Following on from our review of her latest single, ‘Somebody‘, we spoke with singer songwriter Karen Atkins, to find out who she really is.
Is the song ‘Somebody’ based on a true story or specific person?
Yes, it’s based on a true story, but not just one specific person. I’m an intensely passionate person and there have been multiple times in my life when I’ve been lifted up high by the spark of chemistry with another person and the magic of our special connection. Even though I’m not “in a relationship” with all of those people at the moment, I still feel that connection and that spark with them even years later and it continues to enhance my life. The lines that refer to not letting someone tell you that you can’t have what you really want are also very much based on my life.
Do you have a specific target audience that you try to appeal to?
Not really. In fact, I love it when all kinds of different people enjoy my music. I’m just happy when my music uplifts anyone. It does seem that there is quite a wide range of people of all different ages and types who listen to my music. For example, I’ve had a mother tell me her 1-year old boy only wanted to listen to my “Vibration Project” album before going to bed every night for months, an 80-year Swedish man old tell me my music brought him out of a deep depression, a group of 15 year-old girls travel several hours to see my shows every time I performed for over a year, and a 40 year-old woman write me a long letter explaining how my music was the inspiration and support to get her to finally stop taking drugs. If I selected a target audience, maybe I wouldn’t have reached some of those people and that would be a shame.
What is your musical dream or goal? Sell out a tour? Have one of your songs go #1 on the Billboard top 100
I honestly can’t say that I have a musical dream or goal other than having a crazy fun time making music and other people being touched by the music as well. And if I felt that having a song go #1 on the Billboard top 100 was truly representative of an extremely large number of people being really touched by my music then that would be totally amazing, although I don’t know if the Billboard charts represent the people in that way anymore, or maybe ever. One thing I always thought would be cool was to be traveling in some random place in the world and hear my music played in some public place that I knew nothing about. That would be really cool!
What is your favourite song that you have made?
This may sound strange, but I would have to say a song called ‘My Words’ that I have never released to the public. It’s a love song about a love that is so intense but can’t materialize due to life circumstances, so the song paints a picture of how the love will be in “another world.” It’s super romantic and I love that. Maybe I’ll release it one day…For a song that you could go and listen to now, I would say my current favorite is one I wrote many moons ago called “Another Life” from my album Baring Souls. It speaks of staying true to yourself and your inner knowing and continuing to live by that knowing despite being ridiculed or cast aside by others. I really like the vocal harmonies on that song. The recording also features Guyora Kats on the organ. He is such an incredible musician and I never get tired of listening to what he played on that song.
When did you first start making music?
I started playing the piano at the age of 3 and wrote a bunch of little songs and musical pieces in elementary school. I also sang in choruses throughout grade school and played the clarinet in the school band, but it wasn’t until I started playing the guitar that I started writing music. And it wasn’t until I was in college and started hanging out with singer-songwriter Lisa Loeb that I started getting really serious about writing and recording music. After that, my whole life revolved around music until I was in my mid 20s. I played a ton in New York City where I moved after college and toured a bit around the US and Italy. At that time, I went through a major health and spiritual crisis and decided to quit everything related to music. I put it all aside for 15 years and re-entered the music scene with my album ‘Vibration Project’, in which I share both my journey to reconnect with myself and an exploration of love.
What music artist would you compare your music to?
That’s such a tough question. I can tell you what I’ve heard others say, though I don’t know if I agree with all of them. My music has been likened to the sounds of Regina Spektor, Megan Trainer, Bonnie Rait, Sheryl Crow, and Jeff Buckley. My influences were all bands from the 70s, though, because I just love how those bands wrote, arranged and recorded their music back then. My favorite artists/bands of that era are: America, Fleetwood Mac, Bread, Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel. The Bee Gees and Hall and Oats. People who like music from the 70s tend to also like my music.
What do you think makes your music special? What kind of makes it stand out from other peoples music?
Well, what I like about my music is that the chords and chord progressions are generally somewhat sophisticated, but still melodious, the vocal harmonies are unique, the songs take you on a journey, and the lyrics have an innocence and depth about them that make them both pure and relatable. These aren’t things I hear in a lot of music, at least not these days
What do you have planned for 2024?
I’ll be releasing at least another 2-3 songs, finishing the recording of a handful of other songs and continuing to write and work on some new tunes. I’ll also be gigging with my band, especially in the Pacific Northwest of the US and I plan to be super solid in conversational Spanish by the end of the year. I’m also working on some projects in my local area to support people in growing their own food, restoring water and rehabilitating their land.
Watch the music video for ‘Somebody’ below and find out more about Karen Atkins and her music online on her official website, and YouTube.
