Singer-songwriter Laura Pieri chats to Courageous Nerd about her career so far, her own musical influences, working on the Snapchat series Endless and so much more. Collaborating with Cory Rooney, Laura Pieri recently released a song, “All I Need” which is available on Spotify. Additionally, a quarantine-inspired remix also by Laura Pieri can be found on YouTube.
First of all, thank you for taking the time to do this.
Laura Pieri (LP): Thank you for having me.
What age did you start getting involved in music?
LP: Well, it was always present. I always really liked art in general. I had a passion for old music and listening to music. My household was one that was always filled with noise. I always really enjoyed music. There was never like a moment where I specifically chose to focus on it. It was always just something present in the back of my mind, on my day-to-day. Then at one point, it just became the only thing that I thought about.
Did you ever want to pursue another career?
LP: I’ve been working since I was 15, in Brazil. I did a sort of participation in a Brazilian television show, I was only there for a couple of episodes. That was really my start. I quickly realised that it wasn’t exactly what I wanted to do. Music was more what I wanted to do. So, I kind of shifted away from that and focused on music.
What have you found the hardest about living in a different country, being from Brazil originally?
LP: Oh my God… I miss so much about home. It’s the very specific things. I miss the food and I miss the “homey-ness” of people. Just the way people act in Brazil. Like, the culture. The culture, I really miss. I’m definitely aware that I am a foreigner here. Sometimes, it feels like it to me. There’s still some words that I don’t understand. The culture is a little different. I definitely, especially in times like this, just miss being home.
Is it only in the past couple of years that you made the move over or was it a while ago?
LP: About 5-6 years, which is definitely a while ago. I’m 23 so most of my life has been in Brazil. It’s a very short period that I’ve been here, compared to the rest of my life.
Who would you say has been your biggest influences/inspirations as an artist?
LP: Oh my God, so many. Currently, my biggest obsession is David Bowie, Prince, Amy Winehouse and Grace Jones. I’ve been really, really allowing myself to be inspired by them right now. Prince is my favourite artist so I will always have him on my list of inspirations. Hard-work, dedication and just talent. He’s incredibly, incredibly, incredibly genius.
You’re beginning your career in the age of social media. How important do you think using those platforms are when starting out?
LP: Extremely. But it also changes the way, I think, that people consume entertainment nowadays. I think people are just very much seeing music. What I mean by that is that it’s very hard for people to discover new music organically through sound. So many times, you discover an artist on social media or you watched their videos. And that’s how your first contact with an artist has become. I feel like that’s how a lot of people have found my music, through platforms like Snapchat and Instagram. They know what you look like and your personality before they know your music which isn’t how it used to be. I feel like a lot of times, the music came first.
I don’t really know how I feel about that. I think that sometimes it’s great, sometimes it’s got its pros and cons just like every other generation of entertainment tools, I guess, is the word.
To what extent has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted what you had planned for 2020?
LP: So much! So much, wow, my entire year got shifted. I put a single out actually, the week that COVID really broke out in California and New York. It really did change my plans. For me, it’s a little challenging because I had all these plans for live performances, shows and just different places I wanted to go to play. I wasn’t able to do any of that. I had to accept that most of my contact will be online. That really definitely changed my plans because I had things I wanted to do and fans I wanted to see. Unfortunately, I had to miss out on that. That was definitely upsetting to me at first but we do what we can.
If you could pick any performer, dead or alive, to be your dream duet, who would it be?
LP: Prince. Hmm… actually, I don’t know. I don’t think I could keep it together. I don’t think I would keep it together.
You’re working with Cory Rooney, who has also collaborated with names such as Jennifer Lopez, Mariah Carey and Destiny’s Child. How much pressure has it been to follow in such successful footsteps?
LP: It’s not so much that there’s pressure. It’s just you’re aware that of the caliber of person that is deciding to give you their time. It’s more of an awareness of just how valuable that time is. I have to do my best to make sure I am respecting it and that there is no other way he could be spending his time. I need to work my hardest to prove that it’s a worthy thing that he’s doing, spending all this time. Investing his time into me, you know?
He’s a living legend, so talented. So incredibly, incredibly masterful. Watching him work is insane. Being in the studio with him is something else. I’ve been working with him for about 5 years now and it still amazes me.
You’ve also appeared on the Snapchat series, Endless. How did you find that experience?
LP: Well, actually, my friend worked with them. He’d been looking for a girl that exactly matched my description. Who I was, my personality. So, they called me for an interview just to see if it would be a good fit. And it definitely was. From that, we shot all of December. The show came out, I think, in early March? Late February, something like that.
Outside of music, what are your other hobbies or passions?
LP: Painting. I love painting so much. I hang out with my cats a lot, honestly. I think that they’re great, I love them so much. I have one fluffy, fluffy, fluffy white ball and the other one’s just a tiny spotted kitten. So, I spend a lot of my time with them just relaxing and reading. I’ve really found that isolation has led me into creation. So I need to respect my space and just respect the process that I need. It turns out I do need a lot of solitude just to create and delve into what I need to say musically. So I’ve just been allowing myself to do that during the quarantine so far.
TV and Films are a big part of Courageous Nerd. What have you been binging/watching during the pandemic?
LP: Succession! Succession is my favourite, favourite, favourite show. It’s incredible. I could watch Jeremy Strong on Succession on repeat and not ever get bored. I love Succession but I will say and it’s my guilty pleasure, I have been binge watching Selling Sunset on Netflix. I have a soft spot for reality TV. To be honest, seeing such tough, beautiful women in such a tough industry and the way they portray them really working hard for what they want to do in Real Estate, I love it. I get that it’s reality so they’re portrayed as gossipy and even a little bit mean. I disagree and I think that Christine who is supposed to be the villain of the show is actually amazing. I want to be her friend, if she’s listening to this, hit me up girl, you’re cool as hell.
If you could share one message or sentiment to your fans during this time, what would it be?
LP: Ooh, that’s a good one. If I could send a message to my fans… I’d say allow yourself to breathe. Then breathe again. It’s just to easy to get lost, especially because time doesn’t feel real. Life doesn’t feel real. It can get really frustrating to go to Target, it’s empty and you can barely go, there’s a line out front, people wearing masks. It’s just so easy to get overwhelmed and to freak out, to lose sight of hope. I feel like whenever that happens, I just breathe. Take like a really, really deep breath and let it out with all your strength. I feel so much better after. That’s something that anyone can do. It just takes a nose, to breathe.
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