The city of Brooklyn currently lays claim to the exceptionally talented artist Kami Maltz, who was born in Israel but calls Argentina home as well. Kami recently sent her fresh new single ‘On The Loose’ to Black Cat Tapes, and let’s be real we obviously LOVED IT! Kami’s voice has the dimension and warmth of a true artist, which bleeds out onto the song in an authentic way you don’t necessarily hear everyday in this disposable music ecosystem we now live in. So when it became apparent we had the great privilege of premiering the cinematically brilliant music video that accompanies this musical pearl with the rest of the new music community, we were stoked to say the least!
So in keeping with my theme of not muddling up your perception of the music with my own personal perception (too much) I thought it fitting to ask Kami her thoughts on the music and how, if at all, she believes her writing has an impact on humanity’s conscious evolution.
(Be sure to hit play on the video below if you haven’t yet, although I’m pretty sure it will make you pause from reading the interview… thankfully it’s not going anywhere!)
- What, if any, does inspiring humanity’s collective conscious growth, or evolution if you will, play on your art, and more specifically lyrics?
Well, I don’t really think about that when I write my lyrics, but I do believe in music as a strong connection between me and my listeners.
Someone once told me that listening to me sing made him feel like there was a lot of light in the room – that I shed light on him and feelings that he’d been avoiding.
That’s something that I like to think about when I perform or write – having this ray of light coming out of me, this pure strong energy, and spreading it outwards… connecting people to me, connecting them back with themselves – and helping them realize something about their lives. It doesn’t have to be a big dramatic thing, it could even be “I’m hurting today, and I didn’t allow myself to feel it…” or “I miss this person, maybe I should give them a call and tell them I love them.”
As long as my music keeps making people feel something, anything, I think I’m doing my job.
- You were born in Israel, call Argentina a second home, and are now based in Brooklyn, NY… What has this global life experience, living in such diversely different cultures, brought to your songwriting and art in general?
Yes, I’ve moved around, as a kid and now as an adult… I think living in different places, changing my life’s scenery each time, can sometimes be painful and hard. It might sound kitschy but it made me realize that no matter where you dump me, I’ll be ok eventually.
Each place where I lived, with its own stories and the relationships I’ve had with the place and the people there… has definitely affected the topics that I write about and the way I approach creating and songwriting. I mostly write about things that happened to me – feelings, dreams, desires… and I’m trying to be as honest as I can.
“On the Loose” is in English but I also sing in Hebrew, and often people come to me after a show and say how touched they were by one of my songs in Hebrew, even though they didn’t understand a single word. That’s the power of music to connect people – no matter who they are or where they’re from, and I absolutely love it.
- The video is brilliant! The cinematography really caught my eye, and allowed the music to sink a deep hook, personally. Can you expand for the readers a bit on what the thought process was behind the video, and maybe go a bit into the creative process you and the director had throughout its production?
I met Gabrièle Laborde (Parisian mood agency) through a mutual friend, saw her work and knew immediately this was going to be a great fit. I didn’t know exactly what we were going to do, but her aesthetics and visuals really fit mine. We started talking about the meaning of the song for me… and realized the music video will deal with the division we all have, our demons, our passions, lusts – vs. logic and rational thought. How do we deal with this conflict? Who wins?
We started playing with the idea of the two characters, each representing one side of the coin. At the beginning we weren’t sure if the characters would be played by different people, or if I would play both. In the end we decided to have me do both, which was very ambitious. When your set is the streets of NYC, with tons of people passing by, no changing rooms and no privacy… switching between the two outfits and different makeup… it was challenging but we did it!
We did all of this on our own, just us two – which I think we really benefited from, it helped us create all these intimate, minimalistic moments.
Be sure to follow, share and support Kami Maltz via the links below!
Buy ‘On The Loose’ by HERE!
Official Website, Facebook, Twitter , Instagram, YouTube, SoundCloud
What role does inspiring humanity’s conscious evolution play for you as a band with regards to your lyrical content, if any?