IARAH transforms longing and grief into a moving tribute in the single “At Least Once”

Singer-songwriter IARAH presents “Ao Menos Uma Vez” (At Least Once), a new single released by Marã Música on May 29th, delving into profound feelings linked to grief, memory, and absence. Written as a tribute to the artist’s paternal grandfather, the track combines melancholy, emotional intensity, and a sensitive interpretation to transform fragmented memories into music. In an interview, IARAH discusses the intimate songwriting process, the emotional experience in the studio, and how art has become a way to give new meaning to longing and keep alive the emotional connection with those who left too soon.

“At Least Once” was born from a very intimate and long-standing absence. At what point did you feel that this longing for your grandfather needed to become music.

It was something very natural, actually. There wasn’t an exact moment when I thought, “I need to turn this into music.” I was already finishing the album’s compositions when I started dreaming a lot about my grandfather, looking at photos of him, remembering small details, and feeling his presence again somehow. I think the music ended up emerging as an emotional need, almost like a conversation I needed to have with him. So writing about it was very important to me.

You speak of fragmented memories, almost like sensations adrift in time. How was it to transform such delicate and incomplete memories into such an emotionally complete song?

It was easier than I imagined it would be, because the lyrics came in a very honest and spontaneous way. It felt like I was finally letting out feelings and memories that had been kept inside for a long time. Even though they were fragmented memories, they carried very strong emotions, and I think that’s what helped the song become so emotionally complete. Sometimes we don’t remember the exact details, but we never forget how that person made us feel.

The track blends heaviness and melancholy in a very striking way. How did you work with this sound to convey grief without losing the delicacy of the tribute?

It was a very collaborative effort between me, Marco, and Maurício. I brought them an initial melodic idea that already carried a lot of emotion, and together we built the instrumental part to translate that emotional weight without losing the sensitivity of the tribute. It was a delicate process because I wanted the music to convey pain, longing, and emptiness, but also a lot of love. Finding that balance was challenging, but I believe we managed to do it in a very genuine way.

You mentioned that the song began with the melody, even before the lyrics took shape. What was it about that initial melody that already carried the feeling of “At Least Once”?

I think there was mainly a lot of sadness and nostalgia. The melody already had this feeling of absence even before the lyrics were written. There’s a very silent pain in realizing that you’re starting to forget small details about someone who was so important in your life, and I feel that this feeling was already fully present from the very first chords.

Writing this song also seems to have been a way of reconnecting with your grandfather, almost like making that absence something tangible. What did this process awaken in you, beyond the composition itself?

It was a very delicate process, but also a healing process. I think we never completely overcome grief; it always accompanies us in some way, but writing this song helped me look at this pain with more affection. It made me revisit memories, feelings, and even parts of myself that were very much hidden away. In the end, I feel it was a way to immortalize the love and importance he had in my life. I truly hope that wherever he is, he can feel this.

Many people grieve by trying to preserve small fragments of the departed. Do you feel that this song also speaks to the human need to keep someone’s presence alive through memory?

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Absolutely. I think the song speaks volumes about this almost desperate attempt to preserve details of someone who is gone. Especially in lines like “and in my memory I still search for a sign, but only the emptiness of your absence is what remains” or “the photos disappeared, your scent too, so tell me why I still cry for you.” These verses greatly represent the pain of realizing time is erasing certain memories, while the feeling remains alive within us. It’s a song about longing, but also about love and permanence.

You said you were very emotional in the studio watching the music take shape. In such a personal project, what was it like to experience that moment of hearing your pain and your tribute transforming into sound?

It was extremely emotional. I think it’s impossible to go through a process like that without getting emotional, because as the music takes shape, you also revisit memories, moments, and very deep feelings. There’s the pain of understanding that that person won’t come back, but at the same time there’s something very beautiful in being able to transform all of that into art. It was almost like giving voice to feelings that I carried in silence for a long time, and hearing that happening in the studio was a very intense and special experience for me.

With the release of “At Least Once,” what do you most hope the audience will find in it: identification, comfort, acceptance, or the feeling that longing can also be a form of love that continues?

I think it’s a little bit of everything. Longing is inevitable when you love someone deeply, and each person experiences grief in a different way. But I hope the music can bring identification, acceptance, and even comfort to those who listen. Above all, I think it leaves a very important message about valuing people while they are still here. In the end, love continues to exist in memory, in longing, and in everything that person left within us.

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