Introducing Interview: Gabi Garbutt

Having received acclaim from the likes of Steve LaMacq at BBC 6Music and shared stages with legends such as The Libertines, London-based ‘punk-poet’ Gabi Garbutt has now announced the release of their second album via lovely label Trapped Animal Records.

Taken from the album, latest single ‘Never Never‘ showcases Garbutt’s knack for creating instantly catchy indie-pop anthems. With a soulful, impassioned energy propelling the jangling, uplifting musicality, it’s an emotionally-raw, fiercely gritty earworm, leaving you longing to hear more.

We caught up with Gabi to find out all about the new single, upcoming album, their thoughts on the industry, and what inspires them most… Have a read!

Hi Gabi Garbutt! Welcome to Get In her Ears? Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Hi Mari! I’m a half-Chilean singer songwriter from London, then Gloucester, then London, writing mainly lyrical soul punk songs.

Are you able to tell us a bit about how you initially started creating music?
The first band I was totally obsessed with were Green Day. I remember for my twelfth birthday being taken by my mum and dad to see Green Day at a festival in Nottingham. Iggy Pop was the support act and I was right up there in the mosh pit being thrown around, the crowd howling around me… My baptism by fire. That’s when I discovered rock and roll. From there, there was no going back. Bowling around school with Clash City Rockers tipexxed to the back of my school jacket. Next birthday my mum and dad bought me a Squire Strat and soon after I started learning songs. When I was in my mid-teens I used to borrow my sister’s acoustic and busk in town at the weekends, then spend that money on buying records. Another watershed moment was when I was sixteen – my English teacher lent me his copy of Patti Smith’s Horses, and hearing how she merged poetic lyrics with punk, I realised that’s exactly what I wanted to do. I started writing songs and when I moved back to London when I was 18 I started my first band.

I love your uplifting, colourful sounds, but who would you say are you main musical influences?
Thanks! Ezra Furman and Patti Smith are two of my main influences – that lyrical urgency fuelled by euphoric punk energy is something I really aspire to. I love a lot of Motown and Stax soul artists and they inspire a lot of the upbeat brassy sounds. Julian Casablancas’ band The Voidz are really exciting, totally original wild pop verging on chaos, and they’ve inspired the more electronic songs on the record. Nina Simone is a big inspiration; I really admire her fearlessness and conviction, and how she turned her vast musical vocabulary into really raw and emotionally charged songs. I’m a huge fan of Valerie June, particularly her latest album Prescription for Dreamers, it’s like nothing I’ve ever heard before, totally stratospheric soul. I’ve got it on repeat in the tour van and often put it on before we go on stage. It’s a totally energising, mind expanding record that at the same time gets me in a calm and collected state. Lyrical masters like Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan and Lou Reed are big inspirations too.

You’ve recently released your single ‘Never Never’, taken from your upcoming album Cockerel, which is out in May. Are you able to tell us a bit about the album? Are there any particular themes running throughout it?
This record is musically exploratory. It’s got a restless energy and considered sincerity too. There are lone cries and there is sorrow shared. There’s also a celebration of the beauty of existence and the power of human connection. The music takes twists and turns that echo the shifting emotional landscape of the lyrics, but not quite in step. There’s euphoria where there’s raging sadness, otherworldly sounds when the lyrics run closest to the beating heart, but I feel it’s more interesting that way.

How have you found recording and promoting an album during these strange times?
In 2020 we had a bunch of tours and festivals planned that were cancelled. It meant that I had more time to work on writing this album and as soon as rehearsal studios opened up, we started playing these songs as a band. We recorded the album in Spring 2021 but because of the vinyl backlog, it didn’t make sense to release it in a rush. The timing has worked out quite well as we’re doing a fair bit of touring at the moment in the build up to the album release in May. I really thought that all we’d been building would disintegrate during the lockdown, so I’m really happy that the adventure’s continuing.

