“We started to sing before we could talk. When kids would play with their dolls, we wouldn’t lose sight of our piano or random instruments we had in our flat. We went to music school at the age of 6, and we spent almost all of our time there. Music always inspires us!”

Anna and Sonya shared details about their childhood and what the transition was like adapting to their new life in London:

“Our childhood was amazing, even though we barely had any free time. We are a close family and had extremely supportive parents, who have always encouraged us to follow our dreams. Our every day schedule was tough: school, classical music classes, homework and finally sleep. We knew from an early age that we wanted to pursue music in some way shape or form – but when we were younger the focus was very much on the classical world. Ukraine gave us our foundation and strong work ethic, and that really helped when we moved to London. We were young when we first arrived – and to be honest, it was very difficult! We didn’t speak a word of English and had no friends and no family. We’d also never lived alone before – so simply fending for ourselves in a foreign country was a whole new experience! The English ‘way’ and how the language is actually constructed are also pretty different to Ukrainian. That’s something we definitely had to adjust to. Ukrainian people are very direct, so often, when we think we are being open and honest, people here take it as us being rude. But we figured it out, learnt English, found some common ground, and now have completely adjusted to our new life. And for sure, these experiences have made us who we are today.”

Anna always loved music, but never thought about pursuing it professionally when she was very young. She initially planned to go to university in Ukraine to study mathematics. Sonya, on the other hand, always intended to pursue the musical route — she wanted to study to become an opera singer! However, everything changed when they met their manager at a casting session for what they thought was a music video in Ukraine: “She saw something in us and wanted us to move to the UK so that we could really focus on working together in a more contemporary music space. A few months later we moved to London, to try it out and see where it would lead. Our family gave us three months - and eight years later we’re still here!”

Anna spoke about their favorite music growing up and major musical influences:

“Our parents loved The Beatles, so we were in love with English music since we were babies. Later on in our early teens, it progressed to Linkin Park, and then gradually into Radiohead, and Portisthead. And ever since we moved to London our love for music spread into different genres. I love melodic techno, house (such as Jan Blomqvist’s music), Hip hop (like MF Doom, A Tribe Called Quest), disco, funk and pop, like Madonna, or Salt-n-Pepa. I find it difficult these days to differentiate styles. I feel like every genre is in some way connected, each taking inspiration and influence from the other, into a huge melting pot. There are also so many more collaborations today than there used to be – between different types of artists. It’s really exciting. And for me, classical music influences me in everything I touch.”

How did the name Bloom Twins come to be?

“Well, in reality it was a bit of team effort. When we moved to London eight years ago we had a ton of different ideas for band names, but somehow nothing really felt right. Then a friend of ours, out of the blue, said ‘Bloom’ could work! It felt like the moment of us blooming and exploring our musical DNA and who we were as artists. It felt like a new start and thus a new ‘season’ when things started to blossom. It also had a double ‘O’ in it – so somehow represented the two of us. We simply added the word Twins and that was it. It felt right.”

Anna is really into production. She constantly hears ideas in instruments and sounds, while Sonya expresses herself through melodies and lyrics. “The way we approach music is very different to each other, which creates a perfect union. Our style of music: ‘Dark pop,’ perfectly describes the balance between the two of us. It’s where the opposites meet. Dark yet sophisticated, haunting yet groovy. We love mixing genres, because that’s how you create something new!”

The Kupriienko sisters have ventured outside the music realm, exploring another creative avenue in the world of fashion. “We love to experience anything art related, as art allows you to express yourself — whether that’s through music, fashion, or acting. As a friend of mine said: ‘Choose your poison.’

I’m choosing not to choose just one. Fashion shows the way our music looks and acting captures an emotion.

