There’s lots of things we love here at The Honey POP: rising artists, live shows, quizzes about our favorite books and albums, and, of course, artists who make music that celebrate who they are. And if there was ever a rising artist doing just that, it is Laura Pieri. This Brazilian-born singer moved to the United States at 16 years old to pursue both her music career and her academic career. And they both seem to be going quite well in our opinion!
Frankie is the story of a woman navigating male-dominated environments, inspired by stories like those of Frankenstein, Persephone, and Suspiria. Much like the inspirations, our protagonist, Frankie, must adapt to the circumstances and learn to survive in an environment that may not seem all that welcoming. But that’s where the magic of this EP comes around: Frankie finds the strength to make the best of her situation, inspiring so many of us to do the exact same in our own lives.
So, if you wanna know all about Laura Pieri’s EP, Frankie, check out our interview with her below!
Hi Laura, welcome to The Honey POP! We’re super excited to have you here. To start us off, could you please introduce yourself to our readers who still may not be familiar with your music?
Hi everyone! I’m Laura Pieri, I’m an interdisciplinary artist primarily focused on pop music and visual media at the moment. I went to NYU for my undergraduate degree, at the Gallatin School of Individualized Study, where I basically majored in Evil!
You’ve listed Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, and Michael Jackson as some of your inspirations and we can definitely hear that in your music, but you were also born in São Paulo, Brazil, so we’d love to hear who are some of your Brazilian influences.
It’s impossible for me not to mention the diva, Ivete Sangalo, and country singer beaut, Paula Fernandes. I remember buying Paula’s first acoustic CD, Pássaro de Fogo, and being mesmerized by it. Besides that I love some older classics, songs like ‘Aquarela’ by Toquinho, or Tribalistas’ ‘Já Sei Namorar.’
You moved to the US to follow your artistic and academic dreams, what made you decide to make this radical of a change at only 16 years old? And if you could, what’s one thing you’d say to that girl who’d just got off the plane ten years ago?
I don’t think I knew what I was in for when I made the move, and honestly, if I were to look back and revisit that decision knowing what I know now, I’m not sure I would make the same choice. At 16, the world is your oyster and you think you know better than anyone. Now at 26, it’s so clear I don’t know anything! It’s a lot easier to make these life-changing decisions when you’re not afraid of the consequences. So if I could tell her anything, I’d say, “stay fearless.”
Your new EP, Frankie, has a big focus on exploring womanhood and finding yourself, and we are completely in love with it. How does it feel to be releasing your first EP? And to be tackling such a deep theme in it as well?
Thank you so much for saying that. It was made with a lot of love, and a lot of care, and it feels surreal to be putting this out. This has been my baby for at least a year now, and to put it out into the world is both nerve-racking and exciting all at once, all together. I love that my first project that’s not a single is a concept project. It’s four songs, but even with that there is so much room to tell a story, which is what I sought out to do. Everything doesn’t just have a single beginning, middle, and end, but there are multiples of each of those at every turn and every corner. That is how my own journey with myself has always been, so it’s fitting that would be how I transition into longer projects.
You wrote Frankie along with an all-female team. How would you say that impacted the creative process?
It most definitely had a fantastic impact. All the heads of all creatives I worked with in this project were female, or assigned female at birth. It’s a different experience. In the past, I’ve walked into the room with male producers, and male writers, and then I’m describing what my experience is like, and yes, sure, some things like love are universal, but even then going through heartbreak, in a hetero relationship, as a woman, it’s different. And queer relationships bring their own challenges that are difficult for some straight men to articulate, but why would they be expected to? It’s not their reality. Having a room of people whose lived experience navigating the world that connects to yours, just makes the room a little more comfortable. It makes you feel a little more seen, and a little more heard.
What’s your favorite lyric from Frankie and why?
