Email:neill@outloudculture.com
Socials: @neillfrazer
A choir girl-turned-contemporary troubadour, Kristin Carter brings dynamic vocals, thoughtful lyricism, and an empowering message to her artistry in a way that inspires audiences to move, feel, and connect. Originally from White Rock, British Columbia, Kristin grew up listening to a genre blend of greats like Shania Twain and Faith Hill, and rich, soulful vocalists like Beyoncé and Celine Dion. Drawn to choir at age of 5, Kristin used the timeless vocal practice to train her voice as an instrument for over 15 years until–after a university education took her to Halifax and back–she found inspiration for writing music on her daily Vancouver commute.
In 2018, Kristin broke through with national recognition in the country genre as a semi-finalist in Sirius XM’s Top of the Country contest. A year later, she repeated the same feat, but followed it with the release of the fast-paced, country-pop smash “Karma”, her first single to radio, which climbed to#18 on the Canadian country charts and earned over a million digital streams. On the heels of these accomplishments and over 3.8 million digital streams across her first five singles, Kristin recalibrated through a period of recognition, introspection, and personal growth.
After pouring her heart into songwriting, Kristin emerged with 2023’s “I’m Still Here”–a single built entirely from her own vocals–which was broadcast on BC’s Music Show (CBC Radio One) on Remembrance Day and added to Amazon Music Canada’s Brand New Music editorial playlist. Kristin’s follow-up single, the exhilarating 2024 pop anthem “Euphoria”, is the lead-in to her ambitious 12-song album, “Full Bloom”, a contemporary-leaning pop project that invokes an artistry that unapologetically eschews many conventional musical boundaries. Each song on the album distinctly captures Kristin’s continued curiosity, passion, and feelings about the human experience.
Hi Kristin welcome to OLC! Can you tell us about the journey you took to create your debut album, “Full Bloom,” and how it reflects your growth and experiences in your 20s?
Thank you! This album was such an important thing for me to create to be able to reflect on my twenties with gratitude and self-awareness. I started writing it a while ago, and found that each song was a very different lens through which I could look at an aspect of my life and celebrate or examine it with care and thoughtfulness. Your twenties are a wild time emotionally, at least they were for me. There are moments of joy, tranquility, and questioning that run through the album. I’m hopeful that each time people listen, they can take away something different from it.
What inspired you to choose the metaphor of a “musical garden” to represent the songs on your album?
I’m a big gardener in real life and I’ve always found plants so fascinating and beautiful because of their temporality. I find music is like this. It changes each time you hear it and so it was a natural metaphor for me. Gardening really reflects the process of making the album for me as well – each song is a carefully curated seed planted that, despite your best efforts, may not work out. The process is worth it, though.
As a co-writer and co-producer on “Full Bloom,” what was your creative process like collaborating with others to bring your vision to life?
It was really lovely. I was humbled to write with some amazing writers like Emma-Lee and Steve Mitchell. My main collaborator was Marcus Ramsay, we’ve been playing together for years and so we had established such a safe and thoughtful environment for us to create and explore in. I would come with lyric or melody ideas some days, and he would send me little instrumental loops on other days – it was very collaborative. There is a lot of work that goes into taking an idea through to an actual produced song, and so you need to surround yourself with others who you can weather the highs and lows with.
Your music has evolved from country to contemporary pop. What motivated this shift, and how do you feel your new sound represents your artistic identity?
Writing this album involved a lot of creative exploration that pushed beyond the bounds of genre identities. My focus was to write and create music that I found meaningful or exciting and not need to have it fit in any particular lane. In that way, there are many genre influences that appear on the album, one of the main ones being contemporary pop, but there are also tracks that lean R&B, adult contemporary, and country. The new sounds are reflective of someone who loves all kinds of music, and so in that way, it’s very authentic to me.
Each song on “Full Bloom” seems to touch on deeply personal topics. Can you share how you approached writing about subjects like self-doubt, female empowerment, and personal resilience?
Those topics are certainly tricky to write about because they are very vulnerable. I find it very cathartic to lean into those themes because they allow me to process my emotions. I try to not be too exact or personally descriptive when writing about these things because I want the music to reflect the experiences of others as well as my own.
“Euphoria” and “Lazy Sunday” are among the tracks on your album. Can you discuss the themes and inspiration behind these particular songs?
“Euphoria” is inspired by the excitement of new love – that rush you get when you know it’s going to be good. The soaring of the chorus reflects that. “Lazy Sunday” was written about how Sundays are often a lazy and relaxed day, but they are also the day that you contemplate your week, your life, and your goals. Sort of a nod to both the beauty and tranquility of a Sunday morning, and the Sunday scaries.
What message or emotion do you hope listeners take away from “Full Bloom” after experiencing the entire album?
I hope listeners walk away with an appreciation for all of their experiences, and how we need the sad, the happy, the elated, and the determined all equally to round out a life. It’s all important and it all matters.
How do you see your music contributing to conversations surrounding female empowerment and the complexities of womanhood?
I want it to inspire people to reflect on their participation in society, and how we can all learn and grow by listening to the experiences of others.
What’s next for you after the release of “Full Bloom,” both musically and creatively?
I want to do a holiday album next! It’s been a dream of mine forever, so I’m excited to work on that next.
Instagram: @KristinCarterMusic
Facebook: @KristinCarterMusic
X: @KCarterMusic
TikTok: @kristincartermusic
