Diana Silvers Talks Her Debut Album, From Another Room
- Josh Kitchen
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
By: Josh Kitchen / November 20, 2025
You've probably seen Diana Silvers' face. From the cool and mysterious Hope in Olivia Wilde’s coming-of-age hit Booksmart, to Maggie in the horror-thriller Ma—co-starring Octavia Spencer in the titular role about a group of teenagers who befriend a lonely older woman only for things to spiral into something much darker—Silvers has already made a name for herself in film, TV, and modeling.
This year marked another career highlight with Silvers releasing her debut album, From Another Room. She grew up as one of six children, in a house where everyone played an instrument. Silvers studied cello for a decade, and she’s been sharing covers on social media for years, finally putting out her own songs beginning this year. From Another Room was preceded by the excellent singles “June” and “Airplane,” teasers for a full album that features standout tracks like the Joni Mitchell–inspired “Just a Stranger” and the Tori Amos–flavored “Burning in the Sun.” From Another Room is an impressive debut effort, full of promise and showcasing a new artistic voice already coming into her own.
Fresh off the road opening for Jon Batiste—where she played iconic venues like the Grand Ole Opry—I caught up with Silvers to ask a few questions about the record and how she hopes listeners experience these songs through a cinematic lens.
You wrote and produced “Airplane” in June, as well as sang and played almost all the instruments on the tracks. Can you talk a little about how important it is for you to have that kind of control over your art as a producer, and being in charge of the writing process?
I don’t know, it’s sort of weird. When I first stepped into the studio, I felt like I didn’t really know what I was supposed to do. I’d never been an active participant in the studio. I’d been a spectator—I dated a musician for quite some time, and when I would go into the studio space, I was just like a fly on the wall, like, “Oh, how cool, I’m in a legendary studio. Some of my favorite records were made here.”
When I realized, “Oh no, I’m the musician and producer in this room,” I was like, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. But it was interesting how quickly something else kind of took over. Then it was the music itself—and how the music wanted to be and sound—that dictated what instruments I would play and how well I could play them, which was really fascinating. I was like, “Oh, this is so cool. I’m not overthinking it anymore. I’m hearing parts, and when I hear a part, I just have to play it.”
It’s hard sometimes to dictate what you’re hearing in your head, so I was like, “I guess I’ll just try it myself and see what happens.” But I also had people like Paul Spring—[who also has a record out and it’s amazing, it’s called Dumb and Free. Not to plug it, but I’m going to plug it because he’s an incredible songwriter and musician.] Him and John Nelle—they’re such great musicians, and they knew when to let me figure something out. And they knew when, if I’d hear a line and think, “I’m not going to be as fast at playing this part, so can you please play it?” I’d dictate the part with my voice.
There were times when they’d say, “No, no, you should play this,” or they’d say, “Okay, I’ll do it because it’s going to be faster this way.” It was just such a supportive room that, without even really thinking, I was able to have that control—without feeling like I was being controlling.
The songs were singing to me, and I was just trying to translate whatever that was back out.
The album feel so visual. I can imagine different scenes from movies or memories while listening. When you write, are you imagining films or visual mediums that could accompany the music?
I love soundtracks. All of my favorite movies have soundtracks that are so synonymous with the film. You can’t separate Almost Famous from its soundtrack. You can’t separate The Royal Tenenbaums from it. Those needle drops are so important—the movies would be so different if there were different songs in them. Lady Bird too—that trailer with that Monkees song, “As We Go Along,” I remember the feeling that gave me.
A song like “Burning in the Sun,” when I hear the recording, I remember the first time after I finished mixing it. I was riding a Citi Bike through New York, going from my apartment to my friend’s downtown. It was April, it was starting to become spring, warming up. I remember riding my bike feeling invincible, like, “This song is so good—oh my God, this could totally be in a coming-of-age trailer.” I got so excited.
A song like “Frankie,” I could totally see in a movie too. But when I’m actually making them, I’m not thinking about where they’ll go. It’s once I finish and listen back that I think, “Ooh, this would be amazing in a movie.” How fun would it be to score something one day or music supervise? That would be incredible.
I hope that people I admire feel inspired by it. I also write—I wrote this full-length feature—and music plays such an inspiration in how I write. I hope my music inspires other people in how they’re writing too. That would be amazing.
Creativity begets more creativity, and that’s the beauty of putting art into the world. You never know what it could trigger or lead to for someone else.
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