Who is Malu Pierini?
I’m a Danish singer-songwriter with Corsican roots, based in Copenhagen. I grew up on stories about my grandparents’ life in 1960s Paris - my grandfather ran a cabaret and my grandmother travelled there as a young dancer - and I’ve only recently realised how much that world has quietly shaped who I am as an artist. In my music I try to weave all of that together: Nordic melancholy, Mediterranean warmth and the cinematic feeling of a Parisian night.

For someone that is yet to discover you, how would you describe your music? 
I would describe my music as soul-infused indie pop with a French twist - like one record that can take you from a summer evening in Corsica to a smoky cabaret in 1960s Paris and then onto a rainy metro ride home in Copenhagen at 2am. Warm melodies, a bit of nostalgia and lots of storytelling.

What inspired you as an artist? 
This album is heavily inspired by my family history. As a child I was fascinated by the magic in their stories - smoky cabarets, dancers, love affairs, big dreams and complicated choices - and as an adult I’ve realised how much of my own life mirrors theirs. I’m very interested in the invisible threads between generations: how those who came before us shape who we become, and how we break patterns without rejecting where we come from. All of that has fuelled the writing of ‘Libera Me’.

What Is Your Pre-Show Routine?
I have a whole little ritual. I do a bunch of body and breath exercises to relax the muscles in my neck and throat, wake up my diaphragm and make my chest feel soft and flexible, so the voice can move freely. I like a few quiet minutes backstage to ground myself - and right before a big show, I’ll usually have one Gin & Tonic and a big hug with my band. That combination of focus, humour and togetherness always helps the nerves.

Who inspires your look?

My style lives somewhere between 60s Paris and modern Scandinavia. I love the attitude of old photos of Françoise Hardy and Brigitte Bardot - the eyeliner, knee high boots or loafers, little golden details, a silk scarf - but I mix it with an oversize blazer or a more minimal, Nordic wardrobe so it still feels like me today.

What are your favourite musical genres, and are there any you dislike? 
I’m a big fan of soul music, all kinds of good pop, R&B and anything that feels honest and melodic. I also love French chanson, bossa and intimate singer-songwriter music. I don’t really “hate” any genre, but I’m probably less drawn to very aggressive, noisy music - I tend to look for warmth, groove and storytelling.

Is there a story behind the album title ’Libera Me’?
The album title, ‘Libera Me’, means “free me” and is taken from a Latin prayer I remember from church in Corsica - often sung at funerals. It runs like a red thread through the record: a wish to honour the past and, at the same time, free yourself from the patterns and stories you’ve inherited - without denying them.

We all come from somewhere. Our smiles, our humour, our dreams - they’re not only our own, but an echo of people who were here before us. ‘Libera Me’ is my way of honouring their stories, my invisible inheritance, and at the same time figuring out who I am in all of it.

What would you say is your greatest strength and weakness as an artist?
My greatest strength is definitely that I am DIY and very all-in. I’m basically my own director at the moment - I write, I organise, I plan my releases and shows, design and make the merch, find the funding, I build the team - and I genuinely love having that overview and the closeness with my listeners. The “weakness” is that I sometimes get too caught up in all the administrative stuff, when I should be in the studio writing new songs.

Fave song right now?
Right now it has to be “Let Alone The One You Love” by Olivia Dean. I keep coming back to it - the warmth in her voice and the writing is just perfect to me. It feels like a warm hug.

What music artists would you say have influenced your work? 
I grew up in a house where there was always music playing while my parents cooked in our little kitchen - a lot of Stevie Wonder, Norah Jones, Sade, Corinne Bailey Rae, Lauryn Hill and Prince. Those records are the soundtrack to my childhood and have shaped my love of groove, harmony and warm, melodic songwriting.

Later I fell in love with old French music - Edith Piaf, Françoise Hardy, Brigitte Bardot and that whole universe - and so the cinematic, nostalgic feeling found its way into my own songs. To me ‘Libera Me’ is those two worlds meeting.

Who would you most like to collaborate with artistically?

I’ve said this a few times already, but I’m a huge Olivia Dean fan. There is so much warmth and honesty in what she does, and her songs feel instantly classic, so collaborating with her would be a dream.

And if Stromae or Lianne La Havas ever slid into my DMs, I would absolutely not play it cool. I love artists who have built such a strong universe that you can recognise them from the first line.

Biggest obstacle & how did you overcome it? 

At the beginning of 2025 I lost my entire team, all at once, for different reasons. I gave myself a week to feel all the feelings, and then I slowly started rebuilding - asking myself what I actually wanted, who I wanted around me, and where I could take more ownership.

A few months later I had signed a distribution deal with Universal, finished and funded my debut album, made two music videos in Paris, and set up my own headline shows for 2026. It wasn’t easy, but it was a very clear reminder that the project doesn’t disappear just because the team changes - and that when you keep moving forward, the right collaborators tend to find you at the right time.

What advice would you give to aspiring artists?

I think we are very good at celebrating the external wins - a magazine feature, radio play, an editorial playlist - and of course that’s beautiful. But if we only value what other people approve of, we are always chasing something outside ourselves. So, I try to make a habit of also celebrating the things I accomplish on my own: the song I finally finish, the scary email I send, the gig I book myself.

Take back a bit of control. If you want something to happen; write the pitch, send the DM, pick up the phone. Nothing will happen if you don’t - so you might as well try.

What is your creative process when making music? Do you work with others or is it just you?

My favourite way to write is definitely in collaboration - that’s where the real magic happens for me. This entire album was written with my childhood friend and incredibly talented musician, Nicholas Kincaid. Often he’ll start playing something, I’ll sing over it, and we slowly figure out the mood and the story of the song together - usually with a lot of coffee and conversation in between takes.

My iPhone memos are full of half-sung ideas and terrible demo titles, and Nicholas is very patient with my “wait, one more tiny change” perfectionism. Because we’ve written the whole album side by side, he knows me very well as an artist and as a person, and that means he can challenge me to be braver and more honest. I’m incredibly grateful for that partnership - and for the number of bad jokes it can take to get to a good lyric.

This year, what can we expect?

Everything has really been leading up to this year for me. All the singles, the press releases, the shows, the videos, the interviews with my grandmother and the writing trips have been building towards one thing: my debut album, Libera Me, finally coming out on January 30. I’ll be playing a few headliner shows in Denmark, where I’m based, and my wish is to let the album live on stages outside of Denmark too. And knowing myself, there will definitely be more storytelling, more visuals and probably new songs already on the way. I am really really excited for 2026.