Our fashion highlights were probably when we did Milan, Paris, London and New York fashion weeks back-to-back. A lot of media outlets, such as Vogue told us that we stand out with our looks – and the fact that we’re identical twins. Most of the time, left to our own devices, we don’t go for a ‘pretty’ look, and would rather go for blue/black lipstick, wearing plastic trench-coats and quirky outfits. We are all about expressing ourselves, and not giving a damn how people perceive it.

Fashion and music always felt like inseparable parts of who we are. As I said earlier, we started singing before we could speak. That makes me think that music is, in fact, our first language. As for fashion - that followed shortly afterwards. Growing up we needed to be different from anyone else, maybe because we were already each other’s copy or maybe because we felt the need to express ourselves visually. Hence it is so hard to separate music from fashion.

Our fashion icons would have to be the Sex Pistols and the way Vivienne Westwood completed the ‘F*ck you’ formula that not only looked amazing but also rocked the boat with its bold honesty. The same could be said of trench coats and Dr Martens boots, which were initially military wear, but were later co-opted by the punk, and skinhead eras, before transforming again into cool streetwear.”

Bloom Twins spoke of their accomplishments so far, including their latest collab track “High On Beat.

“Playing the biggest arenas, opening for Duran Duran, and sharing the stage with Seal, Chic and Nile Rodgers in Italy, the UK, and Japan was just mind-blowing! Still cannot get our heads around the fact that we did it! It’s incredible and we are very grateful!

As for the experience of working with Nick Rhodes, it taught us a lot, one of which is not to be afraid of exploring new things. Go choose your instrument and start creating! You’ve got to spend not days, not weeks and not even months on it… You’ve got to spend years! And then you’ll see that writing music is like an extension of you. It’s part of you.

What a journey this song had! We wrote it about 5-6 years ago after we met Guy Gerber and he sent us some instrumentals. One of them became ‘High on Beat”. It was a strong track from the beginning, but somehow it just stayed in our folder for a good few years. When we met Jan Blomqvist and started chatting about us potentially doing something together, we instantly thought that ‘High on Beat’ could sound great with Jan’s production. It was an incredible idea! We came to Berlin, recorded vocals with Jan and it went from there!

‘High on Beat’ is the natural high that I get when I listen to my favourite music. It’s the moment of letting it all go and giving it all to the song. Feel the beat, dance like nobody's watching. I’m high on the beat most days of my life, when I write or listen to music.”

Most artists find themselves liking their latest tracks the most — that’s definitely the frequent case for the Bloom Twins! “Everyday we grow and explore, learning about ourselves as artists. At the moment, ‘High on Beat’ and ‘Daydream’ are definitely our top favourite tracks. What a pleasure it was working with such iconic artists like Jan Blomqvist and Benny Benassi. We were always in love with their music. That’s probably another reason why these tracks are at the top of the list at the moment!”

Regarding future collaborations, Anna and Sonya would love to work with Grimes (“We love how perfect she is in her creative abstraction!”), Billie Eilish (“She’s always ahead of the curve”), and The Weeknd (“For making us fall in love with sounds that we never thought we would”).

What is the best piece of advice the twins have been given?

“Take it with a pinch of salt and give everyone the benefit of the doubt. In general, I choose to see the good in people because I think that that’s our collective driving force. That might sound a bit naive, but I believe we are born with a heart to be broken in order to learn what love is. I also think that we’re born with reflexes to lift us up in times of darkness and that while alone we may sink, together we can swim.”

Women encounter so many obstacles and face many pressures in today’s society, especially in regards to body image — unfortunately, these pressures can cause many to lose hope and succumb to the negativity and give up on their dreams of pursuing creative careers. Anna and Sonya share their thoughts on this issue:

“We should all try to find strength in our insecurities, because not only would that mean that we’d have zero buttons to push, but also it would be very liberating to be able to say: This is me and I love me for who I am. Whether that’s with a belt that maybe doesn’t fit my body but does fit my persona. Whether I want to be overdressed or under-dressed or with my nipples clearly on display. It’s hard to go into the world being that honest with yourself and so vulnerable at the same time. This is when you find yourself exposed and wide open for others’ comments to sting. Just repeat to yourself ‘you had balls to walk out as you’ — maybe others are just shit at being themselves and hope they will get to feel their way one day. Be the example for yourself and for others.”

