Luana Kiara Interview - A Phonetic Blast
By Jimmy G
“The first thing I notice is the melody. Does it catch your attention? Does it make you feel something? That in combination with if you later can relate to the lyrics, I think, makes a great song.”
Luana Kiara wastes no time in introductions, her songs are a phonetic blast as soon as you press play. A dark R&B style that addresses some of society’s most pressing issues. Luana has already had a multi-million stream hit on Tungevaag & Raaban’s “Bad Boy” and is now quickly gaining rapid momentum with her own singles. Having recently been revealed as the face of the New Balance International Women’s Day campaign in Scandinavia, we couldn’t miss the chance to be able to talk to Luana.
“The first thing I notice is the melody. Does it catch your attention? Does it make you feel something? That in combination with if you later can relate to the lyrics, I think, makes a great song.””
We begin by first discussing “Trigger”, a song about the sensitive topic of domestic abuse. I ask her how the song came to be.
“Trigger actually evolved from a really dark and difficult time in my life” Luana reveals. “We had a writing camp in the studio and we all shared some deep talk. After that, some great songs came to life. Among them Trigger. It was a very fast process and I would say that the song was already finished at the demo stage”.
I ask her about the emotionally powerful music video for the song and if she had any say in the production, “Absolutely” she affirms. “the whole idea for the music video came from the director who had really connected to ‘Trigger”.
“Since we’ve had some similar experiences, he had this idea for the music video involving domestic violence in relationships. I liked the idea even though it felt scary to be that personal and transparent but felt that we had to do it. I always had a choice to say no if I felt uncomfortable with the content of the video”.
It’s clear that Luana not only has an astute view that translates into her songs but also about the music industry as a whole, as I ask her what needs to change about the industry, to which she replies: “To have more women in the positions that we almost always only see men in”.
With lyrics that are so powerful and stay in your consciousness long after the track has ended, I inform her that “confidence” seems to be the word that circles around her online presence. “I think that is so interesting. For me 'Luana Kiara' is my chance to be confident and loud. Since I’m quite nice and shy in my daily life”.
“For me ‘Luana Kiara’ is my chance to be confident and loud. Since I’m quite nice and shy in my daily life.”
I ask her more about “Bad Boy” and how she came to work on the record. “It all actually started with me and two amazing songwriters/producers, Mårten Fohlin & Gustav Nyström, writing a banger. It was initially planned to be my first single but got it in the lap of Tungevaag & Rabaan who really wanted the song as their next single. After they made some changes to the original track, to make it sound more like their own sound, we decided to release 'Bad Boy' with them with me as a feature”.
There’s great things coming for Luana but she hasn’t lost sight of her ultimate mission as a singer/songwriter. “I want my listeners to be able to relate in some way with the words I’m singing” she claims . "And to make them feel something. Whether it’s for them just knowing that someone feels the same as they do or just empowered. I think a response from the listeners, whether it’s good or bad is one of the most important things.”.