Camille and Kennerly Interview – In this interview with the Harp Twins we explore Harp Attack 2 CD, promo videos, musical influences and lots more.
Camille and Kennerly Interview
– What’s new in the world of Camille and Kennerly?
Camille and Kennerly – We just released our Harp Attack 2 CD, which features 15 rock and metal covers of songs from the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and 2000s! We’re especially excited because, like all our music, every track was recorded in one-take in our living room so is very authentic – but this is our first album that we have had professionally mastered. We’re also working on our Harp Fantasy 2 CD – which we hope to release this summer. We’re working on a lot of new videos inbetween our busy performance schedule.
– How much practice do you put in on the harp to keep up to date with your technique?
We spend a lot of time with our harps: arranging, learning new pieces, rehearsing for performances, recording, improving pieces, etc. The amount of time that we rehearse each day changes a lot. If we’re traveling, then we might only have an hour of practice in our hotel room, but if we’re home, then we generally put a few hours a day into harp practice, arranging, memory work, etc.
– It must be an amazing feeling when your singles do so well. You seem to put a lot of energy into making the best shoots for your fans. How do you choose the different locations and ideas for the videos?
It’s definitely an amazing feeling when our music reaches people and touches them in a positive way. When we decide to film a video for a song, we generally spend some time discussing what our concept for the video is – will it have a story-line, what do we want the location to convey, what costumes would best fit the song, etc. We do a lot of research and work to find the perfect location for each video. We generally film when we’re traveling for performances, so we like to plan ahead and make good use of our time and resources since we make our videos with almost no budget! All of our videos (except one) have been 100% self-made and we really enjoy putting our whole hearts into every aspect of our art!
– Could you describe some of your earliest influences in life and in music?
Probably our earliest musical influences were rock and classic rock because that is what our mom listened to. Classical music and composers also influenced us because we were trained classically; we took piano lessons starting when we were quite young (actually on a keyboard because we couldn’t afford an actual piano) and learned all classical music. Our classical training gave us the skills that we later translated into arranging and performing contemporary music to the level that we do. Our earlier influence in life was our mom. She is the most selfless and amazing person we know and has always been our biggest supporter in life.
– What would we be surprised to find in your music collection at home?
Hmm Well our musical taste is pretty varied, and most of our fans know we listen to a lot of rock, classic rock and metal. But some people might be surprised at the amount of jazz that we have in our collection: Glen Miller, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, etc. We especially love big band music.
– What’s your take on the sex appeal in the music industry? Is it as important for men and women?
Sex appeal in the music industry is an interesting topic. The importance of sex appeal really depends of the artists’ persona/image. People often assume that a famous artist who is “good looking” became famous just because of their beauty. This is ridiculous because there are innumerable “beautiful” people in the world. There are just as many success stories for people who aren’t beautiful in the traditional sense. It’s disappointing to us that time and time again men and women use someone’s looks or sexuality against them. We have posted videos where we haven’t an ounce of skin showing other than our hands and faces and have gotten misogynistic comments. It’s disheartening that we still live in a world where people (especially men, but also some women) try to “shame” women for their appearance or clothing. We think that women in entertainment and music have a much harder time being taken seriously and treated the same as their male counterparts. Although there is nothing about us or our videos that isn’t Grated and 100% family-friendly, it has surprised us that people occasionally label our performance style or even facial expressions as sexualized – trying to somehow use our femininity in an attempt to shame us. That should not be acceptable. Women definitely still fight an uphill battle for equality and the music industry is no exception.
– Do you see a biography being written someday about the experiences you acquired or will acquire in your life? What would the title be?
Oh goodness! haha We’re not sure if that would ever happen, but we would be honored if we ever got to the point where people would be interested in reading a whole book about us. The title might be “Duet Harp Revolution: How The Harp Twins Achieved World Domination” ;) ;)
– Apart from working hard in the industry, what are the things in life you enjoy the most?
Family, friends, reading, writing, working out, enjoying nature, exploring old cemeteries and traveling.
– Any words of wisdom to share with aspiring artists?
We would encourage aspiring artists to follow their dreams – even if (and especially if) those dreams/goals are outside the box. We think it is most important to be yourself and no one else. Find your own unique niche that is
100% *you*. We see so many artists who are just trailing behind someone else and trying to be that person – it’s so much better to be a first-rate you rather than a second-rate version of someone else. Work hard. Then work harder. Don’t give up because things are hard or not going as you planned. Put in the practice hours because there are no real shortcuts. Find a teacher who not only teaches skills, but who also allows you to love your instrument – our first harp teacher was so negative that we almost lost our love for the instrument, but thankfully our mom found another teacher who allowed us to grow and learn to love the instrument even more. We think it’s extremely important to keep the love for your instrument first and foremost. When we get discouraged we always turn back to
why we are doing what we’re doing – we absolutely love the harp and we love the harp even more when we’re playing together!
Check out the Harp Twins online
Folk and pop Interviews