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An Interview with Lorena

The new album released by Lorena doesn't just deliver a heavy-handed alternative rock sound, but more attitude-riddled, character-packed, and personality-driven edginess, which also has all these elements of pop sensibilities sprinkled in throughout its course.


This is an album that shows you, straightforwardly, that she is an artist who is not afraid to put pieces of herself into her music, and that's part of what makes the entire thing so damn impactful.


The record is called Rebel Soul, and the entire thing is almost like a diary of sorts. Each track stands on its own two feet amazingly as a single, but this is a record you're supposed to listen to as a whole. When you go through this album from beginning to end, in one shot, you get the full picture.


Not only that, but you also get the entire spectrum of what it has to offer this way.


Listening to one or two songs from this record may give you an idea of what you might expect, but it will not give you everything it actually offers.


This is super important because there are plenty of surprises around the corners and stories to tell from very personal perspectives, whether they be more sad or delivered with a bit more aggression, a touch of light-heartedness, or hinting at the vulnerability that it all boasts.


Whatever you get out of this record, you're getting something authentic, and I think that's the important thing.


It's that character you end up really getting attached to.


Lorena is a storyteller and is unafraid to lay out her lyrics in a very straightforward kind of manner, but this is also what makes them so understandable and relatable. It also helps you paint a picture as songs and the full record unfold.


The first track, "Hello", is literally meant as an introduction to the rest of the record. It opens the door and basically says, "Here I am". Get ready for a bit of a roller coaster in terms of emotion and personality, but it's all very real, and that's what you're supposed to be getting ready for.


Good track boasts some massive heavy style riff that does indeed give you a bit of an alternative rock feel, but also has that soulful underbelly that feels almost like it borders on blues rock.


It's closed-fisted, heavy-hitting, and holds very little back.


This is kind of the essence of what a lot of the record is about.


The title track, "Rebel Soul", is an absolute banger, and this one showcases a bigger range of emotion right from the get-go. It feels cinematic, a little bit vast, and it's undertone, and boasts killer courses that are super memorable and manage to just bounce around in your head for hours or even days after the song.


After just these two songs alone, you start to get a grasp on how diverse the record's going to be and how she's always able to have that pop coating intact almost all the time.


"Love Me or Leave Me" is an amazing example of exactly that. This is a track that showcases a pretty crunching and heavy riff that borders on a metal kind of feel, but that pop element is always there to the point where it's an incredibly radio-friendly single. Even the verses are super memorable on this one.


On top of all that, again, you're getting all this honesty and tons of inner thought and emotion that just come spilling out for all to soak in.


This is what I mean by how she gives pieces of herself and her music. She doesn't write songs with walls built around them. These are sort of unbound in that sense.


"Pieces" gives you more of that personal approach, letting it all out, getting things off her chest, and having emotions run the show. I think it takes bravery to showcase that level of vulnerability and manage to keep your charm and character intact the entire time.


Throughout this entire record, the guitar work is pretty outstanding. It's nothing over the top, but it has its own atmosphere. By the time you get a few songs into this record, you also get a feel for the tone. The songs can change, differ, and branch out, but there is a very strong consistency that holds the entire record together like glue.


For me, one of the most impressive tracks on the record is actually the closing track, "Louder", simply because it's so robust and sonically present. It is a beautiful song that is almost like a power ballad, and this also gives off quite a heavy-handed cinematic backbone.


Her vocals are absolutely addictive on this track, especially. There's something about the tone of her voice on this one that just wraps itself around you and keeps you right where it wants to.


Just that level of fearlessness and creativity, the ability to let everything off your chest, the way she writes songs with fewer boundaries than whatever you may be used to, is impressive


These are the attributes of the record that really stick. These are the parts of the songs that you hold on to.


The reason why is that you connect with them. These are stories that anyone can have. A lot of us have been through all kinds of different situations and, of course, have all different kinds of struggles and emotions, but not a lot of us know how to articulate that into words, let alone words and music, so when we hear songs like these, we automatically attach ourselves to them.


Songs like this can be for the artist, which I'm sure they are, but they're also for whoever's listening. Sometimes songs like these let us feel like we're not alone.


This is part of being alive and human. You're going to have heavy emotion. It's what life delivers you, so this was a pretty in-depth record with a lot of meat to chew on in the sense that you take in all these lyrics as stories, unafraid to show you her true self, and you take that into your own life through parts of the record as well.


It's all beautifully done, but it still has that great edginess to it.


Upon listening to this album, I knew I had to have a sit-down with the artist and ask her some questions about it.


So, while you listen to this record, check out our interview with Lorena below and don't forget where you heard it first.


