Words by Charlotte Atkinson
Photos by Young Ha Kim and Estella Paltos
Fresh from the release of her third solo single ‘Move On’, Australian singer-songwriter Stella Dunai is charting new territory through love, longing and sharing vulnerability in her brand-new solo career. Already the frontwoman of electro-soul outfit Empress, this shift into more personal pastures comes with its own set of benefits and drawbacks, so Karma! sat down with the artist to discuss music, moving on and everything in between.
It’s 10AM in England; it’s 7PM in Australia, and yet Stella Dunai is graciously tolerating my lack of organisation as I crawl around under my desk looking for my laptop charger. Following a query about what a typical songwriting day looks for her, I understand why. “Nothing’s organised. It just happens sometimes. I have random days where I write a lot and days that I record little things and then they come together at random points and I struggle to figure out what’s happening until it becomes a song,” she reveals.
Whatever the mystery behind the creative process, it’s certainly working for Dunai. Moving on (get it?) to talking about the latest single, the love that can be felt throughout the music is translated in her manner. When discussing the core theme of connection, she highlights that it is more “about all of the connections that shape me as a whole and less about very special, specific ones.”
“It’s about the person that you meet… and you end up hanging out for the day and then you take something from them, and then it’s also about the people that are there your whole life and you obviously take a lot from them, but it’s like a massive growing thing.”
Her blended artistic approach intrigues me, and I’m curious to hear what it’s like to build a public persona in this way. Part of Dunai’s appeal undoubtedly stems from the gorgeous visuals flooding her social media and Spotify profiles. With blue, pink and yellow hues that merge seamlessly with a grainy overlay, they perfectly the softness of her own art.
“I just love creating a little visual world and I think this one’s special because it’s just the things that I like and the things that I think reflect me, because usually I’m choosing these things for a band and a collective thing that’s apart from me,” she says. “I love the ocean. I was like, we’re going to do the shots of the ocean. That’s my favourite place. Things are soft and flowy and blues and things like that. They’re literally just me picking the things that I like. And I think that that suits my music because this music is just kind of more me.”
It’s no wonder this project sits so close to her heart. Dunai has been working on this solo project a while now; these latest singles, and their sister songs for the upcoming album, materialised about three years ago. So how does she feel having it out in the world now? “I think I’ve never shared the things that I write like that until recently,” she admits. “I think I’ve always been writing and thinking like that, but not until recently. I think I haven’t had the confidence to share it, to be honest. It feels good and part of me is glad that I waited until I felt ready to do that.”
I swing the conversation round to the difference between band life and solo artist life; a question I’m sure she’s batted away again and again following the release of her first solo single, ‘Can’t Sleep’, in 2025. And yet, her response further belies the introspective nature that is palpable in her work: “I feel like I have two different personalities. Empress is very party and energetic, and I love that part as well. I think the solo folk artist world feels very, very personal in a way that maybe the other bands are not. As much as I love both, I like dipping in.”
“I think it is tricky in that it feels really vulnerable, and maybe sometimes I’m not always feeling like I want to share just me. So sometimes it’s nice to hide behind this other entity. But then it’s also really nice… I’m just following what I like in things. It’s a new experience for me though, so I guess I’m still seeing how I feel about it.”
The conversation falls, as it often does in these situations, to live music. Following her solo performance at Mixtape in Montmartre, Paris back in July, I’m curious to hear how the experience differed. She says, “it’s just more intimate and it’s just the music is so different that it seems like a completely different activity to me. When I’m playing in Empress, I’m jumping around and dancing and in this I’m sitting down and playing something about my grandma with my guitar. But it was really, really nice to play Mixtape. It was awesome.”
“And I was almost ready for there to be no one there because I don’t know people in Paris. And then it packed out, which was unreal, and then there was a line of people waiting to talk to me afterwards, which was also unreal.”
As the interview draws to a close, I’m earnestly curious as to what Dunai is most excited about; after all, this is no small feat to undertake or journey to embark on. But the overwhelming feeling appears to be relief at the actual achievement of it all. Having chipped away at this project for so many years, the realisation that it’s finally happening is intense. “It’s kind of like doing my own solo things has always felt a bit impossible because of my organisation and because of how vulnerable it feels and it’s finally happening,” she reveals.
There’s no doubt that Dunai’s vulnerability will serve her well in this new venture; her honesty, introspection and awareness is as present in the artist as it is in the art, drawing fans in with lush visual and sonic worlds that reflect – with no embellishment – the inner sanctum of her creative mind.
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