Throughout her life, Irene Diaz has always been about The Search. For identity. For expression. For music and her place in it, and for a creative community and direction that best serves her mission. All of that can be found in Diaz’s songs and on Lovers & Friends, the California singer-songwriter’s debut full-length album which was recorded in both Mexico City and Los Angeles. With its captivating melodies and richly nuanced ambiance, it introduces Diaz as an artist who’s taken many paths to get to this point and is excited to find even more creative roads to travel as she moves forward. Lovers & Friends is, in effect, a new beginning for Diaz and a fresh destination for what’s been a long musical path. What began in 2013 with the I Love You Madly EP—and praise from NPR’s Felix Contreras raving “her sheer power belies her compact stature, and her musical impact is simply immense.” At the same time, Diaz is already eyeballing her next creative Way station. “This has been a big project that I never imagined taking so long,” she says.