Do you feel much has changed over the last few years in the music industry’s treatment of female and non-binary artists? 
I do think things have changed. There are still assumptions about females not writing their own songs, crafting the arrangements or being involved in production, which is incredibly frustrating, but luckily I work with a progressive bunch of guys. The label we’re signed to – Trapped Animal Records – are really excellent at nurturing female and non-binary artists, I highly recommend people check out their roster. I was a total tomboy when I was a kid, I remember a girl at school throwing her shoes at me when I was five, and when the teacher asked her why she did it, the girl said it’s because I had said I wanted to be a boy. I’ve always been androgynous and remember hearing the word gender-fluid a few years ago and realising how much that resonated with me. The freedom of expression that music encourages means that the process of creation itself reveals things about ourselves. It also means musicians are perfectly placed to lead the way in starting new conversations, changing perceptions. Artists like Ezra Furman, who recently came out as a trans mum, and consistently promotes trans joy – that’s really powerful, I admire her so much. It just shows the role our musical heroes have in pulling us all into the future.

You’ve previously supported infamous indie acts such as The Libertines – how was this experience for you? And has there been a particular gig you’ve played that stands out as a highlight? 
I’ve been a huge fan of The Libertines since my early teens, so it’s been a brilliant experience. We joined them on a couple of dates of their recent tour – Kentish Town Forum was a highlight, but back in 2019 playing Paris L’Olympia then racing across Germany playing Cologne, Munch and Berlin with them was some of the best fun I think I might ever have had.

As we’re a new music focused site, are there any other upcoming artists or bands you’re loving right now that you’d recommend we check out?
Label mates Jemma Freeman & The Cosmic Something are ferocious, one of the best bands around. I’d also recommend Catherine Rudie who’s Glasgow based, a total one of a kind making otherworldly folk. Veronica Bianqui, who creates garage soul stateside, Sasha & The Shades make raw bluesy rock n’ roll, and Magda Goncalves is a brilliant London based r’n’b/ soul singer writer. A lot of the acts that come out of the Lantern Society, a singer-songwriter night in Clerkenwell are really ace too… Sam Nicholson (who also plays with Jemma Freeman), Jeremy Tuplin, The Violet Hum, Dead Writers, Peter Doolan, Chris Brambley, Gabriel Moreno to name a few. My cousin Paula Arismendi and my brother Leo Garbutt are really talented musicians and songwriters. Also shout out to Real(s), our bass player’s band and Hackles, our drummer’s other band who are both well worth checking out. 

In addition to the album release, what does the rest of the year have in store for you?
We’ve got a few more U.K tour dates coming up with Big Country and I’m going to be playing a couple of acoustic dates in New York, including Rockwood Music Hall on 29th April. In the summer we’ve got a few German dates booked and will be looking to tie this in with a few other dates on the continent and some more U.K tour dates. I’ve also started writing and demoing the third record so I’ll be working hard at that, hopefully recording it by the end of the year!

Massive thanks to Gabi for answering our questions!


Cockerel, the upcoming album from Gabi Garbutt, is set for release on 20th May via Trapped Animal Records.

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Introducing Interview: LUIANNA

Splitting her time between Berlin and Bristol, innovative electro-pop artist Jasmine Luianna Emslie – aka LUIANNA – has now announced the release of her debut EP, Skiá. Taken from the EP, she has recently shared poignant new single ‘Witch‘. Propelled by glitchy beats and a soaring ethereal splendour as LUIANNA’s celestial vocals flow with a delicate grace, it’s an empowering reflection on addressing past trauma and coming out stronger.

We had a little chat with LUIANNA to find out about the upcoming EP and more. Have a read!

Hi LUIANNA, welcome to Get In Her Ears! Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Hi, thanks for having me! I’m a producer and singer songwriter. I was born in South London and brought up in rural Wales, I’m half Greek and half Scottish and have lived my adult life in both Bristol and Berlin, so I’m a mixed bag to say the least… I have been in many bands and different creative music projects, but it feels like everything was leading me to this place here, to have the confidence and ability to compose and write songs myself. I’ve chosen a pretty different life than most and have spent the past 15 years squatting in both Berlin and Bristol, enabling me to be able to spend my time doing what I love, instead of chasing after high rents and bills. The combination of music and meditation is how I navigate through this weird and wonderful world and I’m so happy that I’m in a place to start sharing some of it!

