Contemporary pop artist Kristin Carter’s debut album, Full Bloom, reflects individual moments within a broader human experience.
The album, which was released earlier this month, is deeply personal to Carter, and includes 12 tracks in total. It comes after the release of her two lead-in singles, “I’m Still Here,” and “Euphoria.”
Below, Carter shares her inspiration for the album, what went into the process of creating the album, and details on the making of her recent music video.
Eulalie Magazine: Start by sharing a little about how you became a musician. Is it something you always wanted to do?
Kristin Carter: I can remember loving music ever since I was little. I grew up singing in choirs and that’s where I really learned how to sing.
I think my desire to make music and perform really grew from that. As I got older, I kept looking for avenues to create and be a part of music as an artistic outlet.
Eulalie Magazine: How would you describe your new album, Full Bloom? Can you elaborate further on what it means that the album is crafted “as a musical garden”?
Carter: To me, Full Bloom is like a living garden of music in the sense that it acts as a diary of life experiences during my twenties. It’s a collection of moments.
Every song in the garden is a flower that is inspired by various experiences – they’re all different because every experience shapes who we are and becomes part of us as we continue to grow.
As I’m a gardener already, the garden theme felt like a natural way to tie everything together.
Eulalie Magazine: How long did it take to put the album together? And what can you share about your collaborations with Marcus Ramsay, Steve Mitchell, Emma-Lee, and Luke Collins?
Carter: It was a years-long process! Marcus and I have been playing together for years, so it was such a joyful and supportive process to work on this album with him. We co-wrote a lot of the music together and built it from the ground up.
Emma-Lee is a singer-song writer based out of Nashville, and she is one of my favorite collaborators because she creates such a safe space to be vulnerable. I think that contributed to how well “Break” turned out.
Steve Mitchell and I wrote “Euphoria” together. Steve is so talented. His lyricism and melody creation are effortless. Luke Collins is a friend of mine from university.
Luke, Marcus and I wrote “Alive” together. I bet we will be seeing lots more of Luke in the coming years. He’s very talented.
Eulalie Magazine: What do you hope listeners will take away from the album?
Carter: I wanted the album to represent all the different experiences that make up a life – the good and the bad – so that listeners would walk away with an appreciation and understanding that we need all of that to round out a full life.
My hope is that each time someone listens to the album, it will be different – they’ll hear things in a different glow of light that make them new all over again; the first and the last time they’ll ever hear it that way. It’s layered, kind of like petals.
Eulalie Magazine: Could you share the inspiration behind the song, “Hey Woman!”?
Carter: I wrote this with a friend in mind, one who struggles with loving herself.
My experience with female friendships tells me that often our best friends see us for how amazing we truly are when we can’t see it ourselves. I wanted to write something that celebrated her but also all women.
Eulalie Magazine: And could you share the inspiration behind the song, “Break”?
Carter: I wrote “Break” with Emma-Lee, and for me, it embodies the feeling of cracking under the intense pressure we put on ourselves; reaching a point where you need to just ‘give yourself a break’ and so we wrote about that together.
Eulalie Magazine: What song are you most excited for people to hear when the album is released?
Carter: “Lazy Sunday.” I think it’s very sonically unique and chill. I’m really happy with how it turned out and we have a beautiful music video planned for it that involves me flying.
I’m currently doing some training for it. Stay tuned for that!
Eulalie Magazine: The music video for “I’m Still Here” is absolutely gorgeous. Can you talk about the inspiration for the statue and what it was like filming in that way?
Carter: Thank you so much! The central idea revolves around a statue that is weathered through the seasons, forgotten, but after everything still stands.
It embodies resilience and how the scars that “weather” us, become part of the fabric of who we are, forever changed by our experiences.
Filming this was amazing. We had such a supportive and exceptionally talented crew. All the effects are real, so I really did get sloshed with fake snow, rain, and wind. It was quite surreal.
The makeup took about 3 hours each morning to put on, but it felt like 10 minutes hanging out with our makeup artist Isabelle Fallu. Everyone worked so hard on that video. I’m so grateful.
Eulalie Magazine: What can we look forward to from the music videos for “Euphoria” and “Lazy Sunday?”
Carter: “Euphoria” is coming soon and is visually super different than “I’m Still Here.” It’s set in a club and features two versions of myself — one who has confidence and the other who doesn’t. They sort of ‘duel’ in the club, drawn together by this floating neon energy that my confident self possesses. It’s electric and fun.
“Lazy Sunday” I described a little bit earlier — it’s a studio session that features me flying on the wings of my emotion. I’m very excited to film this one, it’s super unique.
Watch the video for I’m Still Here:
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You can follow Kristin Carter on YouTube to see her music videos: @kristincartermusic
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Ashley Bissette Sumerel
Ashley is the Editor-in-Chief of Eulalie Magazine. Favorite Movies: Sunset Boulevard, Garden State, Modern Times. Favorite TV Shows: Gilmore Girls, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Grey's Anatomy. Favorite Books: Interview with the Vampire, Dracula, City of Glass.
