With her debut album Rebel Soul, Lorena is stepping into a new chapter of her musical journey. Years in the making, the record blends emotional storytelling with powerful rock elements—what she calls “heart rock.” Written alongside producers Peter Keller, Niels Zuiderhoek, and Benjamin Schwenen , the album reflects themes of courage, self-belief, and following one’s inner voice. In this interview, Lorena talks about the long road behind Rebel Soul and the personal experiences that shaped her music.
Welcome to Lorena
So, Lorena, first, thank you. And secondly, thank you for joining me today, and how are you and how everything is going?
Thank you for the opportunity. I’m very excited. It’s my first album release, so it’s exciting.
I’m nervous, but I’m very happy because right now we get a lot of positive feedback, like from you, but also from others. And of course, it’s really nice to hear.
A lot of stuff is going on right now, and I’m very, very happy that it’s finally happening because I worked on this album since 2022, so I can’t wait to share those songs with the world.
Lorena and her debut album Rebel Soul
So let’s talk about Rebel Soul. So what can you tell me about the album production?
Yeah, the album production was a long process, like I told you before. I started writing the first songs in 2022 with Peter Keller, and then Niels Zuiderhoek and Benjamin Schwenen joined my team of producers.
During that time, I did several songwriting camps and I took a lot of time to find my sound and I wrote a lot of personal songs. In the end, I will release 13 songs on my album, plus one cover. Indeed, also Depeche Mode‘s Enjoy the Silence will be included because this is actually the song which started everything. This was my battle song in The Voice of Germany 2020, and it became viral turning into one of the most seen YouTube videos on their official account.
Lorena and her debut album Rebel Soul [cont]
After that video on YouTube went viral, a management came towards me and, they encouraged me to try it again with my own music and Rebel Soul. The whole album actually is about this. It’s about courage, about following your inner voice, trusting yourself, and, yeah, following your heart. Even though the outside world might not support you, or you feel, yeah, sometimes lonely. But in the end, if you hear and if you listen to your inner voice, something good has to come out. And this is what came out of it.
Don’t stop believing (in yourself)
Yeah, let me ask you about that. You mentioned that you recently felt motivated to return to the music industry. How does it feel to have come this far, especially after having such a mixed experience the first time? It’s natural to feel hesitant about trying again—you know, that fear of repeating past disappointments. But still, there’s courage in giving it another shot, even when you’re unsure how things will turn out.
Yeah, it’s always scary to show yourself because releasing music is very personal to me.
All my songs are very personal. Of course, the more personal you get, the more hurt you are if people don’t like it. But, as I grew older and wiser, the voices outside don’t matter as much as they did the years before when I was younger.
Don’t stop believing (in yourself) [cont]
I think that’s totally normal. That’s kind of what growing up feels like. You, of course, you grow up listening to the outside world, but then within the years, you learn how to trust your inner voice and try to blend out more of the outside world or the negative comments.
Lorena: “I know what is my purpose in this world”
But that’s difficult, however, because you get influenced by it.
Yeah, but luckily my inner voice was loud my whole life. If I look back, it’s actually very surprising sometimes that I’m still in the music industry. I never did anything else.
Even though a lot of people told me I’m not good enough. And in the meantime, I have received a lot of doors closed right in front of my face.
They even got slammed into my face. You know, a lot of people would have given up.
And also, like, my friends, my family asked me sometimes, like, “Why, why don’t you try something else?” Maybe you should have listened to those voices.
But, I know what is my purpose in this world and what it feels to being an artist.
It’s crazy, but I know that I’m a singer since I am three years old. I never wanted to do anything else, and luckily I never went another path.
Working with Peter Keller, and then Niels Zuiderhoek and Benjamin Schweilen
For your debut album, you have gathered a serious, serious group of elite European sound architects like Peter Keller, and then Niels Zuiderhoek and Benjamin Schwenen. How was working with them?
It was amazing. First, it was surprising that they said yes so quickly because, I’m a newcomer because those producers are very well-known in the industry, and they’re super successful. And here I am knocking on their doors like, “Hello, would you like to work with me?”
It was overwhelming when they said yes and that they really believed in me, in my voice and my songs. Despite the fact that you cannot force anything and just embrace the creative work, and if it matches, working with them was so easy.
Actually, it was so easy. It felt like flying and it worked quickly. It was not forced. We had a lot of fun creating music together. So, I’m very honoured that they work with me.
Lorena: “I had to remind myself to don’t doubt myself”
Yeah, absolutely. They’re big names, after all. And it’s tough, you know? Building trust isn’t easy, especially because they’re usually so busy—they barely have the time to connect or really get to know you.
Absolutely. Like I said, I couldn’t believe it myself that they took the time to work with me. Of course, that was the biggest motivation because in between the whole process my fears and my doubts came up again. However, I had to remind myself to don’t doubt myself because if those people believe in me and my talent, you should also believe in it.
You know, it cannot be that everyone around you believes in you, but myself, is still the biggest critic and doubts herself. So it really helped me to get through this whole process.
Lorena and heart rock
So, you know, I usually don’t like asking for strict definitions, but you once described your music as “heart rock.” I’ve been curious from the very first minute: what does “heart rock” mean to you personally?
Indeed, heart rock is exactly what my music is. I write music from my heart which they are very personal songs, but it’s still rock, but they are created with the intent to make the people feel something, identify themselves with it, encourage them to also follow their heart.
So I create music for the tears in the eyes of the crowd, the goosebumps, but also the cheering, the mosh pit. I want people to feel something. That’s why I think heart rock is the best definition for my music.
“I want people to feel something”
Well, you know, I also like it because it’s really, you know, I don’t know, really innocent but honest.
Yeah, that’s exactly what it is. Thank you. I like to hear that you also like it and understand the meaning of it.
Lorena and her upcoming plans
So the release date of the album was the 13th February which followed, a week later the release show in Potsdam. Are you planning something else in between after that show in Potsdam?
So after the show in Potsdam, in September I will play at Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg.
And at the end of the year I will play on 21st of November a show at Indra in Hamburg.
And hopefully in between some festivals. I really hope that the release of my album encourages some festival bookers to invite me. I would really like to play some shows in summer also.
Lorena and her upcoming plans [cont]
Furthermore, I have already played on 31st of January my first gig abroad in Switzerland. And it was amazing because the crowd was very international. There were fans participating from London, from the Netherlands, and from Portugal. The production also wants me to come back next year which then, I hope to combine it with a show in Austria. But, I have to see how we do this.
Wow. Good luck then. And well, thank you so much for your time, Lorena. Fingers crossed.
Thank you so much for having me.