“The music industry is still a male dominated field and it’s about time to change that.”
In celebration and support of International Women's Day (Sunday, March 8, 2020), C'est Karma releases the beautifully open and quietly strident Girls Video and song (available on all digital media). Most probably, C'est Karma was born a thinker, a feminist at heart (even if she didn't realize it yet) as she had strong women for role models, one, in particular, her grandmother:
“We women are often expected to work harder in order to be taken seriously. When I was growing up I could never imagine a thing like sexism, because I was mainly brought up by my mother who handles everything and in general had a very tolerant environment. Other than that, I saw my grandmother who had fled from Portugal in the 70s and brought up five children in a foreign country with an unknown language and culture. Her entire life, she read and by doing so she was able to educate herself. I was deeply impressed by that, because as a child I always took this for granted and never realized the courage, the power and sacrifice that was behind it.”
Karma Catena, aka C'est Karma started writing and performing on the streets of Luxembourg at only 15 and now 3 years later releases Girls, a poetic anthem, love letter to all women. A song that reflects "the constant pressure women are exposed to."
“I was always told that I could do anything I wanted. I never thought my gender would get in my way and that I’d have to fight for things… because I am a woman.”
Girls, from the onset has a dreamy sad tone brought on by melancholy synths. She softly sings
"This is the ode to Frida Kahol, this is the ode to the shadow and the flowers, this is the ode to Yayoi Kusama, This is a love song for you..."
Then acoustic lines start percolating and the sad synths become more hopeful, beats envelope the song and a cool inviting groove takes over along with Karma's evocative words. Her vocal aesthetic is artful and self aware, wide eyed and reflective and I did think of Bjork just a bit. The song with more synths, deep bass and nice production points. Stirring synth melodies and keys move the song in surprising ways. The sad opening, the very poetic thoughtful words opposite the eventual groove have this head bobbing counter-position. The lyrics are beautiful and moving especially sung by Karma. Her vocal presence are fused with her words, I cannot imagine anyone else singing one of her songs. Her lyrics, like all poetry, might ask more questions than reveal answers but that's ok. Great art is always the starting point for discussions, great art is always life affirming even if it is made out of dark matter. In the end, C'est Karma's Girls keeps up the good fight, (smiling).
-Robb Donker Curtius
London live date announced: 31st March @ Camden Assembly
Part of The Present Is Female tour, a triple-bill European tour w/ like-minded artists Meimuna and Anna Erhard
07.03. L-Luxemburg, Women’s Strike Night @ Rotondes
31.03. UK-London, Camden Assembly*
01.04. L-Luxemburg, De Gudde Wellen*
02.04. B-Brüssel, L’accroche*
03.04. DE-Berlin, ACUD macht NEU*
06.04. DE-München, Heppel & Ettlich*
07.04. CH-Zürich, Dynamo Werk 21*
08.04. DE-Köln, die wohngemeinschaft*
09.04. DE-Hamburg, Hebebühne*
25.04. SK-Bratislava, Sharpe Festival
02.05. UK-Liverpool. Liverpool Sound City
23.05. DE-Hamburg, Hamburg Harbour Festival
18.07. L-Echternach, Echterlive Festival
*The Present Is Female Tour w/ Meimuna + Anna Erhard
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:
Luxembourg artist C’est Karma launches new single & video “Girls”, in celebration of International Women’s Day
London live date announced: 31st March @ Camden Assembly
Part of The Present Is Female tour, a triple-bill European tour w/ like-minded artists Meimuna and Anna Erhard
“I was always told that I could do anything I wanted. I never thought my gender would get in my way and that I’d have to fight for things… because I am a woman.”
With her new single “Girls”, which will be released on March 6th to tie in with International Women’s Day on March 8th, the 18-year-old Karma Catena, aka C’est Karma, releases her anthem for female empowerment. The song is also brought to life in a powerful video. In this song she talks about the constant pressure women are exposed to. It’s a love song to women, a subject that Karma experiences in her every life and that is very dear to her heart:
“We women are often expected to work harder in order to be taken seriously. When I was growing up I could never imagine a thing like sexism, because I was mainly brought up by my mother who handles everything and in general had a very tolerant environment. Other than that, I saw my grandmother who had fled from Portugal in the 70s and brought up five children in a foreign country with an unknown language and culture. Her entire life, she read and by doing so she was able to educate herself. I was deeply impressed by that, because as a child I always took this for granted and never realised the courage, the power and sacrifice that was behind it.”
As she grew older, Karma’s perception of an equal world burst and she perceived the discriminatory social reality. “Girls” is a vivid description of this everyday sexism that C’est Karma wants to make her audience aware of. An extract from her poignant lines on how it feels to be discriminated against:
“And if the lightbulb breaks / before the light goes out,
if the ground shakes / before you’ve built a house,
if the disk stops spinning / before you played the song,
if the coffee gets cold / before you take a sip.”
Despite the frustration in these lines, Karma wants to bolster and celebrate being a woman. With this new song she also musically takes a new direction, equally inspired by the likes of Björk and Idles.
Her musical career started at the age of 15 in the streets of Luxembourg. At a young age she already dealt with political subjects, but they didn’t find their way into her songs as much. Today Karma is instrumental in the organisation of the local climate strikes in Luxembourg.
After winning the Luxemburg Music Award for Best Upcoming Female Artist in 2018 quite a lot has changed. Last year she released her first EP “Yellow”, followed by her first Germany Tour alongside Carnival Youth. For 2020 Karma has already announced more music as she steps onto her first international stages, with several shows in the UK, Germany, Switzerland and beyond already confirmed. There you’ll surely find Karma with a “Club Mate” in her hand spreading a clear message:
“The music industry is still a male dominated field and it’s about time to change that.”
“Girls” is released 6th March via Radicalis Music
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