“And for the dust to settle I’ll feel the devil inside of me.” It’s in ‘Come Clean,’ a song that’s about reckoning with one’s own self in a lot of ways, and I think this project represents peace for me how it does, that line perfectly encapsulates it. There’s a lot in me, some of what I put there myself, others which I didn’t, that directly impacted me today. There’s a line in Frankenstein I love, that I am definitely about to butcher, but it’s something like “in me I have love you cannot imagine and rage you wouldn’t believe. If I can’t satisfy the one I will indulge the other,” and for the longest time I felt like I oscillated between love and rage, but both are important and relevant. That lyric echoes that sensation, like for things to calm down you must accept that in yourself which is not calm. In order to have rage, you must have love. If you don’t love anything, what is there to be outraged by?
Frankie was written after you decided not to quit your career and face the male-dominated environment of this industry head on. Was there a specific moment that made you change your mind or was it a combination of multiple factors? And what piece of advice would you give to other women struggling with the same feeling?
It was for sure a combination of factors. I think having pivoted, and then slowly realizing that the entertainment industry was not unique in its sexism, but that women in all industries deal with it at different levels, certainly pushed me back in a way. The experience being so universal definitely motivated me to share Frankie’s story cause it’s not my own, it’s a lot of ours’. When something that felt so isolating to me was shared amongst so many people, I couldn’t just let it rot in a drawer.
When it comes to giving advice to other women it’s hard right, because I am not ignorant that we are not all in positions of power where we can equally speak up. For some of us, speaking up means we lose our job. For others, it means we lose that promotion, or that family member, and those are delicate things to consider. I would say, as much as you can, advocate for yourself, and focus on what you are building. There is no one else in the world like you, and mentors are important but at the end of the day it’s you who has to stand behind whatever it is you’re putting out in the world. Make sure you’re a part of something you’re proud of.
If you could describe what ‘Goddess Energy’ is in one sentence, what would it be?
There is nothing more radical or divine than accepting and loving yourself as you are.
What’s one thing you haven’t tried yet in your music career that you’d love to do in the future?
TOURING! I can’t wait to tour! And I really want to be experimental with it, but I guess I’ll elaborate more on that when it’s time.
You also have a short film lined up to accompany Frankie, which will premiere on June 17th. Can you tell us more about it? Why did you choose to make it, what was it like to film and edit it, and what we can expect from the finished product, of course!
This entire project was conceived together, both the music and the visuals. The story came first so I had a rough idea of what I wanted the characters to look and feel like, and the sonic world that the songs lived in too. So for me it was important to produce and bring both of those elements to life simultaneously. It was also my first time really taking on such an ambitious project, and I was really lucky to work closely with Gaby, from Cake Studio, who really understood me, the vision, and what I was trying to accomplish and made sure everything ran smoothly. We can expect a short movie that has a lot of love poured into it, and a story that was carefully crafted to walk the line between story and poetry.
What are your plans for the future? A full album, maybe some live shows we could catch you at? Tell us all the details you can!
Oh yeah absolutely! I have many many ideas for future projects, but currently I am focused on Frankie and getting her story and her run right! So a new project, while definitely on the horizon, is a sun that has not yet risen… but it’s coming !! But as far as Frankie, if you are in New York you may even catch me in August performing at a certain bookstore… But for that you should absolutely follow me on socials to stay up to date on those dates and more details!
We’ve reached the end of our interview but we want to end it on a high note. And since we’re The Honey POP, we’d love to finish our chat with a sweet message and a call for our readers to listen to your new EP, Frankie, of course. E muito obrigada, Laura!😉
Thank you so much Honey POP for having me and listening to me! Muuuuito obrigada!!
This interview was so much fun! Getting to sit down with Laura Pieri and talk about Frankie was absolutely amazing and we cannot wait to see what she’ll be doing next. We just know that we want to be there to see all of it!
You can stream Frankie here and let us know all your thoughts on it. Find us on Twitter, Instagram, and/or Facebook and come chat all things music with us!
Want to see some other interviews we’ve done? Check them out here!
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT LAURA PIERI:
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