How did you initially start creating music?
I started with acoustic guitar and putting my little childhood poems to basic chords. I went on to make a girl group with my two best friends in school and this got me into college. Through college I fell in love with dance music and was somehow bored of seeing an audience sad in all my gigs, so started writing for DJs and producers – it made me so happy to see a crowd jumping and smiling! After this phase, I moved to Berlin and started singing jazz in cabaret venues around the city, and then joined a hip-hop band for a few years, playing a lot of shows in Germany. This was when I realised I didn’t want to be confined to a genre. I wanted to make music that came as and when it did. So I started to save and buy equipment to be able to write my own stuff. Starting with a micro Korg and teaching myself some basic piano, and then a looper and a drum machine and electric guitar. This all came together pretty quickly and within a year I was ready to record this Skiá, my debut EP!

Your new EP Skiá is out on 29th April – can you tell us what it’s all about? Are there any themes running throughout the EP?
The EP is an intimate view into my life. I open up about my father who is a heroin addict, and share how that has made me feel growing up. I also sing about mental health, and what it is to be a woman – the love, the strength, the ebs and flows of our moods and attitudes. And it’s all tied together with love songs, sad but empowering love songs.

You’ve been compared to the likes of London Grammar and BANKS, but who would you say are your main musical influences?
For me it’s Lauryn Hill, Aurora, Madonna, Portishead. I love beautiful majestic pop, and also hip-hop and old school beats. I think I’ve intertwined all of this into the EP.

How is your local music scene? Do you go to see lots of live music?
I’ve been in Berlin for the past seven years and yes, the music scene is thriving. From incredible street shows, smokey jazz bars to epic clubs; small intimate venues, and an array of concert halls – it’s a fab place to be for live music. I’ve just arrived back to Bristol and am excited to get out and see whats happening here too!

And what can fans expect from your live shows?
Vulnerability, a lot of vocal loops, and hopefully a hint of beautiful and original music to their ears!

As we’re a new music focused site, are there any new/upcoming bands or artists you’d recommend we check out?
Yes! Ber is an incredible new artist that I can’t stop listening too, also LushUs are a new group from Germany with their first single out ‘Velvet’ – love them! 

And how do you feel the music industry is for new artists at the moment – would you say it’s difficult to get noticed?
It’s so tough. To get any reach outside of your friendship group is a challenge. I’ve noticed even when my posts do get shared by friends on Facebook it just doesn’t get seen. If you have a ton of money for adds and PR, and you’ve got a great piece of work to promote, then I think it’s straight forward – but as it stands, it’s tough tough tough. A lot of artists are talking openly about how we are musicians, not content creators and there’s a big pressure to keep active online and posting, but it’s not always easy when you just want to make music and not be on social media day in day out. That being said, no-one said it would be easy!

Finally, what does the rest of 2022 have in store for LUIANNA?
I have just moved back to the U.K, so it’s about getting my music out and starting to gig again. Moving to a cabin in the forest and writing more songs!

Massive thanks to LUIANNA for answering our questions! Listen to latest single ‘Witch’ below:

Skiá, the upcoming debut EP from LUIANNA, is set for release on 29th April.

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INTERVIEW: Brimheim

“I am going to be completely honest with you” sings Danish-Faroese artist Brimheim on the opening to her exquisitely tender track ‘favorite day of the week‘. It’s a simple statement, but she delivers it with startling conviction through her crystalline vocals and considered instrumentation. It’s this candid, but tentative approach to creating music that makes listening to her debut album, can’t hate myself into a different shape, such a cathartic and rewarding experience. Set for release on the 28th January, it’s a poignant reflection on love in all its forms; romantic, platonic – and perhaps the hardest love to articulate – self love.

