New Music: Adagio

          

"Adagio" by Σtella From the album, "Adagio," out April 4, 2025 on Sub Pop Records. Almost as soon as Stella Chronopoulou began writing Adagio, her fifth album as Σtella, she knew the time had finally come to sing in Greek, her native tongue. It would be a first. She started the record almost by accident in 2019, during an 11-hour boat ride to the island of Anafi. Σtella had recently gone through a patch of personal turmoil and needed a break from home. On the ferry, she pulled out her cell phone as the boat clipped through the Mediterranean and began with a simple melody, steadily piecing together a rough instrumental. As psychedelic keyboards twinkled and swayed above staccato drums, the track suggested some deep exhalation, as if Σtella were letting go of long-unnecessary baggage. For a spell, she set the instrumental aside. She understood the words would eventually need to be in Greek, given how and where she’d written it, the mood of the moment. But she wasn’t ready yet, or in a rush. tart to finish, Σtella sounds more at ease and comfortable than she’s ever been on Adagio. No, these fetching songs will not slow her career or grant her that title track’s wish. Still, for half an hour, Adagio does add an extra measure of warmth to the world, with time loosening its grip even if it doesn’t slow down. The video was shot by Debora Maité.