Dyan Valdés

Dyan Valdés is a Cuban-American musician living in Berlin. She is a founding member of indie rock band <a href="spotify:artist:172GKuwc6NQPqUPfFa9UEv" data-name="The Blood Arm">The Blood Arm</a> and synth punk trio <a href="spotify:artist:4AxuizLbK5viRjOeFNIbmx" data-name="Mexican Radio">Mexican Radio</a> and plays keyboards in German Hamburger Schule legends <a href="spotify:artist:7hVoi7crxYOHIayk4v9x4Q" data-name="Die Sterne">Die Sterne</a>.

Following a violent attack on the streets of Berlin during the first lockdown in 2020, Dyan decided to start writing and recording her own music in order to process her trauma. The result is her debut album, Stand, out in February 2022 on R.I.P. Ben Lee Records. Dyan played all of the music on the album, which she wrote at her Berlin home under lockdown.

The music is edgy pop with a message, drawing on themes of feminism and lifting up the female experience in the lyrics, combined with powerful pop music. The album tells the story of Dyan finding her voice, and overcoming the external and internal forces that have been holding her back. Stand is a record for marginalized people everywhere.

After spending much of her musical career being the only woman in the room, Dyan chose to work exclusively with women at every level of the project: production, engineering, post-production, design, styling, film, photography, and promotion. The album was produced by Julia Borelli of <a href="spotify:artist:4e330dGWIUSnrCcAp67uJt" data-name="borelli">borelli</a> and Maya Postepski of <a href="spotify:artist:2wK9770v71BRtk3r8dKrln" data-name="Princess Century">Princess Century</a>.

Photos by Petra Valdimarsdóttir