The House We Grew Up In
An interview with Abby Diamond
Words and photography by Katie Sikora.
The first time I shot photos of Abby Diamond, I was starstruck. She is a magnetic being and once she opens her mouth to sing the game is over. That was at Gasa Gasa in February of 2015 and about one month later she asked me to be the photographer at her EP release. I had assumed it was because she saw the photos from the Gasa show but it turned out that she didn’t realize I was the one behind those shots until after the EP came out. She had seen work that I had created of other artists around town and that was why she chose me. We stumbled upon each other completely by chance. But two years and a beautiful, creative, loving, and supportive friendship later, I still struggle to define and describe the spirit that is Abby Diamond — her real name by the way. So instead of attempting to contain the uncontainable, here is Abby in her own words.
Katie Sikora: How old are you?
Abby Diamond: I’m 23. My birthday is on January 9.
So you’re about to be 24!
24!
When did you begin playing, performing, singing music?
I did my first performance in fifth grade when there was a talent show at my elementary show and I decided to sing “God Bless America”. And then my mom was like, “Well, hey, we’re going to get you some voice lessons so you can learn how to sing better,” or something. And then I sang “God Bless America”. (laughing) Our uniforms — we had these little Sailor Moon uniforms and we actually looked like Pokemon characters — were white and navy blue with the little flap in the back and these navy blue mini skirts and midi shirts. Like actually it was straight up Sailor Moon. And then I wore a red ribbon in my hair so it was red, white, and blue. (laughing) And I sang “God Bless America” acapella to a bunch of people. That was my first performance ever. Pretty putting yourself on the spot there.
That’s excellent.
Excellent is the word for it.
How has that adapted into what you sing and perform today?
That?! What do you mean? (laughing)
How did you take that and come out of it with — no pun intended — the diamond that it is now?
Let’s see, that was when I was ten so it’s been thirteen years. I feel like if you make a full-time career out of being an artist, it just requires a lot of being ok with not understanding things and not knowing things. I guess in a similar manner to how I stood in front of a couple hundred randos and sang this song with no background music dressed as a little baby sailor — in some ways my work needs me to do that everyday.
With fearlessness?
It’s the abyss-ness. Walking across the unknown, just the stepping into unknown dark rooms and flipping switches on and not knowing which parts of yourself will be illuminated within those rooms when the lights are on. When you’re a full-time artist, every single day you’re creating a new piece of art for yourself. Nothing is defined.
How do you describe the music that you’re currently playing and producing?
I like to call it r&b/electronica.
Can you tell me about your album and how it came to be? Where is it at now and what are you most excited for about the album?
My new record is called “Sorceress” and instead of releasing the record just as CDs, I’m making these coffee table feminist art books that are full of drawings, photographs, handwritten lyrics and depictions of other artists that I love and am friends with who are sorceresses. The CD is going to be pressed into the front cover of the book and the remix of the record is going to be pressed into the back cover. We’re selling these books instead of just selling CDs and cases. That’s what I’ve been focusing all of my attention on for the last good bit of time. It’s a record that was co-produced by myself and Blue Hawaii, who is one of my all-time favorite electronica artists. Basically, it’s this guy named Agor Cowan, who’s in a duo with an amazing woman named Raphaelle Standell-Preston and they have this band from Montreal. He and I made this record together so it’s co-produced by Abby Diamond and Blue Hawaii. It’s a sonic embodiment of what it’s like to be a woman in my body and how I personally have explored and grappled with questions like ‘what is a feminist?’ and ‘how does it feel to be a third wave feminist for me right now in this context?’ My fears and my community and my sexuality and my orientation and the relationships that I have been in. Those concepts were what encapsulated the songs that I wrote for the record. Those were the questions that I wrote those songs about.
Do you feel like you’ve found the answers to those questions through the production of the album or are you still searching?
I don’t think that the songs answer the questions. I think that the songs kind of soundtrack the questions.
What does it feel like to be a third wave feminist from the viewpoint of Abby Diamond?
I feel like third wave feminism is so beautiful because it’s so adaptive to each woman within our generation. Third wave feminism isn’t about a really specific set of rules. It’s a framework. It’s a lens that we can all look through to see women, how important they are, and how beautiful and godly they are. My particular understanding and grasp of third wave feminism is very different from each and every other woman because it has to do with what it’s like to be a woman in my own body. But the record has a lot to do with the sexual component of feminism for me, because in my particular world, being a fully realized, self-possessed woman has a lot to do with having the power and self-permission to step into my sexual capacity and identity as well as to embrace all of the elements that go along with that. “Sorceress” has been very centered around sexuality and my sexual orientation.
How do you feel about your sexual orientation now?
How do I feel about it? I feel like it always moves but I feel ok with that finally.
How did you used to feel about it or has that moved as well?
The things that I used to feel afraid of were the parts inside of myself that were undiscovered…and I didn’t want to light up all of those rooms because I didn’t know what I would see there. I had a very specific understanding of who I was and a grasp of what identity I had defined for myself. I felt unclear about how that could change if I was someone who dated women as well as men, or what types of women I would allow myself to be with, or even what types of clothes I would wear. I think that in being with all different types of women and writing music about it, I’ve been really blessed to have a deeper understanding and a deeper sense of self-expression around my sexuality.
What role did New Orleans play in your growth as an artist?
Oh my god. New Orleans was my home as an artist. I lack words for how to answer that question because New Orleans has been everything for me as an artist. I don’t even know how to go into it. I love New Orleans so much. I feel like it was the house that I grew up in even though I’m not from there — I grew up in San Francisco and only lived in New Orleans for four years. But I started my career as a Frenchmen Street jazz vocalist in New Orleans and that was the backdrop for me becoming who I am as an artist. All that I do is influenced by that foundation.
Why did you then decide that leaving New Orleans was your next move?
Because it’s easier to be in the same city with the people that you’re having meetings with instead of being on Skype all the time. I felt the need to be in Los Angeles out of convenience and because I wanted to explore myself in a new context and see what would come out of that.
Was that a hard decision to make?
No, it felt really right. I didn’t know where I was going to move until my last year in New Orleans and then the pieces just fell into place so perfectly. I think it was supposed to be this way.
How have you and your music changed, if at all, since moving to Los Angeles?
I’ve only been there for six months so I don’t think it’s changed. I think that it’s maybe become a little bit more defined because as I go through new experiences my music also kind of defines and refines itself. Going through experiences and relationships brings my truth into focus in a way that defines my music in turn. My writing has become more self-accepted in different ways just based of the experiences that I’ve been through since I left New Orleans.
What’s next?
Releasing the record and touring it.
Do you know where your tour will go?
It depends who I go on tour with. Stay tuned. (laughing)
What is your mission with regards to your music? What do you hope to achieve?
My mission in making music has always been to understand my own truth more fully and know how to convey that truth very simply. That’s really it.
