Persephone Anderson-Byskou

Since I was a little girl I have always enjoyed playing and creating my own music. I first started learning the piano at the age of three when I realised I could play Mary Had A Little Lamb on my tiny Barbie novelty keyboard. I was classically trained through my graded exams and originally I had envisioned myself going onto to The Royal Schools of Music and performing as a concert pianist however, through my parents impeccable taste in music (the likes of The Doors, Pink Floyd, David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and many, many more) and my love of the rock and roll image my dreams quickly took on a whole new route.

I taught myself guitar at the age of 12 and soon after started gigging my local music scene in Buckinghamshire. I was mostly playing folk covers to begin with but with my own twist on the originals and slowly, started to build my confidence on stage to start sharing my own more intimate and personal original songs. Through these gigs I met many musicians along the way and formed several bands. I studied music performance and production at two colleges where we were placed in class bands. After college we went our separate ways and I made friends with a guitarist who I then formed the Band 'Persephone In The Underworld' with. We gradually met more musicians on the way and developed our style into an alternative/psychedelic rock sound with folk inspirations (inspired by the likes of Radiohead, Pink Floyd, Patrick Watson and Daughter).

Now our band have successfully gigged all around Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and several big gigs in London including venues and events such as Marlow Carnival, FrogFest, Oxjam, TAP Social Movement, The Jericho Tavern, The Amersham Arms, O2 Islington and many more. We've also released several singles on streaming platforms such as Spotify and AppleMusic and we're currently in the process of recording our first EP. I've also released my own solo project EP on SoundCloud called Aurora which is a compilation of my favourite covers at the time and a few experimental ambient tracks. I have plans to release a solo folk album and a separate ambient works album in the near future.

Watch this space...

Persephone - Flume (Bon Iver Cover)

Flume (Bon Iver Cover)

It was thanks to the likes of Bon Iver that I decided to start gigging and recording my musical endeavours. Flume by Bon Iver was one of the first covers I learnt when I first started playing guitar and gigging the local music scene. It will always hold a lot of meaning to me and Justin Vernon's lyricism inspired me to be more poetic and free with my songwriting. This cover has since been used on several YouTube and promotional videos. You can check out my version on YouTube below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tj7cWeSxhIk

Persephone - Aurora

Aurora EP (Ambient Work)

In 2017 I quit my boring 9/5 office job and decided to start working on my first solo music project. This resulted in me producing a strange compilation EP of my favourite covers (or versions) at the time and some ambient tracks. I was inspired by the likes of Brian Eno and Aphex Twin whilst choosing and creating sounds for my ambient tracks and wanted to emulate different emotions and memories for the listener. Aurora is the closing track on the EP and by far my favourite of the noises that came out of this project. You can check out the rest of the EP on my SoundCloud below:

https://soundcloud.com/persephoneab

Gallery

Persephone In The Underworld 1st band photo, Persephone (left), Robin (middle), Shaun (right)

Persephone In The Underworld Logo, Designed by Phaedrus Byskou

Persephone In The Underworld - I Want You To Panic single art, designed by Phaedrus Byskou

Persephone performing @ The Phoenix Bar in High Wycombe, Sep 2021 - Photo by Joshua James

Persephone In The Underworld performing at The Phoenix Bar, High Wycombe, Sep 2021

Persephone In The Underworld performing at The Amersham Arms, London - 2019, photo by Jamie Byskou

Persephone In The Underworld recording in the studio

Persephone

Persephone In The Underworld performing at The Phoenix Bar, High Wycombe - 2019, photo by Jamie Byskou

Persephone In The Underworld - photo by Jamie Byskou

Persephone - photo by Jamie Byskou

As well as photography and my solo/band music, I am involved in a number of other projects including my own music tuition business called Tuneful Tutors.

I'm also one of three directors currently applying for charity funding and in the early stages of developing a community recording studio in High Wycombe to bring music and creative opportunities to the local community, specifically for children in need.

Check out the links below to find out more and to donate to our charity (TAP Creative) on GoFundMe:

Persephone In The Underworld

Tuneful Tutors