Born in São Paulo and now living in New York City, Laura Pieri has been chasing music for as long as she can remember. There was never a single moment of realization; music has simply always been part of her identity. Over the last few years, Laura Pieri has carved a distinct path in Pop, earning features in outlets like FLAUNT, Mundane Magazine, and Northern Transmissions.
A true multidisciplinary artist, Laura Pieri approaches every project with a fully realized vision. She not only writes and performs her music, but also immerses herself in the visual world surrounding it.
With Frankie (ON THE DANCEFLOOR) out now, we took some time to hear from Laura Pieri. Read below to learn more about Laura Pieri, the story behind Frankie (ON THE DANCEFLOOR), and what’s to come.
Hi Laura Pieri! Let’s start with how did you get your artist name?
Well, it is both my name and a pseudonym. It’s half of my name, and I like that it helps me create distance between the person and the artist. But the flip slide of that is that my work is about integration, not separation. Everything I write, sing, or perform is part of me trying to understand myself, others, who we are and so forth. So, I chose my own name, a version of it at least.
What city are you from, and where are you based now?
I was born in São Paulo, Brazil, and I’ve been in the U.S. since 2014. I split my time mostly between New York, LA, and São Paulo now, depending on whether I’m creating, performing, or working on my next project.
At what point in your life did you decide to pursue a career in music? How did you get started?
Music was always there, even before I was old enough to call it a career. I grew up with this one dream, and I always did what I could to pursue it.. But, I really committed during college. I’d been studying the concept of evil, and I realized that music was the medium that allowed me to merge both my curiosity for the human condition and storytelling.
How has your upbringing played a role in shaping who you are and defining your sound?
Growing up between Brazil and the U.S. gave me a double consciousness, haha, I feel like I’m always looking at culture from both the inside and the outside. That tension is in everything I do. My sound is very clearly pop but I think it’s got some spice and bite. I think that’s the Brazilian in me though.
How would you describe your sound to readers who may not be familiar with you?
Pop, maybe even pop noir. Emotional, cinematic, and a little dangerous. It’s pop, but I want the songs to feel like confessionals and spells at the same time.
Do you have any hobbies outside of music? What do you do to stay creative?
I paint, I write short stories, and right now, I’m OBSESSED with perfume. I think scent is the closest thing we have to time travel. I’m also a big reader, everything from horror to Jung. Staying creative for me is about staying curious. It’s still about creating, but also more about observing, how people love, how they fail, how they hide.
Who are some of your main musical influences?
Right now, I’d have to say Lady Gaga, Florence Welch, Miley Cyrus, “Good Girl Gone Bad” era Rihanna and Marina. I also draw a lot from older icons, Prince, Kate Bush, Donna Summer, David Bowie. They all built worlds around their music, which is what I try to do too.
Who would be a dream to collaborate with?
I’d love to collaborate with someone like Tove Lo or Kaytranada. I love artists who build immersive worlds sonically and visually.
What’s one of the proudest moments of your music career so far?
Releasing my concept EP, Frankie. I really wanted to create an entire universe around it: using the visuals to thread through the performance and the music, with a narrative arch Seeing people connect to it, and dig into all the elements of the project really made it all worth it for me.
What would you say are the greatest lessons that you’ve learned so far?
That consistency beats inspiration. And that protecting your vision doesn’t mean isolating yourself and doing it all alone, but that it really means learning how to collaborate without losing your center. Also, the hard truth: no one’s coming to save you. You have to build the world you want to live in, one project at a time.
Now onto your release, Frankie (ON THE DANCEFLOOR). What inspired this EP?
It started as an exploration of rebirth. It had been some time since the Frankie EP, and I felt like I was ready to re-approach that project like who I am now, who I became at the end of it, instead of who I was when I made it. I wanted to take something painful and translate it into movement and into freedom. Frankie (ON THE DANCEFLOOR) is what happened.
What is the overall theme of Frankie (ON THE DANCEFLOOR)?
Liberation. It’s about what happens after the breakdown, when you decide to come back to yourself. It’s cinematic and cathartic, but it’s also fun.
What was the creative process like when making Frankie (ON THE DANCEFLOOR)?
Messy in the best way. I worked with a small team that really believed in the vision when making Frankie in its entirety, so Frankie (ON THE DANCEFLOOR) was just me and my long-time collaborator, in my tiny home studio. We already had the vocals and the structure so the mission became to play with sounds and with texture, deep house, tropical, lounge. Each showing a different face of the same story. It was a process of transformation.
How long did it take to complete Frankie (ON THE DANCEFLOOR)?
It took about six months to complete Frankie (ON THE DANCEFLOOR). But if you include the making of the original Frankie project, then it was about 3 years in total.
Is there a specific song on Frankie (ON THE DANCEFLOOR) that speaks to you the most? If so, what is it called, and what is it about?
‘Flown Away.’ There’s a lyric in it, ‘Believed in potential without proof.’ That line sums up my entire journey so far. It’s about believing in something invisible, a dream, a person, a self, and both the hope and the heartbreak that comes with that. I think I’m like that, I tend to give myself to things and commit before being sure that it’s worth my own investment.
What message or messages do you hope fans take away from Frankie (ON THE DANCEFLOOR) and your music in general?
That transformation is worth the mess. That darkness isn’t the opposite of beauty, but rather part of it. And, that there is no limit to how many times you need to rebuild yourself.
What’s next for you? Are you working on any upcoming projects, or do you have any upcoming shows that we should be on the lookout for?
Yes — All Hallows @ The Box, my immersive Halloween event in New York, which merges performance art, music, and storytelling. I’ll be using that to screen a little… taste of something… but just a little!
Where can we follow you on social media?
Instagram: @thelaurapieri
TikTok: @thelaurapieri
YouTube: @LauraPieri
Website: laurapieri.com
Thank you for the great interview; wish you much continued success!
