Divianne Brings Listeners On A Soulful and Emotional Journey With ‘Peace Of Mind’

French London, UK based singer/songwriter, Divianne joins us to share all about her emotional indie-folk EP, ‘Peace of Mind’.

With soulful vocals and a retro feel of music, Divianne has been building a predominant fanbase, over recent years, across France and London, UK and has her music streamed across 15 countries across the world.

Divianne shares her latest four track soulful and emotional EP, ‘Peace of Mind’, which is a collection of songs written between 2015 and 2019 and includes ‘Come Back Home’, which is a fan favourite and anthem for mental health.

The song, ‘peace of mind’ also features a video which is being shot in Normandie with dancer Yohann Daher, who is known for The Voice France, NOWNESS, danced for Maître Gims at The Stade de France, the biggest venue in France.

‘Peace of Mind’, the EP relates to deep rooted emotions surrounding heartbreak, mental health and failure and shares strings of relatability that so many listeners can reflect within their own experiences.

You can listen to ‘Peace Of Mind’ below:

Would you like to start by telling us a little about yourself?

Hi! I’m a French singer-songwriter based in London.

I was born in the South of France and I started singing as a kid.

I was the weirdo that wouldn’t stop singing during breaks and I wouldn’t start talking until I had finished my song…

I was so annoying!

I joined a choir as a kid and I grew up listening to Adele, Lifehouse, Amy Winehouse, Edith Piaf, ABBA, The Fray, The Beatles.

The starting point for me was writing ‘Peace of Mind’ in 2015 and posting a demo of my song of it on Facebook which led me to record in a studio in Paris for the first time.

What was it that first inspired you to begin a career in music?

Music has always been important to me, since I was a kid.

It made me feel something that I couldn’t get anywhere else and I would spend my time learning lyrics and translating all my favourite songs so I could understand their meaning.

I still remember vividly the day I realised that people singing were actually telling stories and having that sudden understanding that words had a meaning.

It really blew my mind and I think that’s what made me want to write songs.

I love how music create a safe space for you to feel deeply and it’s so special when you find that one song that put into words how you feel better than you ever could.

I really wanted to be a part of that.

First it was to make myself better by writing it down and then later on I realised people were resonating with what I wrote.

How would you describe the feel of your music?

I would say it’s quite nostalgic, soft and heartfelt.

It’s all about emotions for me. I’m very drawn to sad music and the way it makes me feel, and I always pay attention to lyrics.

I hope people feel uplifted and more peaceful while listening to my music.

You have recently released your EP, ‘Peace Of Mind’… what was the inspiration behind the creation of this EP?

All the songs on this EP are based on my own experiences and my own emotions.

I wrote ‘Hold Space for Me’ while packing for a trip in South America, as a way to introduce myself to the next chapter in my life.

‘Come Back Home’ was my way to process a breakup.

I wrote ‘What Matters’ after having an horrible busking session in Piccadilly Circus, just after moving in to London and ‘Peace of Mind’ was a self-soothing song I wrote while feeling anxious.

I wanted an authentic and genuine body of work to tell all my stories and I called it ‘Peace of Mind’ to honour the song that started my journey back in 2017.

What do the songs on the EP mean to you?

I wrote those songs between 2015 and 2019 so this EP really captures 4 years of my life!

A lot happened during those years so this EP is a kaleidoscope showing you pieces of me throughout different years.

I grew a lot as a person and as an artist during those years but it felt nice going back in time while recording them and revisit some old memories and emotions I felt during that time.

This EP is really special to me, not only because it’s my first one but also because I made it during the pandemic.

I was really holding on to this project to stay sane, despite not being able to perform anymore.

It has been a crazy adventure and I got to work with amazing people in the process.

Your EP is a very personal account of heartbreak, mental health and failure.. What are some of the lessons that you feel listeners can take away from these explorations?

I really do believe it’s important to sit with uncomfortable and sad emotions, embrace them and find something to release them: make art out of it, write it down, go for a walk, call a friend, talk to a therapist.

Sometimes it feels like we’re always going to feel a certain way, whether it’s feeling heart broken, overwhelmed or like a total loser.

But don’t let your mind trick you into thinking you’ll always feel this way, just because it’s your reality right now.

I always try to remember that in a year I won’t remember all the thoughts I’m thinking now or feel everything the way I’m feeling them now and that makes it easier for me to embrace how I’m feeling now.

What did the creative process look like for your EP?

All the songs were already written when I got to the studio and worked with Pierre [Pierre Niquin, the arranger on all songs].

We made the EP between November and December 2020 and started the process by sitting together and going through all the melodies with just a guitar.

We wanted each song to have its own different vibe.

‘Hold Space for Me’ was the most obvious one, we knew pretty much from the get-go how it would turn out and it didn’t change much in the process.

‘Peace of Mind’ was my favourite one to see come to life with that sort of dreamy orchestral production.

There were tons of vocals on this one and I had so much fun recording all of them! I’ve learned a lot about my voice in the process too and Pierre brought out things in my voice I didn’t know I could do.

For the artwork, I went for a picture that my childhood friend took in my hometown in France back in January.

It was a very cold and windy day and it was getting dark.

We sat by a street light and started improvising a photoshoot. Nothing fancy but she really managed to make magic out of nothing!

I’ve also worked with 3 filmmakers and I’m so lucky to have been able to work with all those lovely people.

Alice Rottherham filmed the ‘Hold Space for Me’ video, she did an amazing job!

For ‘Come Back Home’ I’ve worked with Rebecca Gallon and the team of Umbra Motion Picture, it was honestly a dream.

We woke up at 4am to shoot the video in a forest in London. For ‘Peace of Mind’, we shot a beautiful dance music video in Normandie with Louis Cristiani who directed it and my friend Yohann Daher for the dance.

Where do you find your inspiration for your music?

So far, all the songs I have been writing are based on things I went through but the way the lyrics or melodies come to me take many forms.

I always have lyrics popping up and then I try to find a melody for it.

The first try is usually not that good but then what happen is that it leads to another idea which ends up being a song I want to finish.

Literally anything could be material for a song because we’re always processing information, right?

One of my songs ‘Come Back Home’ came to me on the tube after reading a book called ‘The 50 Greatest Musical Places in the World’ by Sarah Woods.

There was a sentence mentioning someone sitting cross-legged playing guitar. It triggered something in me and all I could think about was to use that for a song and I pretty much had the entire verses and chorus that same day.

One time I wrote a song after watching a random tarot card reading on Youtube!

Recently I’ve also been finding walks very inspiring. It puts my mind at ease and makes me more creative.

I’ve also started writing songs based on dreams I had.

I just make sure I always have my phone nearby so I can record voice memos and write random ideas of lyrics or song titles.

What would you like to see happen for you in your music from here?

I have so many goals to be honest but one thing I really hope to see happen is touring internationally.

I really love performing on stage and if the pandemic taught me anything, it’s that there’s nothing like performing in front of people and feel the energy in the room.

I have people from different part of the world following me now: Europe, Australia, US, Sri Lanka, South America, India, which is so exciting and I really hope I’ll be able to go to most of those countries to perform!

I’ve lived a couple of months in Peru, it would be so special for me to go back in South America to play my songs.

What is one message you would like to share with your fans?

Thank you for all the support you’ve been showing me this year, whether it was following me online, coming to my gigs, watching my videos or listening to my songs. It means the world to me and I hope we get to keep growing together for a very very long time.

Where can people find your music?

You can find me on all the platforms under DIVIANNE. Come say hi on Instagram @diviannemusic and Tiktok @divianne.