THE BLOOM TWINS: FROM THE OUTSKIRTS OF KIEV TO THE STREETS OF LONDON
From the outskirts of Kiev to the streets of London’s music scene, the Bloom Twins are determined to make their mark.
The sisters, Anna & Sonya Kupiienko, communicate their near-macabre sound to a number of diverse audiences with everything they touch turning dark; more notably Pharrell William’s Happy. Looking forward to some new self-versed releases Sonja talks to Fused about their music, heritage, London fashion, and what the future holds.
Fahrenheit is a stunning track, and a haunting reinvention of the original. Why did you choose this particular song to launch you in to the world of music?
We had Kish Mauve’s album and we liked a lot of songs. Jim Eliot is a great songwriter. His songs have that special something. Then there was a bit of a “choppy” moment in life. Nothing too dramatic, but it affected us. It was also very cold, grey and rainy in London. It was that moment, when it’s unpleasant both outdoors and in your head or soul, that makes a great recipe for dark and soulful songwriting. We started to play Fahrenheit, but reflecting what was happening in our heads, using the very instruments we had: a piano, a keyboard and two voices, and when we finished we both said: “This is it.” It felt right, it felt real, it was “us” all the way. Fahrenheit is a very important song to us, it was the first step of finding our own style.
On hearing your music some might feel that the depth and maturity of the sound isn’t fully represented by the ‘image’ pushed by the media. You come across as quite young and inexperienced, but your sound doesn’t reflect this. It’s mature, rich and full of experience. How would you respond?
I think that is a fair question. It’s a result of being young and pretty in an industry that puts a premium on being young and pretty. Maybe more so than being talented or innovative. It shouldn’t, and we don’t, which is why we focus on working on our music and letting our work speak for ourselves. The looks will fade, don’t worry, but hopefully our music will stick around.
Could this misrepresentation potentially damage your reputation as serious, hardworking musicians?
I’m not sure we can do much about that other than continue the work of making good, meaningful music. The media will see us with the media glasses: young, twins, Ukrainian, etc, which is fine. But that will only generate attention to the music and that’s where we want to be. We have always wanted it to be about the music. Let that be honest and deep and interesting and people will listen.
Your website says that you are ‘disconnected to the materialistic, narcissistic lifestyles of most people their [your] age’ – yet you both also seem intensely interested in fashion. Some might see this as a contradiction.
We’re really interested in all kinds of art. We are passionate to see real talent, creative process, inspiration and innovation. Regarding fashion; our entire life we were surrounded by very simple reality, real hardworking people. We came from the outskirts of Kiev from a very simple middle class family and clothing is about covering up and being comfortable. It was only when we moved to London that we discovered fashion as a means of artistic expression, clothing as storytelling. Just the other day Anna showed me an article that said it perfectly “we wear what we wear to tell the stories we want to tell of whom we are and what we ourselves value, respect and esteem.” We don’t spend money on fashion, but we are very interested in it yes. It’s fun and exciting.
But your question is about more than fashion I guess. We don’t mean to sound pretentious, we are two fun-loving girls who enjoy all that London has to offer. But I think it’s fair to say that our generation seems incredibly content with prostituting their way into fame and fortune. Can you imagine how weird it was for us, coming from where we came from, to turn on the TV and see the Kardashians?
We take the opportunities that life has given us very seriously. We could be lying on a square in Kiev right now. We want to create something that outlasts us. Something that inspires people and takes hard work – hard, hard work. No shortcuts, no free meals. We are in this for the long haul. That depth of commitment is what shines through in our music.
You obviously write your own material – tell us about the creative process. How do you write together, and how do you compose together?
There are so many ways that can happen, it depends on the mood on the day. One of us might start with humming a melody and playing piano and the other might join in and add bass or keys. It’s very organic, which is needed. There are moments when you are on your own, and then you reunite and mix ideas. We let all our ideas and compositions unravel separately, but when mixed they’re like puzzles that fit just right.
Has the move from Kiev to London changed the landscape of your music – that is, has it altered the way you approach your songwriting?
London was love at first sight! Most of our favourite bands come from the UK. The move has changed us a lot, and certainly our approach to music. We started to write here and feel we can express ourselves in so many ways. There are no boundaries, and musically in London you are exposed to so many phenomenal artists and shows. It really is a mind blowing city that we proudly call our home.
You seem to want to build a strong instrumental repertoire, already having mastered the keyboard, flute and harmonica. How do you expect to develop your sound instrumentally?
We would like to learn as much as we can. We are really enjoying the process of learning and it is never enough. Our parents were not always happy about that, but they didn’t have a choice. So even after we’ve mastered keyboards, vocals, flute we needed more. We became fascinated with harmonica, drums and guitar. So two more to go! There is, of course, more to learn and discover in each one of those instruments. Creativity doesn’t have boundaries… Mastering to perfection all of those may take a lifetime but we don’t mind that. Musical pieces may be like books: you may have read it already, but each time you reread it you look at it with new eyes and have a different understanding.
It seems that music has always been a part of your life, that you were born into it. Can you expand on this?
When we were babies we were singing to each other as a sort of communication. Our mom was so amazed by that she decided to develop our skills: we were taught how to play instruments and how to control our sound. Those were the first five years. Then music school. We were playing every day like crazy. Instead of playing with dolls we preferred to play piano, and instead of watching TV we preferred to sing. So that was quite a time for our parents. We were double trouble (and still are).
Your EP is due for release this year how has the recording gone?
We are really enjoying the process. Kore Recording Studio became like a family to us. We understand each other almost without words. We are jamming, writing and just having fun there. We’re recording our songs in an old fashioned style. We do it with acoustic drums, with a vocal that just came to our mind, flute, harmonica and piano, keyboards and many others. We discover a lot of new musical ways to think.
Helen Calcutt
THE BLOOM TWINS: FROM THE OUTSKIRTS OF KIEV TO THE STREETS OF LONDON
