Los Angeles-based alt-rock artist and singer-songwriter KAREN releases her hard-hitting and third lead single, "My Friends," of her forthcoming debut EP.
KAREN began delving into her creative and artistic abilities during the pandemic. She was hesitant to release rock music, knowing that she was not entirely familiar with the sound and would be traveling outside of her comfort zone. Alas, she bought an electric guitar and got to work.
Soon to be releasing her debut EP, KAREN recently dropped the project's third lead single, "My Friends." KAREN mentioned that the song surrounds not wanting to give up her self-destructive behaviors, as those behaviors became her friends who helped her cope and get through her inner turmoil. We're excited to introduce this new and improved KAREN to our readers, as her modern approach to rock is simply unforgettable.
Plunging into the single, "My Friends," we're met with blistering and layered electric guitar riffs that pierce our speaker with nothing but power and might. As the mid-tempo drum breaks begin to crash their way in, KAREN's low and poised vocals join the party while setting the song's moody and grungy tone. As she continues drenching us with her emotional and introspective lyrical content, KAREN jumps into the heated hook without a dull moment in sight.
Her energy and vitality skyrocket when blasting through the punchy hook, especially as she makes her way over to the next verse with the same vocal energy and passion. We adore KAREN's lyrical content, as she encourages us not to diss her friends, as they were the only ones there for her when she was down and out.
Get your dose of powerhouse female rock with help from KAREN's latest hit, "My Friends," now available on all digital streaming platforms.
Welcome to BuzzMusic KAREN. We love the raw energy and passion you've brought to your latest single, "My Friends." What inspired you to write a song that emphasizes how your self-destructive behaviors transformed into your friends?
Writing is like therapy for me, so most of the songs that I write about are about my anxiety or depression, or something in between. At the time I wrote “My Friends” I was recovering from an eating disorder and struggling to quit smoking, and I was bitter that I had nothing to fall back on, so I dealt with it by writing this song.
Could you expand on your creative process behind the scenes when formulating the instrumentals for "My Friends?" Did you have any musicians or producers help you out during this process?
I started out by making a rough drum template and then played the guitar parts on top. Once I had the general idea for the track I came up with the melody. My husband is a bass player, so I had him lay down some bass and then sent to my friend Hal who is a real drummer to fix my crap drums. I was inspired by my favorite band Bully to write my EP, so I went out on a limb and reached out to Alicia Bognanno who fronts the band to produce/mix. I ended up going to her home studio in Nashville to track the vocals, and she produced out what I had and mixed it after that.
Should we expect this attitude-drenched, exciting, and personal approach in your debut EP, similar to the single "My Friends?" How does the single prepare us for what's to come?
“My Friends” is very much the middle ground to the other songs on the EP. On one end I have a song that’s loud and angry and all yelling, and on the other end, I have a song that’s quiet and depressing and more melodic. “My Friends” has a little bit of both, so I think it makes all the other songs work together as a whole.
Why did you choose to make the transition into the alt-rock scene? What led you to this alteration in sound and style?
Alt-rock has always been my favorite genre to listen to, but I was too afraid to actually write rock music. I’ve always had a bit of a twang to my voice and for the most part I’ve really only played acoustic guitar, and rock just felt too cool for me? I felt stuck writing country/singer/songwriter stuff because it was safe for me and never really loved the music I was doing. I think I just got so angry and cagey during the pandemic that I was like “fuck it, I’m going to write what I want to write” and just did it.