Carly + Martina: Are You Listening?

RIVAL Q + A with CARLY + MARTINA

by @kimber.london

RIVAL: First of all, congrats on all your success! Does it feel overwhelming to have the response you two have received?

C+M: It’s been an amazing feeling! We’re so happy people love and connect with our music.

 RIVAL:  What has been the most significant milestone in your careers thus far?

C+M: Having our music in TV shows and being part of an Apple product launch have been our two favorite milestones thus far!

RIVAL: Your latest single “Your Song” was ranked on top playlists by Apple Music and Shazam. How does it feel to be recognized on these platforms?

C+M:It feels amazing. Knowing that platforms that support huge artists are starting to support us too means the world to us.

 RIVAL: Your album “Are You Listening” is launching this month, tell us about it?

C+M: “Are You Listening” is a concept album following the journey of a girl who experiences both love and loss and has to rebuild herself from the ashes. There are two sides to the album and they’re separated by an interlude that connects them. The first side is dreamy and the second side is more gritty, but they still all work together. Each song sounds different and tells its own story, but they all connect.

RIVAL: What is your favorite social media platform to connect with your followers?

C+M: Instagram! It’s our favorite by far.

 RIVAL: Who are your fans and what you do love about them?

C+M: Our fans are our age and a little older and we like to think that they’re a lot like us! We’re all going through similar things with getting older and moving onto different stages of our lives, as well as dealing with heartbreak like we do in our album, so they relate to what we sing about. We love that they’re kind to each other - we’ve seen a lot of friendships formed through our music and it makes us really happy.

 RIVAL:  Your music has been featured on major network shows High Fidelity and LA’s Finest to name a few. What were your initial goals for your music and how have those goals evolved recently?

C+M: Our initial goal was just to get as many people to hear our music as possible. That hasn’t really changed, but the way people have been exposed to our music has been in ways we didn’t even know was possible. We didn’t realize our music could be a part of pop culture in a way that wasn’t just about us, but now that our music is part of other pieces of art, our goals have changed from making and promoting music for ourselves to making and promoting music for movies, plays, and others as well.

 RIVAL:  How would you describe your brand to someone who has just been introduced to your music?

C+M:We’re female producers who make basement pop.

 RIVAL:  Your music videos have millions of views on your Youtube channel, what inspires the concept for each video?

C+M:The song inspires the concept every time. When we produce, we think in terms of colors and scenes and we like to bring what we were hearing while we made the song into the visual. We also tend to tie that into our personal life experiences and influences.

 RIVAL:  Who are your top three dream artists to collaborate with and why?

C+M: We’d love to collaborate with Pink Sweat$, Jhené Aiko, and Miley Cyrus.

 BACKGROUND

RIVAL:  How did you both get your start in music? 

C+M: We’ve been playing piano since we were 4 and we have been classically and jazz trained. Along the way, we picked up the bass and guitar. We started writing songs at around eleven and just kept going from there!

 RIVAL:  As a twin sister duo, what’s it like working together? Growing up, how did being twins affect your working relationship?

C+M: It’s like working with yourself, except that you’re always getting into little fights! For real though, it’s great because you have someone you can completely trust as your partner. Growing up, being twins just meant we got to work with each other all the time. Working together was never forced upon us, it’s something we happily and willingly chose (and still choose).

RIVAL: What’s your creative process like? Does one of you take the lead with songwriting or musical composition?

C+M: Our creative process changes every time. We both have an equal part in it. If someone takes the lead in writing, the other takes the lead in the music, and then changes for the next time. It’s very equal.

 RIVAL:  How many instruments do each play? 

C+M: We both play piano and we play guitar, bass, and drums, but not quite as well!

 RIVAL: You grew up in Chicago, what was the vibe of the music scene there? 

C+M: Chicago is really into the blues, hip hop, and indie music. We make pop so it’s not quite what we do, but we were able to take a bunch of inspiration from the insanely talented artists in Chicago to help make our sound unique.

 RIVAL:  Was the move to Los Angeles an easy transition for you both? How do you like it here?

C+M: We technically haven’t moved yet because we’ve been staying with our family in Chicago during quarantine, but we’ve been working in LA for a few years now and we love it! It’s so sunny and the people are so nice!

 RIVAL: Have your parents always supported your music pursuits? What role have they played throughout your careers and how is that shifting now that you are both 18?

C+M: They’ve always supported and encouraged us to do what we love. They’ve been a sounding board for ideas and songs since the beginning, and they continue to be people we turn to for advice even as we’re 18.
RIVAL: Who would you say has been your musical influence?

C+M: There are so many! We find influence in all genres. One of our favorite bands, though, is the Beatles. We could write an essay on the ways they’ve influenced us!

 RIVAL: You’ve always used your platform to inspire change and support music programs that were previously defunded.  What social efforts do you believe in and how do you see yourselves continuing to be involved in work that impacts young artists and their communities?

 C+M: We believe in all social efforts that promote the equality and encouragement of people to be their best selves! Our work to support young artists and their communities has only started - we will continue to work with them and find new ways to help more people! It’s definitely a priority of ours.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT CARLY and MARTINA CHECK OUT THEIR DEBUT ALBUM , “Are you Listening” out now!

Spotify -https://open.spotify.com/artist/7D7UTmb1NyT7aOyi3nw1Uz?si=uCyjF4UXS2qRfrrbjY3Llw

Instagram -https://www.instagram.com/carlyandmartina/