Brimheim – a name chosen as a homage to her roots in the Faroe Islands, translating as “home of the breaking waves” – worked alongside producer Søren Buhl Lassen to create the sublime sounds on her new record, which blossomed from a place of deep personal pain during a global pandemic. Despite the raw and confessional aesthetic of her music, when I meet her via Zoom she is in good spirits, laughing throughout the interview at her own Aquarian personality traits and willingly fan-girling over Avril Lavigne with me. We speak about her musical origins, her favourite tracks on her upcoming record, and what it’s like to transform moments of darkness into pure and palpable joy…

 

What are your earliest memories of music, and can you remember who or what first inspired you to start making your own?

My mum is a musician and she had a home recording studio in the apartment I grew up in, so ever since I was little I’ve been singing and writing little children’s songs of my own. But it wasn’t until I discovered our queen Avril Lavigne when I was 12 years old, when I saw the ‘Complicated’ music video on a Danish music TV programme that I was like, “oh my god, is this allowed? Is this a way to be?”

She was on a skateboard and she was playing the guitar, goofing around with her friends who were all boys. It was one of those “I’m not like the other girls” bullshit moments, you know? – but as a young girl, that spoke to me. That was kind of my gateway drug into thinking a little bit more about how I could do music, how could I do that and make it my own. I have diary entries from the time where I was like, “I want to go to New York City and become a big rock star!”

My Mum has always been incredibly supportive. She bought a guitar for me and I learned three chords and then I was like, “Okay, that’s all I need, I don’t want to like practice this crap, I just want to write songs and stand on that stage already!” So yeah, that’s kind of how it happened.

Your video for your single ‘hey amanda’ is quite Avril Lavigne-esque. When I first saw it, I was concentrating on the fact that you have two members of Baby In Vain in the band with you, but now you’ve mentioned Avril, the video makes so much more sense to me. Tell me all about it…

Totally, that was definitely an inspiration. It was so fun to film because usually I’m a solo act, so most of the stuff that I do with press and with music videos is all just me. I was really stoked that they (Baby In Vain) were in it, they’re my live band and my dear friends, so when I asked them “would you be up for just goofing around and having a good time on camera?” they were up for it. Usually I don’t get to do that with people.

The video for my other single ‘poison fizzing on a tongue’ is a lot more ambitious and probably more my vibe, but I wanted to do something that was light and that showcased the other end of the spectrum with ‘hey amanda’. I don’t want to really lock myself into “everything needs to be dark and gothy,” I’d like to be able to to express all of those different things. And some things can just be for shits and giggs!

You wrote ‘hey amanda’ as an ode to your friend and a celebration of platonic love. How did Amanda react when she first heard the song?

Amanda moved to Montreal five or six years ago, so we don’t get to see each other as often as we’d like. We call each other often and we send stuff back and forth so we have a long distance friendship. I’d sent her the the initial demo of the song and I didn’t get a reply.

I just spiralled. I was like, “oh, no, oh no no, what did I do? Did I just totally offend her? Was it too private?” Then I started getting a little annoyed, like, “how can she be offended about this?” already having the argument in my head…but it turns out she just hadn’t seen the attachment. When she heard it she cried. She never really posts anything on social media, but she posted such nice things about it. It was really precious. I’m glad she felt it, because I’m really proud of the song and I mean every word of it.

Let’s talk about your album as a whole, can’t hate myself into a different shape. It feels like you’ve transformed experiences of feeling really vulnerable into something that sounds really beautiful and atmospheric.

You explore themes of romantic love, platonic love, and coming to terms with trying to love yourself as well. Was it a cathartic record to write? Because it’s definitely a cathartic record to listen to.

First of all, thank you very much. I feel very seen. It was a split experience, I’d say. I was deep in a depression hole in the whole latter part of of 2020, and that’s when I actually kind of launched my career and tried to go pro with this music thing that I had been trying to do my whole life.