Speaking on the challenges and rewarding aspects of being an artist:

“Stay true to yourself, but also remember your songs aren’t just about you. I really think they shouldn’t be, I think music brings us together and it’s within the walls of a song that opposites can come together to meet - hence the term ‘Dark Pop’ that we use for the music we make. I truly believe that pretty much anything can work as long as people in the room listen to each other and become an entity rather than separate ingredients. It’s where hip hop becomes friends with techno, fashion meets music, dark electronics become pop’s best friend and my twin and I become one again.”

The Bloom Twins share their biggest dream, artists on their shuffled playlists, and favorite highlights of their career so far:

“Our biggest dream is to succeed and still be us; to get through the obstacles and reach the highs, still wearing the same shoes. Maybe that’s because it would provide us with the false sense of security that we broke the system with our own formula, or allow us to think of ourselves as the heroes we always wanted to be — with the collective will to dream together with others but also alone with ourselves and our truth.

The songs that we are listening to right now are very shuffle friendly, so very different from each other. As much as we love 50 Cents ‘Candy Shop,’ it leads nicely into Amy Winehouse’s ‘Rehab,’ or Calvin Harris’ ‘How Deep Is Your Love?’ and Radiohead’s ‘Creep.’

Looking back, we cannot believe how lucky we were to perform in some of the biggest arenas around the globe with Duran Duran, Nile Rodgers, Chic and Seal. To not only share the same stages but a collective will to dream again! Music provides a sacred place for all of us to feel like we belong. Another highlight was being part of UNICEF’s #imagine campaign. It felt humbling, not only because we got to join forces with heavyweights in the industry such as Katy Perry, will.i.am, David Guetta, and Yoko Ono, but also because it allowed us to help amplify the message that every child’s life matters. It’s always such a great feeling when you see that your music is doing what it’s supposed to do – helping to deliver a message.”

The top three items on the Bloom Twins bucket list:

Do the Colors show and have the background painted black and white
Open up a dark pop academy (and hell yes… it sounds like a dark magic TV series!)
Never take ourselves - or anything - seriously. Life is too short to have a long face.

So what’s next for the Bloom Twins? “We’ve got a lot of surprises coming your way. These are the collaborations we were dreaming of doing, and we just can’t wait to share them with you. Lockdown gifted us the opportunity of time, that made us not only re-evaluate ourselves but also reach for the dream, no matter how high or low it made us feel at times. We were lucky to connect with some of the icons online that stood by us and made our dreams a reality. Wait till you hear it!”

Anna and Sonya share their final advice for other aspiring artists to take to heart as they pursue their own creative paths:

“Whatever you do - do it because you love it, because you can’t imagine your life without it. Use bad days for good songs, books, and paintings. Use your good days as fuel when things go sour.

Be you and daydream.”

Meet the Author

Bri Rodriguez is a writer and photographer from Tallahassee, Florida. Always passionate about the arts - she’s been an avid reader and writer ever since she was a young girl - finding solace in books, exploring literary worlds, and the ability to express herself and tell stories through the written word. Her education in Commercial Photography Technology opened new doors for her artistry; she is currently in pursuit of her bachelors in English to further her studies in literature and creative writing and hone her craft. She aspires to forge her own path as a content creator and delve deeper into the entertainment industry. Bri contributes her writing to multiple publications and actively seeks out new opportunities, which led to her joining the Rival team.
Connect with Bri on her socials:
Facebook - https://m.facebook.com/brirodriguezx
Instagram -https://www.instagram.com/brirdgz/
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Dark Pop Duo 'The Bloom Twins' divulges new music, fashion, and future aspirations

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