Karmina 'The Kiss' album

Today’s pop music charts are littered with pretenders whose main claim to fame is their daddy’s fortune, their ability to lip sync on cue or the fact that they’ve been successful at acting, so, hey, maybe they can make a record, too! By contrast, the music of Karmina -- helmed by sisters Kelly and Kamille -- reminds us that there’s no substitute for actual substance. Unlike some ‘artists’ who camouflage their limited abilities by flaunting their appearance and exploiting their notoriety through misdeeds and misadventures, Karmina is all about real musicians who possess talent, know-how and determination. Karmina sets itself apart from the pop wannabees by writing, singing, producing and performing music that springs entirely from their own creative designs.

Indeed, there’s nothing phony or frivolous about Karmina. Although Kelly and Kamille are only 23 and 21 respectively, they’ve already acquired a good deal of experience and expertise upon which to build a lasting career. One of the first acts signed to the newly inaugurated CBS Records, they have both the craft and the commitment to make music that’s emotional, engaging and inspiring. As evidenced by the songs that will make up their forthcoming debut album -- to be preceded by a five-track EP named for their first single, “The Kiss” – Karmina’s music possesses a soulful, seductive embrace that tugs at the emotions, without sacrificing the hooks, melodies and exuberant sense of fun found in the very best of pop music.

Above all, Karmina possesses a sensuality and savvy. That’s evident in the lyrics that accompany “The Kiss,” in which they borrow lines from William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet and intertwine them with their own:
“Palm to palm, let lips do what hands do
They pray
Is it a sin to do what we want to?
Don’t care where we’ve been
Give me my sin again”
Add to that their instrumental prowess -- Kelly plays keyboards, Kamille plays guitar – and their intricate vocal harmonies that flow so freely from their sisterly bond.

“We’ve always been musical,” Kelly observes. “Even while we were in elementary school, we were involved in some facet of music, whether it was the choir or musical theater. After awhile we began to realize how much we truly loved and it and wanted to completely immerse ourselves in it.” When the girls were only eight and ten years old, their mother enrolled them in the San Francisco Conservatory of Music where they took classes that included music theory, composition and classical voice training. As Kelly points out, “If you know how to do all of that, then you have the foundations to do virtually anything in music.”

The fact that they take the bigger view is really not surprising considering their places of origin and upbringing. Kelly was born in Germany and Kamille in Hawaii, where both girls were raised before moving with their family to San Francisco. Initially, they could have been lured in different – and diverging – directions. Kelly was a skilled soccer player and even made it to an Olympic development team. Kamille was adept at dance and sang opera, so well, in fact, that veteran Grammy-winning producer David Foster teamed her with a young Josh Groban to perform at various high-profile fundraising affairs. However, realizing they had an affinity for harmony as well as similar musical goals, the girls ultimately made the choice to team up together. From that point on, their future path was assured.

Still preteens, their first musical attempts were manifest in various cover bands. Soon enough they began writing their own material, inspired by such diverse influences as the Beatles, Alanis Morissette, Sarah McLachlan, the Foo Fighters, Led Zeppelin, Michael Jackson, Earth Wind and Fire, Santana and even Mozart and Chopin. “We started saying to ourselves, ‘why should we do other people’s songs when we can write our own?’” Kamille recalls. In short order, they were going to jam sessions, playing their songs for other musicians and honing their chops in live performance. After trying out various names – Kalabash and Kelly & Kamille among them – they ultimately settled on Karmina, a handle that not only referenced their names, but also the title of one of their favorite operas, “Carmina Burana” (or “Songs of Bayern”), as well as the word “song” in Latin.

Before long, Karmina was successfully competing in prestigious music competitions, among them, the John Lennon Songwriting Competition, the West Coast Songwriters’ Association Competition, SCALA (Songwriters, Composers and Lyricists Association) international songwriting competitions, ASCAP’s prestigious Lester Sill Songwriters’ Workshop, the San Francisco Concerto Orchestra Competition, the Pacific Music Society Vocal competition and the California State Vocal competition, which they won no less than 27 times.

The duo’s first shot at national exposure came after competing in the Disney Channel’s “Two Hour Tour.” Their winning nod came courtesy of Darren Hayes, the leader of the worldwide multi-platinum Savage Garden, who subsequently spent a day mentoring the girls and also selected them to open for his band at San Francisco’s fabled Fillmore auditorium. “There were some amazing groups competing in that contest and I really didn’t know if we had any chance of winning,” Kamille remembers. “However Darren made it clear that he chose us specifically because we actually wrote the song we performed, which no other group had done. And when we did win, we realized that our writing really did set us apart and it encouraged us to pursue our songwriting even further.”

Their first live gigs found them immersed in the San Francisco club scene although they were barely in their teens. “Yes, it was unusual to find 14 and 15 year old girls performing in some of those clubs,” Kelly admits. “Most bands aren’t required to bring their dads with them. However, when you’re that age and playing in front of a bunch of drunk guys, it can be a bit sketchy.”

Moving to L.A. to get closer to the heart of the music industry, Karmina became a regular fixture on the local music circuit, playing such well-known venues as The Viper Room, the Knitting Factory, and the House of Blues.

After gigging steadily, the girls later landed a pair of songs on network television shows (The CW’s’ “Girlfriends” and the WB’s “Summerland”). Even with that success, they didn’t let that deter them from their studies. They concentrated on songwriting classes while still in high school, and on graduation, they successfully applied to the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California, where they earned their Bachelor of Music degrees – Kamille at age 19 and Kelly at 20. Kelly went on to receive a Master’s Degree in Music Education, as well as a teaching credential, and both girls subsequently taught songwriting classes together at Santa Monica College.

“We always wanted to be the best at what we do,” Kamille insists. “But we wanted to know what we were doing – this wasn’t a hobby for us, we weren’t dilettantes -- so we made a point to learn everything we could.”

“We crave the creative process,” Kelly concurs. “That’s what brought us to this point. It wasn’t enough to do just what people told us. We don’t want to be someone else’s vehicle or vision. We wanted to know how to do things ourselves.”

Fortunately, the sisters got just such an opportunity. Thanks to a fortunate confluence of talent and timing, Karmina’s hard work paid off. A copy of the band’s demo found its way to an executive at the newly formed CBS Records. The record company’s management team approached the duo late last year, laid out their vision for the new label and immediately offered Karmina a place on the roster.

“We’ve been looking forward to this opportunity for so long,” Kamille effuses. “We’re thrilled to be a part of this great CBS Records team and to have this chance to expose our music to the public – not only in the traditional ways, but also to millions of additional people through the company’s television shows.”

“We couldn’t imagine life without music,” Kelly concludes. “We want to make music that lifts the spirit and has a positive effect on everyone that hears it.”

No doubt they will. After all, Karmina is for real.

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Tracklisting

Karmina - The Kiss