LET’S TALK ABOUT REBEL SOUL! THIS REALLY BLENDED PERSONALITY AND

ALTERNATIVE EDGE VERY WELL! WHERE DID THIS RECORD COME FROM?


Rebel Soul is more than a debut album for me — it’s a statement.


It’s the sound of choosing authenticity over comfort. The songs were written during a phase where I had to decide whether I stay safe or fully commit to who I am as an artist. The album revolves around resilience, identity, and inner freedom in a world full of noise and expectations.


That’s what I call Heart Rock — emotional honesty combined withcinematic energy and backbone. It’s about vulnerability and strength coexisting. Not fitting into a genre, but building your own space.


I’M HEARING A FEW DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO THIS ALBUM! WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR BIGGEST MUSICAL INFLUENCES?


I actually started in musical theatre at the age of nine, and I grew up obsessed with powerful voices. I was a huge Céline Dion and Christina Aguilera fan in my early years — I studied how they delivered emotion and strength at the same time.


As a teenager, I fell in love with rock bands like Good Charlotte and Blink-182, and also discovered powerful female fronted Bands like Skunk Anansie, Die Happy, The Cranberries and Evanescence.  


Right now, I’m inspired by bands like Dead Sara and The Pretty Reckless

– artists who combine rawness, grit, and authenticity without losing musical depth.


That mix of vocal power and alternative edge definitely shaped the sound of Rebel Soul.


DID YOU RECORD THIS AT A HOME SETUP, OR AT A BIG STUDIO?


I worked on the album with three incredible producers who are very well respected in the industry: Niels Zuiderhoek (Kensington, Alice Merton, Ilse DeLange) Echo Award winner Peter Keller (Peter Maffay, Udo Lindenberg) and Benjamin Schwenen (Eisbrecher, Tanzwut).


Because of that, the album was recorded across their three different studios — Chefrock Studios, YouGuys Music and Light Mountain Studio. Each space brought a different energy and perspective to the songs.


It was important to me to combine professional, international-level production with emotional authenticity. Big sound — but never losing the heart.


HOW DID THIS ALL START FOR YOU AS AN ARTIST?


Before The Voice, I was already a full-time musician — but I was always “the band girl.” I loved being part of a collective, sharing stages and building sound together. But I hadn’t fully stepped into my own artistic identity yet.


The Voice changed that for me.


Standing on stage as myself — not as part of something, but as the artist

— forced me to rediscover who I was. When my interpretation of “Enjoy The Silence” with Oliver Henrich went viral and reached over 2.3 million views, everything shifted. That was also the moment my management discovered me, and things truly started moving.


But the biggest shift was internal. That was when I decided to finally do "my own damn thing" — to stop fitting into structures and start building something that reflects who I really am.


That’s how Heart Rock was born.


ARE YOU PERFORMING LIVE RIGHT NOW?


Yes — and live is where everything truly comes alive.


This year started with my first headline show abroad, which was a major milestone for me. On February 21st I’m celebrating my big album release show in Potsdam, and I can´t wait to start into my first festival summer.


NOW THAT THIS IS OUT, WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU?


Touring, expanding internationally, and taking Heart Rock to new stages and new audiences. Winning the German Songwriting Award for the title track gave me confirmation — but this isn’t about one achievement. It’s about building something that lasts. This album is the starting point, not the peak.


I’ve already written new songs and have fresh material in the pipeline.


The creative process never really stops for me — it just evolves.


There’s a lot more coming.


WHO’S IN YOUR HEADPHONES RIGHT NOW?


Honestly? A lot of true crime podcasts. When I do listen to music, I tend to get nostalgic. Lately I’ve been revisiting bands like the Goo Goo Dolls and Radiohead. There’s something timeless about that era — strong songwriting, atmosphere and emotional depth without chasing trends. That kind of honesty always inspires me.


WHAT WOULD YOU TELL PEOPLE THEY CAN EXPECT ON THIS RELEASE?


Big choruses. Strong vocals. Cinematic moments. Emotional grit. It’s not background music. It’s meant to move you — whether that’s strength, anger, release or hope.


BEFORE WE GO, WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO EXPRESS TO FANS OF THE MUSIC?


First of all: Thank you for listening to my music and welcome to the heartrock family! Rebel Soul is about choosing your own voice over the noise.


You don’t owe the world a watered-down version of yourself. You don’t have to shrink, explain, or fit into someone else’s expectations.



If this record pushes you to trust your gut instead of the pressure around you — then it did its job. Following your heart isn’t soft — it’s bold.


I couldn´t be happier if these songs make you feel stronger, louder, or more unapologetically yourself.


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