I’d had a lot of attention and hype in Denmark and the Faroe Islands especially, way more than I had expected. I was in a really good place with my wife – she’s American and I’m Danish, so we had immigration difficulties – but all of that was kind of landing in nice places and my career was going well. Then, of course, the external factors of a pandemic shutting everything down just made me really fucking depressed. I was struggling a lot and feeling super overwhelmed and unable to cope with my own feelings. This is something that I’ve experienced often in my life, and probably will again, but this was a long stretch of time that it lasted.

I attempted to write songs while I was feeling like shit and had no energy, and it ended up just being very small snippets that I recorded on my phone with my guitar. Small ideas to set the bar for success really, really low for having been creative that day. Then I booked time in the studio with Søren Buhl, who produced the record with me. I hadn’t really worked with him before, I didn’t really know him, so I was nervous about it. I felt like I wasn’t really prepared enough because the things I had were so bare bones and such small ideas. But it turns out that our chemistry and our tastes were super aligned and it was kind of a blessing that the little kernels I had were so open ended, because that made that second part of the process of me and him working together in the studio super cathartic.

I felt like I’d been in this black muddy place, not able to see anything and kind of drowning, and then I slowly started emerging from that through this process of transforming these ideas into arrangements and recorded music with a structure. It was so life affirming. Again, because I am a solo artist, there can be a lot of self doubt and suffering involved! But this was the first time I’ve worked with anybody where it just was easy. So from those little ideas that I brought into the studio, that whole process of transforming them into a finished record took only about eight months, which is outrageously fast. That makes me really excited also to release it, because it still feels super fresh and relevant for me. It took me three years to record and release my debut EP, which is just five songs. But this record just feels really relevant still for me.

Do you have a favourite track on the record? Or does it change all the time?

I think it changes, but I really love the title track which is the second song on the album. For me it sums up what I’m trying to say and I think it was the first song we worked on after we decided we were going to make a record.

I think ‘poison fizzing on a tongue’ might be my favourite track. I feel like I could listen to it every day and still find something new I haven’t heard before.

Thank you! We made ‘poison’ in the second session in the studio. That was the moment I realised “okay, something really special is going on here.” It kind of came together as it sounds. It just happened in four hours and it sounded like that. I was like, “Oh my God, what just happened? This is amazing!” Especially after I’d been in such a depressive state where I’m like “I’m a piece of shit, everything sucks, I suck” and then being like “this is actually super cool!” that was a good feeling.

That sounds like good affirmation. Do you think that music, whether it’s the music you’re writing or the music you’re listening to, is a good way of understanding or moving past that headspace?

For sure. I discovered with this particular round on the depression carousel that I almost didn’t want to listen to music though, because it made me feel stuff. But that also speaks to the power of it, right? I didn’t want to feel anything, or maybe I did? But it felt very vulnerable to feel stuff. Now I’ve discovered that having someone to bounce energy and ideas off of in the studio is incredibly healing.

It sounds like a symbiotic relationship with Søren Buhl?

I can be kind of an Aquarius about things, I can be a little bit closed off to talking about super personal stuff – I do that through my music, that’s where I have my outlet. I can have a little bit of a distance towards people at first, because you know, you don’t want to overwhelm them with your shit! So it was pretty late that I sort of confessed to Søren how very, very special for me and incredibly healing this experience was. I was like “this is one of my favourite things I’ve ever done in my life, you’re one of my favourite people, I don’t know if I’m allowed to say that because we just work together,” but luckily he felt the same, which I was so proud of because he works was with a lot of incredibly talented Danish artists.

What would you say you’re most proud of about this particular record?

I think that I managed to turn off any kind of inner critic. You know, the bad mob inside your head that says “no, it’s not this enough, it’s not that enough…” I was very much just saying yes to whatever ideas felt right. I think that really shines through and I think that it sounds really free.

