Casa Captivating
Exclusive Interviews
Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens continue our virtual programming by launching a virtual mini-concert series this month, an extension of our popular Casa Vibes music programming. San Clemente natives, Kalina & Kiana, will be our first featured artist for this series and are returning as a follow up to their debut concert at the Casa last summer. We virtually sat down with them ahead of the performance to talk about their influences, process, and advice for young artists.
Who are Kalina & Kiana as artists vs as people?
We like to think it’s all one in the same! We believe in order to be a true artist, you’ve got to be who you are all the time – on stage and off. We feel the most “ourselves” when we are in the studio, or performing. The Kalina & Kiana you see on stage is the same Kalina & Kiana that you would get over a cup of coffee.
Your music can be described as ”poetic pop.” What does that mean to you both, and why is it important?
We want our songs to be catchy, fun, and upbeat, yet still have a poetic element to the lyrics. A lot of pop music doesn’t give music fans enough credit. People want deep lyrics that make them think and feel, but also something they can dance along to in their car. We think pop music needs that combination of emotion & hook.
We also grew up listening to country music, and one of the things we love is its poetic form of storytelling. Most of our favorite country songs tell great stories within the lyrics. We feel like a lot of pop music has lost the storytelling aspect. We would love to bring that back. We believe every song has something to say, and a story to tell – that’s what “poetic pop” means to us.
What are some highlights of your careers so far?
That’s a hard question! We feel lucky to have had so many incredible experiences in our career, so far. One major highlight was getting to write songs for every season of the Netflix series Maggie & Bianca: Fashion Friends and fly to Italy, to guest star in an episode.
We also had a number of highlights from our first band, The Raymies. We got to play shows all over the U.S. and record a lot in Nashville. Disney Channel even wanted to do a show about our band! We learned so much in a few years, and those experiences helped shape us into the musicians and songwriters we are today.
A more recent highlight would be opening for Justin Bieber at a Cancer for College benefit concert! That was an unforgettable experience. The lineup was us, Lifehouse, Natasha Bedingfield, and then Justin Bieber.
Who are some of your creative influences?
We grew up on The Beatles and The Beach Boys. They are forever and always our favorite bands and our biggest influences. In addition to that, we have a pretty eclectic sphere of creative influences. We love to pull sounds and “vibes” from different artists, young and old. One of our life-long influences has been our dad. He’s our songwriting partner and has taught us so much!
As of current influences, Kalina is inspired by the intricate lyrics of Twenty One Pilots, and a big influence for Kiana is The Head and the Heart – they are also great lyricists.
How does a track go from just an idea to a finished product, what is your process?
The process of writing a song is one of the things we enjoy most in life. It’s always different, but let’s take our new single, “Sunshine,” for example. This one started when Kiana had a random melody in her head for the chorus. We knew that was the hook. We got together with our dad (he is our writing partner) and we pieced this one together really naturally.
When it came to writing the lyrics, we knew we wanted Sunshine to have a “not everything is as it seems” theme. We wanted to address the myth of perfection, but we also wanted a fun, upbeat, “I don’t need you” song that you can roll your windows down and blast, while driving down PCH. This is how we are trying to convey “poetic pop.” A catchy, yet emotive song.
For us, it’s usually the concept and melody first, and then the lyrics follow. But it’s hard to say what our process is because it’s always slightly different! Sometimes one of us has a finished song that we all get together and tweak the lyrics until they are perfect. Whatever the approach, songwriting is always a fun puzzle to solve – you have so many syllables and about 3 and a half minutes to say everything you want to say in a poetic way. That is our idea of a challenge.
What advice do you have for young artists struggling to find their creative voice?
Just start creating – you’ve got to start somewhere. Don’t try to be anyone else. Make music YOU enjoy, because if you don’t enjoy what you’re putting out, others will sense that. Do you, boo.
What excites you most about your virtual performance at Casa Romantica?
We are SO excited about many things with this virtual performance! Thank you SO much for having us! One of the things that we loved most was getting to play our new single “Sunshine” live for the first time! With all of our concerts being cancelled due to the Pandemic, we are so pumped to have the opportunity to perform virtually at Casa Romantica!
We were also PUMPED on the outfits we picked out for the gig. Ha! We get equally excited about the fashion for our performances. We love the vibes of Casa Romantica, and wanted to find outfits that fit right in. Romantic, with the slightest bit of edge.
Watch Kalina & Kiana’s mini virtual concert now:
