand there and sing’

You are described as "the human jukebox," what song do you find DIFFICULT to sing? (if there is one).
Human ipod… used to be jukebox but everyone thought I just sung golden oldies, so I needed to update it. There are loads of songs out there I find difficult, so I wont include them in my set… I really wanted to add Plan B “she said” to my repertoire, but for me, that just weren’t happening lol.

Although you are very talented, it may appear that comedy is the way forward for you. How would you feel doing some similar tracks to cypriot state of mind?
I wouldn’t say comedy is the way forward. I consider myself an all round entertainer, but Music will always be my first choice. I actually did a show called “A night of mayhem” iin 2007, which fused music and comedy. You could say I don’t take myself seriously, but I take Music seriously.
I did a parody of Men at Works “down under” called “I live in a land called Kypro”.. and although that gained 1300 views in the first day, I felt Cypriot State Of Mind was still attracting the masses, and I felt that the new parody, with it coming too song (one week later) was an anti-climax, so I pulled the clip…. I’ll probably re-write a few parts and upload it again sometime in the near future.
Steering from the Kypro theme, I’ve parodied Amy Winehouse’s “Valerie”, which has raised a few laughs.

You hold Prince in high regard. What is it particularly about his musical career that inspires you?
Oh man where do you start. The guy’s a musical genius. Mastered 23 instruments, writes, produces, has the most extensive vocal range, has an eclectic range of musical styles. Isn’t that enough? I saw him 8 times at the o2 and no two nights were the same.

You have crossed over your comedic work with your music talent in this video. Whats next for the Human iPod?
For now I’ll still gig, which I’m doing anyway until I wake up one day with another crazy notion I guess, get it out of my system and carrying on gigging. Hee hee.

Lastly would you consider yourself a music freak and if so, why?
Freak? They gone lock me up. I love music. Period. I lap it up and absorb it. I live and breathe it as if it was air. The great thing about it is, there’s so much music out there, that every day I’m discovering something new. At the moment I’ve been listening to Terry Callier, Seals & Crofts and Cee- Lo’s latest album.

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