“We are pushing country to the edge and embracing elements of our favorite pop artists,” says Kayla and Kelli of Country-Pop duo, Wild Fire. The teen sisters are making a name for themselves in the Country scene, writing deeply catchy and inspiring tunes that are beyond their years. Now with the release of their EP, Been There. Wild Fire is displaying their talents on an even larger scale.
Been There was co-written with hit songwriters such as Shane Stevens (Carrie Underwood, Lady Antebellum, Kellie Pickler) and Bonnie Baker (Hunter Hayes, Rascal Flatts, Rachel Platten), and is produced by LA-based multi-platinum producer Nash Overstreet (Britney Spears, Meghan Trainor, Rachel Platten).
Wild Fire began their music career by joining musical theatre at the tender age of 5 and 6, but it wasn’t until after placing as Semi-Finalists in the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo’s “Rodeo Rockstar” in 2016 that they decided to bring their talents together and form Wild Fire. Taking professional vocal lessons from top instructors, and co-writing with hit songwriters such as Bonnie Baker and Shane Stevens, the girls have refined their sound to the country-pop excellence it is today.
In this interview spotlight, I chat with Wild Fire about their new release, challenges, technology and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
We are from Houston, Texas. We are both sisters and best friends. Our style of music is country with heavy pop leanings.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?
Our love of the arts started at ages 5 and 6. We enrolled at a local dance school, the “Royal Academy of Fine Arts,” and began taking ballet, tap, jazz and musical theater classes. We also began taking professional voice lessons so that we could audition for singing roles in various theater productions. That is where our love of singing began. We auditioned for as many theater productions as possible and were soon landing many of the singing roles. We absolutely loved it and there was no going back.
During those years we would sing at home and learned to harmonize together. We noticed that blending our voices was easy for us and came naturally. In 2016, we entered a singing competition put on by the Houston Rodeo called “Rodeo Rockstar.” We ended up making it all the way to the semifinals that year and the finals the next year. We were also interviewed by our local Fox News channel both years. That was definitely a turning point for us.
We knew we wanted to pursue music as a career. We decided to focus all of our efforts on singing and started our duo. We began writing our own original songs, learned to play guitar and other instruments, and began booking gigs. Our passion to create and share our music with the world motivates us to keep going, along with our amazing fans.
How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?
We feel that this release is different in that it showcases our new sound and where we are headed musically. We wrote many songs for this project and selected the top six that we felt communicated our message of self respect and empowerment. We also set out with a goal of creating a unique sound that we could call our own. We feel that we have definitely achieved that with the release of our EP, Been There.
Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this oversaturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?
One challenge we have faced is ensuring our music and artistry stands out in the crowded playing field. One of the ways we ensure this is to write great songs. It all starts with the song. We feel that is the most crucial piece of the puzzle. Next we are fanatical about connecting and engaging with our audience. Thankfully technology allows us to connect directly with fans all over the world. Finally, we work extremely hard at marketing our brand. We spend hours upon hours each week ensuring that our message reaches the masses.
What was the last song you listened to?
Maddie and Tae – “One Heart to Another”
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
Vinyl all the way!
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
Spotify. This was the first streaming platform that we used. We have tried many others, but keep coming back to Spotify. We love the playlist functionality, release radar, the ability to see where artists are performing etc.
Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?
The best place to connect with us online is Instagram. That is our platform of choice. We hold an Instagram Live every Sunday from 7:00pm – 8:00pm CST where we go live with fans and perform a few songs. You can also connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Website and more (links below).
http://www.cdbaby.com/artist/WildFire12
https://www.linkedin.com/in/wildfiresings
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/wild-fire/1152598980
Google Play: http://tinyurl.com/hcrj67f
Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/n63yg8m
Anything else before we sign off?
We just want to thank you so much for this interview. We really appreciate it. We also want to send out a huge thanks to our fans! We love you all! Keep spreading the word!
