Hey TWIST readers,
We just spoke with Karmin (aka Nick Noonan and Amy Heidemann)! The web sensations turned superstars told us all about their new album Hello, how they met, and their summer performance plans. It's hard to believe that they started doing cover songs on YouTube and now have a Top 10 album on iTunes! Be sure to check out the duo's album, in stores now! Plus, watch Karmin perform in their tour bus - a TWIST exclusive!
XOXO,
TWIST
]]>
TWIST: Tell us about your album, Hello!
Nick: Hello is like our coming out party, our introduction to the world. So there are a lot of different themes. It's motivational and inspirational, but it also kind of tells our back-story a little bit.
Amy: There's a lot of rap. We actually asked our fans on Facebook how much rap they wanted on the album, and they said 50%. So get ready for that! And then there's obviously lots of pop/techy-pop choruses.
TWIST: So what is your favorite track from the new record and why do you like it so much?
Nick: That is actually nearly impossible to answer. We're actually really excited about everything on this.
Amy: Our favorite changes like every month or so, but right now, there's one called "I'm Just Saying" - that's kind of like that phrase everybody uses. It's a song about putting your mind to something and being able to do it, regardless of what anyone else says. So it's very motivational and it's obviously got the crazy rapping in it, and then this really fun, Adele-like chorus.
TWIST: Awesome! How did you two meet?
Nick: I'm originally from Maine and Amy is from Nebraska, and we met in college. We met the first week, but we didn't really know each other. And then we played at a couple of shows, again kind of at a distance, knowing of each other but that was about it. At the beginning of sophomore year, we actually met at a party.
Amy: Yeah, so if you've seen the "Brokenhearted" video it kind of tells our story but there's a little bit of a twist ending. But we did start dating back in college so we've been together... How many years?
Nick: Six and a half I think.
Amy: That's a long time! You have to multiply it by seven like dog years, so we've really been together like 37 years.
TWIST: So how did you guys come up with the name Karmin?
Amy: We were looking for a really cool band name. Back in the day, The Beatles was such a great band name that meant something, and it was short and sweet. We didn't want to be just another duo that was, you know, 'Nick and Amy'. We felt like that was just a little too ordinary, so we searched around the Internet on dictionaries of different languages, and we found out that 'carmen' in Latin actually means 'song'. So we took the word 'karma' and fused those too words together.
TWIST: You guys come from different musical backgrounds. Who has influenced you both the most as artists?
Nick: Oh, tough question. That also changes all the time. I kind of grew up with a classical and jazz background, but we both really got into hip hop at the same time. Amy grew up to R&B mostly.
Amy: Yeah, we came from such different musical influences and then we got to college and started to learn more about hip hop. Hip hop actually started to get more popular at the time. I think Kanye [West] came out when we first started college. I just remember his [My Beautiful] Twisted Dark Fanstasy album came out and Nick and I were like, 'Oh my gosh, this is what we want to be doing. We should infuse this style into our own music.'
TWIST: Why should TWIST readers absolutely check out the album?
Nick: They should check it out because it's going to change your life! There are a lot of different sounds on it, there are a lot of real instruments and everything, but it does draw from a lot of different influences. It's hard to get tired of listening to it.
Amy: Yeah, we've been listening to it now for over six months, and we're a little biased obviously, but we feel like it's the kind of music that's going to stick around. You're going to find something new that you like about it every time that you listen.
TWIST: Do you have any upcoming projects or touring plans?
Amy: We definitely will be performing around this summer. We're doing... I think they're called radio festivals. So we'll be performing alongside Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez and Gym Class Heroes and some really awesome artists that are all over the radio these days. We're probably going to head off on our own tour as well, doing colleges and clubs around the United States. Then we're hoping to jump on somebody else's tour, like maybe open for a bigger artist. We're still trying to figure out who we should go with.
TWIST: Thanks so much for taking the time to talk to us!
Nick: Thank you guys so much for the support!
Amy: Thank you TWIST!
Photo: Courtesy of Sheryl Nields Photography
]]>
