Karmina

KARMINA

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.
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“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.
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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 T