photo credit: Nat Goldie
Multidisciplinary music & visual artist Laura Pieri reveals her new EP, Frankie. The EP will be accompanied by a short film which will premiere on June 17th.
The 4-track EP came to be when Pieri was at the point of almost giving up on her career. Inspired by what her farewell to the industry should sound like, the story of Frankie, a woman reclaiming her power, was born. In an EP that cycles through the great, bad, good, and ugly of self-discovery, Pieri emerges as an artist who has rediscovered her voice. The EP was co-written with an all-female team of songwriters and executive produced by Skyler Cocco.
Was there an episode or event in your life that made you want to write about womanhood and what it’s like to be a woman in male-dominated spaces?
It’s not so much about a singular event, but rather a collection of little experiences that slowly snowball into a larger reality. I think in any male dominated space, or even in spaces that are largely perceived as male dominated, there is an unspoken “bro” code that goes around, so its not so much that women aren’t allowed in the room anymore, I think we have moved past that (although I say that tentatively), but it’s more like how we’re less likely to be put in positions of power or of authority, and when we do we face double the scrutiny. I worked with many women since the beginning of my career, but for most of its early days, it was all men who were the decision makers at a high level. Pick a company and look at their board. How many CEOs are women? It’s a small percentage. How many CEOs are women of color? It’s an even smaller percentage. It was published in the Harvard Business Review that a company going from no women in corporate leadership positions to having a 30% female share generally results in about 15% increase in profitability. There’s ample evidence that makes the case for the actual, measurable, benefits of having women in leadership positions yet we have to fight tooth and nail and always be grateful for the opportunity. We talk about how representation matters, but why does it and where does it? Having someone who can speak from your perspective, who understands your experience of the world and navigating the world, means they bring that to the table when making decisions. That’s why for this project, for example, I really wanted to work with an all female team. It was crucial to me to have a team who understood me and shared in my experience. Do you know how hard it is to be a female producer? Let alone how very few there are. It’s less than 5%.
Why is the EP called ‘Frankie’?
The EP tells a singular story of a character, and although she is never really mentioned, the character’s name is Frankie. She got that name two fold, firstly because I had just finished rereading Frankenstein and had felt connected to it more than ever before. It is one of my favorite books but still haha, and secondly, because I had a snake back when I was in LA and for the longest time we didn’t know if the snake was male or female, and my friend Paris suggested we call them Frankie in the meantime, and I grew to love the name.
How does your Brazilian heritage influence your music?
It does and it doesn’t! I grew up on American music, writing and singing in English. But you know what they say like you can take the girl out of Brazil but you can’t take Brazil out of the girl. It’s in my bones. Even when I am not aware of it, my heritage is with me. While I am very American in the way I do things, I’m very mindful of staying connected to my roots. It’s what made me and I will never forget that.
What do you hope your fans can emotionally get out of this EP?
I hope they don’t feel hopeless in their experience. I want them to feel like it’s okay to feel trapped and unseen, but that at the end of the day the most radical and disruptive thing you can do is be yourself.
What was your experience like collaborating with your producer Skyler Cocco?
It was wonderful! I loved working with her. It was just the two of us in the room at first which really made me feel safe and seen, and she was very understanding of all of my nervousness and hesitation coming off a two year hiatus. Skyler works very fast, and she is very good. Every day was a productive day.
What’s next for you?
The EP has a short movie coming out on June 17th that I am super excited about!! You can follow me on all socials @thelaurapieri to find out more details on it!