What are your plans for performing the record live in 2022? I know Covid-19 restrictions are different in each country at the moment…

You know, launching a music career in the middle of a pandemic, it felt like something was missing because I couldn’t really tour my EP. But then in the summer things opened up, and I got to play a lot of Danish festivals and that was a great experience. It was stressful, because everything had to be booked in such a short time, it felt a little bit chaotic, but it was a really, really, really nice feeling to get to play the songs live to people who were really grateful to be at festivals again.

Then I had my first headliner tour of the major Danish cities in December, and I got to play two of them before the big finale show in Copenhagen got cancelled. That was a hard one to swallow. But I’m going to tour a bunch of Danish satellite towns in February and March. I’m also going to the Faroe Islands to have my first headline show there.

I’m trying to just let myself be excited about it, but it’s hard after everything that’s happened. So many concerts have been postponed that I got tickets for ages ago. So while I’m doing the tour, I have all these great shows to fit in between. It’ll be a wild few months.

Finally, we always ask artists to recommend another band or artist that they’ve been listening to recently. Is there anyone you’d like to give a shout out to?

A pretty cool thing that happened, at least for my music listening habits during the pandemic, was that I started listening to a lot more local music. The energy was more focused, even in the media, with what was going on locally. A bunch of really, really cool stuff from from the Faroe Islands and Copenhagen has caught my attention way more than maybe it would have before. One of my favourites is eee gee. It’s very retro-pop, vulnerable but still sassy, with sort of a 60s tinge to it, but not overtly, so it still sounds modern. I’ve been really obsessed with this one song ‘killing it’.

And then, of course, my labelmate Greta. We have sort of had parallel paths for the last few years. We met nine years ago and we studied song-writing together and now we have the same manager too. She’s released some some new singles that are like ABBA-meets-Kate Bush-meets-Berlin-90s-rave. It’s really, really cool. She became a mum in the middle of everything too and I especially like how she marketed her record with her big pregnant belly alongside this kind of Berlin techno music, I was like *chef’s kiss* this is great!

Pre-order Brimheim’s new album, can’t hate myself into a different shape, here

Follow Brimheim on bandcamp, Spotify, Instagram & Facebook

Photo Credit: Hey Jack

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Introducing Interview: Dyan Valdés

Having been involved in the music industry for twenty years, Berlin-based Cuban-American artist Dyan Valdés has played in esteemed bands such as The Blood Arm and Die Sterne, and has now released her first solo material. Taken from her upcoming debut solo album, ‘Fade Away’ offers an immersive shimmering soundscape; propelled by layers of synth and driving beats alongside Valdés’ luscious vocals, it’s a poignant, twinkling message of hope at a time when things can feel hopeless.

We caught up with Dyan to find out more…

Hi Dyan Valdés, welcome to Get In Her Ears! Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Hello! Thanks for having me. I’m a music industry lifer – I got together with my first band, indie rockers The Blood Arm when we were at university in 2002. After releasing five albums and two EPs, touring the world and moving to Berlin together, we went on hiatus in 2017. The singer and I formed the synth punk trio Mexican Radio in 2017, and released another two albums under that name. The band hosted a radio show on KCRW Berlin for 2 years, in which I interviewed artists such as Stereo Total, Sleaford Mods, Ian Svenonius, Allison Wolfe of Bratmobile, and many more. I’ve been playing with Hamburger Schule legends Die Sterne since 2012. ‘Fade Away’ is my debut single as a solo artist and Stand will be my first solo album.

How did you initially start creating music?
I never thought I would make my own solo music – I’ve always been a supporting player, co-writing the music and singing backing vocals. But, the pandemic changed things. At the beginning of the first lockdown, I was attacked by a strange man in broad daylight on the streets of Berlin. I recognised that my already precarious safety as a woman was even more threatened by pandemic circumstances. I arrived home, overwhelmed by my experience and by reports of increased domestic violence and the exploitation of female labour at the frontlines of the pandemic. I wrote and recorded the protest song ‘Stand’ that weekend – feeling that I needed to create something that would make me feel powerful again. This was the first time I had created a piece entirely on my own. After cancelled tours and rehearsals, I was alone in my home studio and could not fall back on my bandmates to provide a creative outlet. I stepped up and did it myself.

