Rising Brazilian punk star Karen Dió guides us through her new EP ‘My World’, out now via Hopeless Records.
MY WORLD
“So, the first song I wrote was actually one I’m still working on. It’s called ‘Bad Girl’, and I felt it would serve as an introduction where I would say who I am within this project. I felt like it was cool, but I wasn’t 100% there; in a way, it felt a bit too childish and the right feeling. So then, when I went into the studio, I started to write a different song with Matt [Bigland, Dinosaur Pile-Up frontman, producer and husband], which centred around this being my world that I was creating. I felt it was a much cooler way to do the idea I had previously wanted but couldn’t figure out how to do it.
“So, he told me the idea in words I liked because he knows how I want to work with him. I don’t like him to interfere too initially, if he has a riff idea, he can show me that, but then let me do the lyrics and the melody. But when the rhythm and the chorus wasn’t coming, that’s when he popped up with the idea he had, which he sang, and I was like, ‘Fuck! That’s literally it’. Throwing that in with the other ideas that I had been mumbling around it, it all started to relate to this idea of the song being a ‘Welcome to my world; you’re welcome to join me in it’. It’s a theme song of sorts. So, if you like what you hear here, you’ll like everything else that’s still to come!”
STUPID
“I feel like this song is the huge realisation of how naïve I am because I felt like I was so aware of what I was going through back when I was in Brazil. I have trust issues and am always mindful of everything, fortunately, and unfortunately, and hyper-sensitive. And I couldn’t believe that I couldn’t catch the red flags in this situation. But at the same time, it’s good because I didn’t lose any of my humanity [or empathy] as someone with these trust issues. After everything, I let them have their chance to prove me wrong.
“But yeah, I feel like after COVID and moving to the UK and reflecting on all of the things that happened to me, I have let myself be free within this. When it comes to my image, I don’t care what people think about me anymore because sometimes you just want to prove how strong you are in these situations. But I was so stupid, and that’s okay. I’ve learned a lesson from this negative situation. And it can relate to everything you do in life, not just relationships. It’s the same in work, family, all these different things you do through. And I would never be in my current position without going through it. We grow a lot making these mistakes, that aren’t actually mistakes. They are life lessons.”
POOR MAN
“I feel like Brazil is a bit more retrograde than the UK when it comes to the musical space. It’s always 10 times worse. Our scene is very small, so if you have a problem with one of the types of people I’m singing about here, that’s it. If you’re lucky enough to be big, maybe people will still trust and like you. But you’re probably too small, so you will probably disappear. There are still a lot of women in the scene, but that doesn’t mean that we get the visibility that we should over in Brazil.
“So, ‘Poor Man’ was written with a lot of that in mind. But also, when I was back in Brazil, and still with my previous band, I was fighting for my place in the middle of a lot of big people, so I was trying to put out a persona that wasn’t 100% me but also trying to survive whilst trying to stay relevant. I know I was given a chance that not a lot of girls ever have in Brazil. S, I really wanted to grow and be there doing what I do in whatever way, because once I found my way to the top, my plan was that I wanted to bring all of these other girls up there with me. But unfortunately, a lot of things changed. When I moved to the UK, it felt so empowering for me. I felt so much more free, and I didn’t care about all these things that I felt I was having to do in Brazil. I didn’t care if people thought my short haircut sucks or if my guitar playing sucks because that is me. I don’t try to be anyone else; I will always do my thing. I’m now in a place of maturity where I am able to say, ‘Fuck that’ to anyone who feels different. The person who would talk shit about me back in Brazil actually did it because they were insecure. If I grow, they don’t have the chance to do that anymore.”
3AM
“I always wanted to write a song that was related to nepotism, where people are more privileged and get opportunities, whilst I’m working my ass off to get the chance. That’s kind of what this song is surrounded by, but what made me feel the anger I ended up writing about was my cat. My cat, Mr Christmas, was a kitten. I was trying to sleep because I work the next day, and he never let me do it. That was the way for months, it was relentless. He doesn’t need to work, but I do! He just needs his food, and he’s happy. The worst thing is that he’s fucking deaf, so he couldn’t even hear me.
“But I feel like because of that, this song ended up being even more genuine. Simply because of how frustrated I was. It was so quick to come to life because of that frustration.”
SO FUNNY
“I always feel frustrated when it feels like someone is trying to take something away from me. But ‘So Funny’ comes from the idea that no matter how much they try and do that, I will always find my way. That’s great. With this song, I feel like I was writing about those people trying to take advantage of me, but as soon as I was off the market, they were trying to do it with all of the other girls trying to find their way. Treating women as tokens, and whenever I get even an inkling of that being what is taking place, it makes my skin crawl. The fact is that most of the time, women have to help themselves, or help is going to come from another one of us. If any girls are doubting themselves because of some man, know that I have you and that you can do this.”
SICK RIDE
“Unfortunately, this is not a true story. It would be crazy if it were. When Matt and I started to write this, he had the hook, ‘My boyfriend’s got a car and he…’ I thought that was interesting. That’s not usually the way I would start a song; I’m much more guitar driven. But he came with more of this vibe and this beat. But at the time I was still having problems with my previous band, and my initial reaction was, ‘I don’t need any men in this’. This song isn’t about my boyfriend’s car, it’s my girlfriend who has a car! Let me have my queer moment in this.From there, we really started to draw this scenario, and it became more and more of a female empowerment song. It became this kick-ass thing, all about having a girl gang being allowed to do their thing and living our lives the way we want. The fact that so many people have found this song and thought it was kick-ass, men and women, is awesome. Culturally, I’m still learning about so many things, but knowing that this is the song that went viral for me shows that I am in the right country and around the right people.”
