Apolas Lermi, was born in Trabzon, located in the Black Sea Region of Turkey. Trabzon derives its name from the endangered variety of Modern Greek known as Pontic Greek, and to this day, some villages in the region continue to speak this language. 

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At the age of 10, Apolas Lermi migrated to Istanbul, but his connection to his homeland never waned. Istanbul, being a cosmopolitan city that attracts people from diverse backgrounds, played a significant role in Apolas Lermi's musical journey. He embarked on his musical path by playing the bağlama, a plucked string folk instrument, and subsequently explored classical guitar, electric guitar, and the kemençe, also known as the Pontic Lyra, a bowed string instrument. Through his musical pursuits, he had the opportunity to collaborate with various artists from spectacular cultures and accompanied them on stage with his instruments. His musical development led him to delve deeper into his cultural roots, where he discovered the musical and linguistic richness of the Black Sea Region, inspiring him with new artistic ideas.

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In 2011, Apolas Lermi released his debut album titled "Kalandar," which features songs in the endangered Pontic Greek language. This album represents a pioneering musical work for Pontic Greek in Turkey. The term "Kalandar" refers to the first day of the regional cultural calendar and is celebrated with traditional entertainments on January 13-14. The word "Kalandar" is synonymous with the English term "calendar," the Italian term "calendario," the Spanish term "calendario," and the French term "calendrier".

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Several songs from this album hold significant positions in Apolas Lermi's musical career and have been featured in TV series. The music video for the song "Ağapo Se" was filmed in the historical Sumela Monastery, an important symbol for Pontic Greeks. In Turkey, this music video represents the first video clip in Pontic Greek language. Another song from the album, "Seçim Zamanı," highlights environmental pollution in the Black Sea region and gained public interest, leading to the establishment of a notable environmental project called "Diren Karadeniz" (Resist, Black Sea) with the participation of 24 different artists.

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In 2013, Apolas Lermi continued his career with his second album, "Santa." The album is named after a mining town that was once home to a significant Pontic Greek population. He collaborated with two artists, Giorgos Ioannidis in the song "Maçka Trigona" and Irontina Kandrali in the song "Kelebek," both of whom have ancestors who were exiled to Greece during the 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey.

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In 2016, Lermi released his third album, "Romeika," which exclusively features Pontic Greek songs. This album was simultaneously published in both Turkey and Greece. Once again, he collaborated with an artist of Pontic Greek origin, Pela Nikolaidou, in the song "Sorepsa Gia Tesena." Furthermore, Vahit Tursun, the author of the only Pontic Greek dictionary in the world, vocalized one of his Pontic Greek poems titled "To Xorio M'Nonizo".

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In 2017, Apolas Lermi composed the 50th-year anthem for Trabzonspor, the football team representing his birth city and Turkey.

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In 2018, his fourth album, "Momoyer," followed in the footsteps of his previous works. "Momoyer" refers to the winter solstice festivals celebrated in Trabzon, similar to the Mummers' play in Great Britain. The music video for the Pontic Greek song "Senan Kardian Apes" was recorded in Cape Jason, located in Ordu. This cape derives its name from the legendary figure of Jason, who served as the captain of the Argonauts in ancient mythology. Another song from this album, "Uzungöl Şerah," shed light on the pollution in the tourist destination of Uzungöl and was filmed on-site.

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Apolas Lermi and Matthaios Tsahouridis have collaborated on a number of Pontic songs. These songs contributed to the rapprochement of Pontian society in Türkiye, Greece and Germany.

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He recorded Pontic Greek songs with Babis Kemanetzidis, Christoforos Kosmidis, Dimitris Karadavvidis and Giannis Gkosios, who are important representatives of the Pontian music tradition.

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The Zazaki piece called "Hal Yamano", which he sang together with Mikail Aslan, received great acclaim. This work is a first in terms of a musician of Black Sea origin performing a Zazaki piece. Later, Apolas Lermi sang another Zazaki song called "Laze Mı" alone.

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Apolas Lermi has also collaborated with various artists such as Hüsnü Arkan, Kardeş Türküller and Sait Uçar.

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Apolas Lermi has continued his artistic endeavors through various singles, soundtracks, duets and performences. His artistic endeavors have contributed significantly to the promotion and preservation of the Pontic Greek language, while also raising awareness about environmental issues.

Hehas engaged with audiences through concerts held in different countries and has continuously contributed to the world's cultural heritage by collaborating with artists from diverse cultures.