Throughout my music career, I have often been the only woman in the room. When I was attacked, I felt alienated and alone. I realised that on some level, I’ve felt the same way in the music industry for years – moving through spaces that are not designed to fit my body, protect my safety, or elevate my voice. What would our industry and our art look like if this model were flipped on its head? In order for the process of this album to line up with the sentiment, I employed women at every level of the project: production, artwork, video, photography, PR, styling, and marketing. 

We really love your recent single ‘Fade Away’ – can you tell us what it’s all about?
‘Fade Away’ is about looking around and saying to yourself “this isn’t good enough”, and dreaming that someday you’ll find yourself in a situation that is. I imagined this feeling of being locked in a house – either by someone else or by myself – and wanting the ceilings and walls to just disappear so that I could be free. The song is sad but hopeful – the “different day” hasn’t come yet, but I believe that it will. I dedicate the song to anyone who has ever felt trapped, marginalized or silenced. The song came to me extremely quickly – I wrote all of the lyrics, melodies and music and then recorded the basic tracks at home within about four hours from start to finish. I felt like the words and music just came through me from a place where they had already been written.

You’ve been compared to the likes of PJ Harvey and Bat For Lashes, but who would you say are your main musical influences?
Probably my life-long biggest influence is David Bowie, who was never afraid to take big swings and explore all kinds of different directions. I thought about him a lot when making this record, just in terms of pushing myself to take risks. PJ Harvey is also a big influence, as is Stevie Nicks, Kate Bush, Peaches, Courtney Love and Tori Amos (obviously – I’m a keyboard player!) I was also very influenced by books that I was reading while writing this record. I’ve been a proud feminist my whole life, but while working on the album I really did a deep-dive into a lot of feminist writing. That helped me sharpen the messages that I wanted to deliver: who benefits from the oppression of and violence against women? How is capitalist society complicit? How am I complicit? I did a lot of self-examination on this record, and I hope that comes across.

What can fans expect from your live shows?
Since I’ve been playing in bands for nearly 20 years, I wanted to do something different with my solo show. Instead of hiding behind my keyboard, I’m challenging myself to be a real pop diva and sing and dance throughout the show. I have two backing dancers with me, and one of my producers Maya Postepski (who releases music under the name Princess Century and plays drums with Peaches), will be playing drums on stage. It will be a high-energy rousing pop spectacle!

As we’re a new music focused site, are there any new/upcoming bands or artists you’d recommend we check out?
Sadly, I usually discover new bands by happening upon them live, which hasn’t been possible in the last year and a half. However, when I was hosting the radio show, I had the pleasure of discovering a lot of new and exciting bands: Sweeping Promises, Big Joanie, Special Interest, Automatic and Surfbort were a few of my favourite discoveries.

And how do you feel the music industry is for new bands at the moment – would you say it’s difficult to get noticed?
When I started, my band The Blood Arm was part of the last generation of bands that really had the “get signed, get an advance, get label support for touring and PR” trajectory. It’s very different now – in some ways, you have more direct access to fans, but because everyone else does too, you have to find a way to stand out. I think the difference is now I’m not trying to get “label attention”, but rather to reach out directly to the fans. If new artists can manage to make a direct connection with people who like their music, that can be very powerful.

Finally, what does the rest of 2021 have in store for you?
Now that live music is opening up again, I’m touring a lot with my German band Die Sterne and doing some recording with them as well. Following ‘Fade Away’, I’ve just released a second single, ‘Be My Revolution’. There will be a third single (‘Irregular’) in January and the album Stand will come out in February. We are also choreographing and developing the live show, so it will be a busy time! But, after such a lull in the industry, I’m excited to get back on stage and even more excited to share my solo music with the world.

Massive thanks to Dyan for answering our questions!

Stand, the debut solo album from Dyan Valdés, is set for release on 11th February 2022 via R.I.P Ben Lee Records.

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