Dianna Lopez is a New York-born musician blending elements of rock, r&b, and pop music to create hypnotic sounds from the comfort of her own bedroom. Raised by a musical family, Lopez joined her church choir at an early age and began recording her own music from her SUNY Purchase dorm. With songs that flow between spiritual musings and inner love letters, Lopez invites listeners into her space, allowing each song to detail a corner of her room and herself.
Her ethereal, trance-like style production, in conjunction with her stream of consciousness writing, creates an honest dialog with listeners. Her recent EP, titled Fluidity, describes her neverending fight to not be boxed in, giving listeners a peek inside the moments that inspire her, but most importantly the way she can inspire you. I sat down with Dianna to dive into the up-and-coming artist’s relationship with music and what she has in store for the next chapter.
What made you decide to put music out under your birth name instead of a moniker?
Since I was really young my dad would always call me by my full name and tell me I had the name of a superstar. He would always tell my sisters and me to keep our names, to never replace it with a different last name because they were unique. His words stuck with me and I don’t think I’ll ever change it. Dianna Lopez represents who I am, who I was, and who I will be in this realm of life
What kind of music did you grow up with?
My dad was a DJ and my mom loved to sing and dance. They actually met dancing at a club that my dad was probably spinning records at. I listened to a lot of Donna Summer, Michael Jackson, Earth Wind and Fire, GrandMaster Flash, A Tribe Called Quest… the list goes on.
My dad always played smooth jazz and Sade when I used to ride in his car on my way to soccer practice. My parents put me on to a lot of music.
In your song “Secret Sauce (Dreamin)” from the Fluidity EP, are you speaking on the insecurity of being alone?
It’s funny that you say that because this song was purposefully made with the intention of open interpretation. I kind of wrote it not knowing where exactly I was going with it – until it became something whole. Once I was done I realized to me, “Secret Sauce” is about not wanting to conform to other people’s expectations of how they think I should portray myself. It’s also about separation and not understanding why people think the way they do sometimes. A reminder to myself to not overthink other people’s perspectives because I’m living in my own dream.
You speak some more of these uncertainties in your song “Purple Haze”, what changes were you going through at the time?
“Purple Haze” started out as a thought about a person who I’ve outgrown over time. Seeing through their pain and hurt and knowing they cover it up with physical pleasures.
And then the rest is just high thoughts that I blurted out during a jam session, hence the purple haze [reference]. Although it may not be about anything specific I think everyone can find their own deeper meaning about it.
What comes first when you’re making a song?
The process is always different. Sometimes I’ll have a song already written from days, weeks, or months ago that I’ll work into an instrumental. Other times I’ll jam with my band and let the words come as they flow. Depending on how I’m feeling that day or what I’m going through the song may go in any direction. Sometimes music comes first, sometimes the lyrics, sometimes even movement that I’ll later translate into emotion.
Does your music mirror events and feelings occurring in your life, or is it a source for escape into another place or time?
It depends on the song — some of them come from a place of experience, while some of them I just made up off the top of my head. Some are a mix of both. But regardless it is definitely an escape into another place/life that I believe I have lived in a different shape/form. In my music, I question existence, space, and time while also having much gratitude for this human experience that has been granted to all.
In “LAX” you describe reaching this destination after exercising your new-found freedom, is that freedom something you’re still feeling?
I wrote LAX about 3 years ago — the summer that I graduated college. I felt so free from the ties of school and studying and was so excited to finally just focus on my dreams. I begged my sister to buy me a microphone and I set it up with my computer in my room. I was thrilled to have my own space to be creative in and I had so much hope and belief in myself that I pictured what it would be like when I landed in Los Angeles for the first time. I had never been there before so this song was made out of imagination and excitement for the life I wanted to have outside of college. The freedom I felt then and now is different because now I’m 3 years out of college and living and working toward my dreams.
How does your spirituality connect to your music?
It’s almost as if music has the power to possess and use me for its greatest good. I feel so grounded and emotional when I’m wrapped up in it. Emotional because I truly feel like the creator of this life speaks through and to me when I sing/create/listen to music. It connects me to my highest self, filling me with so many emotions. It’s not something that I can explain so much with words, but a pure tenderness that unlocks the true powers of my soul.
What is your favorite part about being on stage?
The fact that it’s live and raw. I love that the viewers get to witness the music in its purest form, away from all its perfection. Once I’m warmed up, I feel super open on stage, and it’s one of the very few places that I feel comfortable being 100% me, wild and free. I tend to be a little shy but the stage is the one place I feel safe. Music does that for me. It’s a pathway of communication for me.
How do you practice allowing yourself to live in the moment?
I’ve realized that living in the moment means surrendering to the moment and making the best of it. Being open to the moment and allowing it to take you where it may without any complaints or expectations. This may seem like a simple thing to do but it took me a lot of practice and persistence. In uncomfortable moments I had to remind myself to remove the ego, something that tries to take control over our minds every day through comparison, doubt, self-victimization, guilt, etc. Ways that I found helped me remove my ego is through meditation, yoga, earthing singing, and gratitude. And it’s not something I just did and stopped doing – It’s an ongoing and everyday practice for me.
Photographer: Kimari Hazward
