Irene Diaz: Pulling Heartstrings Through Her Music

This article is part of SCAD Radio’s SXSW collection, in which some of our radio members visited the music portion of the SXSW Festival and Showcase in Austin, TX.

Irene Diaz has been singing almost all her life but didn’t label herself a singer until she was about 20. She wrote music just to let her emotions out. “I think for me, music is very therapeutic, and the time I started writing, I was about 16, and my parents were going through a divorce. I didn’t realize I was using it as an outlet,” she states. Music has always been something Irene has loved, and over the years, her voice has developed. She adds, “And just with my art, it evolves.” Like her own music, her influences have changed over the years. She explains, “Because I think everything I listen to helps me, it influences my art.” Growing up, Irene listened to a lot of Nina Simon, Radiohead, Mazzy Star, the Sundays, and Coldplay. But in actuality, she is influenced by everything.

Irene sings to lovers. Her audience is people who love love. She expands, “People who understand love is a journey, and there are always ups and downs.” Her music is for people who want to practice self-love. Irene’s songs are perfect for people who are on a journey.

On the topic of self-love, I asked Irene how she deals with her mental health while on tour. She responds, “Last year, I went on a tour with Carla Morrison for three weeks, and I had the support of Carolyn, my partner, and her parents came along, so I slept a lot. But early on throughout my career, I struggled with anxiety, like stage performance, the anticipation before going on stage, or even feeling like you’re not enough, especially online.” Like many artists, Irene compared herself to others and felt initially overwhelmed with the fact that there are so many ways to get your music out. Later she realized that she could use the tools productively in order to create her own path in getting her voice out there. A big thing for her was working on her thought pattern, and mental health has become more of a priority for her now because, as she states, “I think as musicians, as artists, we’re light workers here to give and give, and we can’t give if we’re not giving to ourselves.” We can’t light up if we’re not fueling ourselves, so we must care for ourselves.

Irene Diaz and her partner, Carolyn Caradoza, after performing at Saxon Pub in Austin, TX at SXSW, March 15, 2023.

It’s clear that Irene’s songs are written with emotions and that her relationships are what drive her music. Her album “Lovers and Friends” is a collective of songs that she has been writing since she started writing music. A lot of the songs are from her 20s. With the help of Carla Morrison and her producers, Irene gathered the songs she already had been working on and then wrote a few more, creating a collection that explored different relationships she’s been in and different relationships that she’s seen her friends go through. With that, the album is very personal. Her favorite song on the album is “What’s Going On.” It’s the last song in the album, and it’s about how sometimes we struggle with communication. Irene expands, “The song is about the other person not communicating to you what they’re going through or how they’re feeling, so in that sense, you start making things up in your head in what you think it’s going to end because they’re not communicating on what’s going on.” The song is a personal expression as she’s learning to communicate more effectively with others and her partner. But, she adds, “Sometimes it’s a struggle, but I think awareness is key; knowing what you’re going through, knowing what you want, and also setting boundaries for yourself, I think that is very important.”

Irene’s favorite part about songwriting is the question, “Where is it going to go next?” She appreciates the emotions that come from creating out of thin air. She enjoys exploring the possibilities that creating a song may bring. Her newest single, “Lost,” is out now! “It’s a song about confession of desire; it’s very sensual,” Irene comments. “It’s a culmination of where we’ve been all these years, like learning different producers, and now we have something that’s like our baby,” she continues.