We gotta learn how to love ourselves so we can love each other.” Truer words have never been spoken, and they take center stage in Takis’ brilliant second single on Armada Music. A magical collaboration with fellow Canadian and award-winning singer-songwriter Veronica, ‘From The Start’ follows suit after debut release ‘Wait For Me’ (with Goody Grace & Tory Lanez) and flawlessly touches on the subject of relationships and personal growth, just like his upcoming ‘Welcome Home’ project.
Reflecting on past relationships and embellished truths, ‘From The Start’ marks the second all-Canadian record from Takis’ aforementioned ‘Welcome Home’ project. Elevating the emotional charge of Veronica’s crystalline vocals and nostalgia-infused lyrics with rich chords, gentle vibes and a spark of instrumental prowess, this record is designed to make the heart grow fonder at every turn.
“That first line – ‘we gotta learn how to love ourselves so we can love each other’ – is so powerful it sparked the entire record”, Takis explains. “We’ve all been there when we were young. We could find every single little fault in our exes but couldn’t fathom that maybe, just maybe, we were flawed and could have been the ones who ruined the relationship. If I am not fully comfortable in my own skin, if I still carry jealousy or insecurity, I can never be someone who can express the love needed to create a sustainable relationship.”
‘From The Start’ is the story of much-needed closure and acceptance for failed relationships”, he continues. “It’s about admitting that if I can take the emotional charge out of these memories, I can be honest enough to say we were never a good fit in the first place, that we really never had a chance from the start. And for me personally, it also allows me to question what other nostalgic memories from my hometown I’ve exaggerated in my head, which in turn reflects on the theme of my upcoming ‘Welcome Home’ project.”
Veronica, who hit #1 at U.S. dance radio as the co-writer of Famba’s ‘Storm’ and clocked up over 50 million streams with her and Dzeko’s ‘Heaven’, adds: “Takis and I have known each other for some time now, and it all started when he messaged me on Instagram a couple years ago to work with him. We wrote a song together in Toronto and then I moved down to L.A. “From The Start” was one of the first sessions I did when I moved down there. The idea behind the song felt so much larger than anything else I was writing at the time. I’ve had the pleasure to see Takis grow as an artist and also release some of my favorite songs, like ‘Wait For Me’. We knew “From The Start” had a lot of potential and I’m incredibly happy for the world to hear it.”