“We didn’t make this record for anyone sitting behind a desk at a label,” says Karmina‘s Kelly Adams of the pop duo’s new album, Queens of Heart.
The Los Angeles-based act, consisting of Adams and sister Kamille Rudisill, released its debut CBS Records LP Backwards Into Beauty in 2008. The set, infused with hooks and harmonies, as well as classical touches, yielded the top 25 Adult Contemporary hit “The Kiss.”
Since then, Karmina’s music and musical experiences have taken the pair from Paris to Prague, as it has continued to release sparkling melodic songs independently. Earlier this decade, the duo met Grammy- and Academy Award-nominated composer John Powell, an encounter that helped shape Karmina’s evolution to a more cinematic sound, as evidenced on Queens of Heart.
The first taste of the set arrives Monday, Feb. 25, in the form of Act I: The Kiss, with Acts II through IV (The Chase, The Dance and The Storm) due to be released in intervals throughout the year. Longtime fans should find themselves smiling and singing along to the radio-ready choruses of “It’s Happening,” “Beautiful Jungle” and the Queens of Heart title track, while discovering more experimental directions in those songs and others, sparked in large part by Powell’s musical viewpoint.
“This was a passion project,” Rudisill says. “We made a record that we felt could stand the test of time and remain beautiful among changing genres and trends.”
Billboard is premiering “Wondrous Love” from Act I today (Feb. 22). Get a first listen below, and after the jump, Adams and Rudisill discuss Karmina’s partnership with Powell, recording the new album with a live orchestra in Prague and, most importantly, both sisters’ joy of new motherhood.
Why did you decide to split the album into four parts?
Adams: Releasing the album in four so-called acts honors the overall theatrical and cinematic shape that evolved during the creation process, with stories woven throughout. Releasing it like that, like an opera, also pays homage to our classical background: we spent the better part of our childhood involved in classical and theatrical productions.
How did your collaboration with John Powell come about, and what specifically did he contribute to the album? It truly does have a movielike feel, with some tracks also sounding like what you might hear in a live musical.
Rudisill: We met John through a mutual friend the night he went to the Oscars in 2011, when he was nominated for best original score for How to Train Your Dragon. We played some live music for him and his guests and he invited us to use his studio if we needed to record. After that, it was a natural progression toward a full-fledged artistic collaboration.
Gradually, John became the executive producer of our record, as well as our musical mentor. We were learning, and still are, so much throughout the process. He would give us songwriting and other music-related assignments that would stretch every musical muscle in our bodies.
He wrote beautiful string arrangements for the majority of the tracks, and our dreams became a reality with this new sound that combines our pop sensibilities with his lush, cinematic genius. We all agreed that we would allow each song to drive its own production and story, unique to the tune itself, rather than try to make them all sound like what was current or popular.
What was it like recording the album with a live orchestra?
Rudisill: It was a dream come true. Walking into the gorgeous Dvo?ák Hall of the Rudolfinum Theater in Prague, seeing a stage full of world-class musicians tuning and warming up to play our music…it was surreal. We definitely shed a few happy tears while listening to them from the audience. There’s nothing like live strings; they breathe life into arrangements and are the sound of true inspiration. You feel invincible. We only dreamed that we would hear our music set to live orchestral arrangements, and watching and listening to it live, with John conducting, is a fantastical and unforgettable life highlight.
And Kelly was about eight-and-a-half months pregnant, which added to the exhilaration!
What does “Wondrous Love” mean to you? It combines so many great Karmina elements: pop hooks, poetic lyrics and natural sister harmonies, set to a seemingly more sweeping sound overall than before.
Adams: “Wondrous Love” was inspired by the public domain folk hymn “What Wondrous Love Is This.” We heard the hymn while taking a folk song research course together and it captured our hearts.
The song is the richest hybrid of pop and classical on the record in that we wrote a pop song featuring a choral section, as well as strings. The harmonies wove in naturally and were meant to further evoke the orchestral sound of love. It’s about that buzzing feeling you get from love that sometimes only music can describe.
You’ve called the album a celebration of women. Have you encountered obstacles in the industry that you feel were related to gender, and are you encouraged by the conversations going on culturally now that seem long overdue?
Rudisill: Yes, every step of the way. It was always a challenge to be taken seriously and have our creative and professional ideas heard as female musicians. This industry, like most industries, is male-dominated, both onstage and off, in the limelight and behind the scenes, and finding ways to rise above and fight our way through was no small task.
The current discourse surrounding this topic is a breath of fresh air, albeit, yes, long overdue. There have been countless moments during our careers where we felt like throwing in the towel and considering different professions, but we have grit and we have each other, which kept us moving forward.
How has becoming moms affected you, and made an impact on your music?
Adams: Becoming a mother puts you in a different head space, creatively, spiritually, emotionally and even professionally. Your priorities shift and suddenly you have this little person in your life that is watching everything you do and everything you stand for, with a magnifying glass! It’s the best kind of love that exists.
Being moms has given us a powerful new perspective on what it means to be women, what it means to be artists and what it means to stand for something. This record is for all girls and women who want to dance, sing, play, imagine, create and march forward. The songs and production are playful and free and are meant to be listened to while spinning with your arms open.