*BACKSTAGE PASS* - KAREN HARDING

*BACKSTAGE PASS*

KAREN HARDING

Melbourne, Australia

BIO

Karen Harding is a Folk / Pop singer-songwriter with a powerful passion for expressing sincere and relatable emotions creating enchanting instrumental soundscapes infused with imagination and dreams. Since her first debut single, ‘I Didn’t Realise’ in 2021 Harding has achieved so much including her single ‘Anxiety’ is a Top 10 winner for the World Songwriting Awards as well as ‘Something Special’ being a nominee for Best International Artist on Crags Radio Independent Artist Awards in 2022. Harding’s music is a mind, body, and soul experience that allows us to feel emotions we bury and hide behind our daily masks.

*INTERVIEW*

Q: I understand that music is a soul conversation for you which shows through your lyrics which is truly inspiring but what influenced your overall desire to become a musician?

A: Thank you so much, I was always drawn to music.. growing up, I was always singing and making up little tunes around the house. I learnt to play the piano and sing from a young age.

When I was 21 I was playing local gigs as a part of an acoustic duo, however, I never really saw music as a career path for me. It was something that I enjoyed and was a kind of therapy in a way.

It wasn’t until Covid-19 lockdowns began and I started a platform called Sounds On The Couch, where I began to see what was possible and I wanted to try it for myself.. from there I was hooked!

Q: Having achieved so much already, what is your proudest moment so far in your musical journey?

A: I don’t think I have a singular proudest moment.. I feel like everything new that I do creates so much excitement.. there are so many amazing opportunities within music to collaborate with other artists, to explore new ways of doing things and to connect and I think for me, I enjoy the journey itself the most.

Q: Following up on that, is there something you’re still aspiring to achieve within the music industry?

A: My ultimate goal is truly to get the people who will connect with my music to hear it and have a chance for it to inspire them.

There are so many glamourous awards and achievements within the music industry and it is always amazing to receive the recognition, but what excites me the most is when someone tells me that they are inspired by what I create.

I would love to find more people to collaborate with and explore different ways of writing within different style and genres.

Q: You are incredibly open and honest with your lyrics, is there anything that you are in the process of working on that you’re nervous to complete or even release?

A: Absolutely.. when I began to put music out, this was definitely something I was concerned about.. it’s bearing your soul!

What I learnt, as I began to release music is that while vulnerable songs relate to an artist’s own experience, the emotions and the experience itself connects to the listeners own experiences.. they connect to the song through their own life experience filters.

Ultimately, while the music comes from me, it’s not about me.

Q: Talk us through your latest release ‘Letter To A Friend’ you had wrote this during the lockdown and this is a song that everyone can relate to with their own experiences. So, what was the creative process for this track?

A: ‘Letter To My Friend’ is possibly the most intimate and personal track that I have written.. Originally, I just wrote the song for myself as a way of processing a difficult time, and I had no intention of releasing the song.

It was written in my loungeroom, during lockdowns, with me sitting on my couch, with my guitar. It allowed me to ask questions and to express how I was feeling and move to a sense of hope and peace about the situations.

Q: Additionally how does it make you feel knowing that your song connects and helps others process their struggles?

I believe that’s the best part of sharing your music.. music is at it’s core so vulnerable, however we all experience the same sets of emotions. While we might not all experience the same things, we can connect at the emotional level.

The thought of this just amazes me so much.. It means that what I create for myself can help others and it also means that ultimately, none of us are really alone in whatever it is that we are struggling with!

Q: This new EP release is such an exciting time but it got me thinking what are your future plans? What have we to look forward to? Any tours and appearances to look out for?

A: There is always so much happening behind the scenes I have been working on a few upcoming bits and pieces.. an amazing Canadian IDM artist has an album which will be released in the coming months, which I have collaborated on one of the tracks with him.. I have also worked on some songs with an amazing Argentina family, one of which incorporates the Cologne Chamber Orchestra.

In regards to shows and tours, I don’t have any tours planned at the moment.. but you never know I have a few local performances coming up.. but stay tuned at https://linktr.ee/karenharding1 to find out more of what is to come.

Thank you so much for having me!

---

*KEEP UPDATED*

WEBSITE

SPOTIFY

INSTAGRAM

---