• photography Sandra Myhrberg

    fashion Alphons Amuri

    total look Hugo Blue

    Shadows of Ourselves, an Interview with Bloom Twins

    Written by Josie McNeill by Sandra Myhrberg

    Music and Fashion Coexist

    For Ukrainian born pop duo Bloom Twins, music and fashion are intertwined–one cannot exist without the other in both member’s lives.

    We started singing before we could speak,” Sonia Kuprienko, one half of Bloom Twins, said. “We were born in a musical family. So that is something that we consider a natural habitat. When fashion came it was as a quest for finding ourselves and sharing our identity with everybody.”

    Through the zoom screen for our interview, it was apparent that the self-described “dark pop” sound of Bloom Twins, composed of twin sisters Anna and Sonia Kuprienko, influences the duo’s fashion. Both wore their hair in short black styles, each accessorized with chunky silver jewelry and black clothing, leaning more into the “dark” aspect of the genre.

    Bloom Twins had a complex beginning. The two twins started their career in the public eye as models, but music was always in the background–both are classically trained musicians by encouragement from their musically inclined parents. Anna and Sonia met their music manager through their modeling manager after the latter posted a photo of the two on Facebook. The future music manager suggested that Anna and Sonia should move to London to test out their music careers after they finished school. Twelve years later, the two are still there, combining music and style as their full time careers.

    She’s Not Me”

    Even with similar alternative styles, Anna Kuprienko of Bloom Twins said that she could not be more different from her twin sister Sonia. “It’s so weird because we’re identical twins with the same DNA,” Anna said. “How was it possible that I’ve never met one person in my life that is so different to me?”

    The two combine their distinct styles to create a unique genre of music. Bloom Twins merges the alternative music tastes of Anna and the pop inspiration of Sonia to create their dark pop sound. “I tend to create more alternative instrumentals that are pretty dark, but you know, with good energy. She is more melodic–it’s more sophisticated, more pop.” Anna added about their opposite styles.

    These differences extend into the sides each of them gravitate toward in the process of creating music. Sonia leans into the more lyric and melody oriented part of the process while Anna focuses more on the production side.

    Anna said that she became interested in music production by the encouragement of her manager because of her interest in computers. The first song the twins wrote together was “She’s Not Me,” a track asking listeners to stop comparing the two sisters just because they look alike.

    The song is a noir, electronic inspired track that still feels like it has roots in the pop punk world with the duo’s vocals. Anna said that Bloom Twin’s original sound was inspired by the electronic music she was listening to at the time. The duo continued with this electronic sound with most of their tracks, even venturing into the dance music world with tracks like “High on Beat” with Jan Blomqvist. But recently, Bloom Twins has shifted even more into the pop punk world with their collaborative EP with X Ambassadors’ Sam Nelson.

    The team’s first EP together, Pretty in Pink, was released on Nov. 17, 2023 and contains the pop punk songs “Drunk and Loud,” “Beats Not Bombs,” and “Pretty in Pink.”

    Sonia said that the three began writing “Beats Not Bombs” together after the Bloom Twins reached out to Sam Nelson to collaborate.

    According to Sonia, Bloom Twins allowed themselves to experiment with a wide variety of sounds and genres because they refused to put themselves in a box from the start. Sonia said that they wrote the upbeat alternative rock song “Beats Not Bombs” in under two hours. In the middle of the writing process, Sonia said she suggested that she and her sister sing a part of the song like they’re drunk and loud. Sam Nelson decided that would be a great title for another song, so the three switched gears to write “Drunk and Loud.”

    Sonia described “Drunk and Loud” as one of those songs that you blast in your headphones as you ride the London underground. The beat of the song keeps you moving and the lyrics cause a reaction in the people around you.

    Pretty in Pink” is about a girl who is not afraid to tell it as it is. All the songs have distinct instrumental parts in the music, marking a departure from the band’s predominantly electronic
    discography.

    I believe that we allowed ourselves to not understand or classify how we’ve evolved because we allowed ourselves to get away with pretty much anything by calling our vision anything that it can be,” Sonia said.

    Sonia went on to say that “it’s important to not forget about the dance scene” when talking about the evolution of the group’s sound.

    Besides Sam Nelson, Bloom Twins has collaborated on projects with various DJs, such as
    “DayDream” with Benny Benassi and the aforementioned “High on Beat” with Jan Blomqvist.
    The twins said these collaborations mainly came about during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. “We wanted to dance, but we couldn’t and I believe that this music is the result of that oppression,” Sonia said.

    The duo got into contact with the DJs through Instagram DMs as well. It’s interesting to see how much social media impacts modern music careers–Bloom Twins’ most streamed song is “High on Beat,” a song that came to fruition over direct messaging. “Now that I’m saying this, I actually think it’s very strange that people not only took the time of their day to listen to our song because I don’t think that we were the only ones that were

    Sending them DMs. I also really don’t think we chose the songs that they liked, but they still rode with us,” Anna said.

    Honoring Their Roots

    One of the topics that Anna and Sonia consistently returned to throughout the interview was their home country of Ukraine. Sonia said that one of the main influences for the duo’s sound is the conflict in Ukraine.

    It definitely affected what we said, how we wrote, what we chose to write about, and what we chose to sing and when we chose to sing,” Sonia said. “It not only affected us as human beings, but it affected anything that we wanted to touch.”

    Sonia and Anna have been advocating and speaking up for Ukraine through their art since 2014 with the single “Get Up Stand Up #WeAreUkraine,” which is a cover of the Bob Marley song. The cover was released at the start of the Ukrainian conflict with Russia. Bloom Twins released a music video to go along with the cover that contained actual footage of what’s going on in Ukraine. The twins were given the opportunity to perform their song on BBC NewsNight to help raise awareness.

    When the war broke out in 2022, the twins took to social media to call out artists who used Ukraine to film music videos, but were not speaking out about the conflict. Through Daily Mail,
    Bloom Twins called out major artists like Jorja Smith and Coldplay for abandoning Ukraine and only caring about the country when it benefits them.

    Their activism led them to be recruited as organizers for Night for Ukraine, a benefit concert in September 2022. The concert was performed at the Roadhouse in north London and the
    proceeds from the event were donated to provide aid to people fleeing Ukraine after the Russian invasion.

    The twins said they will keep using their talents and platform to advocate and raise awareness about the war in Ukraine. They also want to inspire people in Ukraine to have hope and to
    continue to pursue their passions and talents despite the efforts of their oppressors.

    I want to tell all the Ukrainians to speak your talent, spread your talent in other countries if you can. Put your mark on the frickin world,” Anna said.

    Never Stop Blooming

    In terms of what’s next for Bloom Twins, the duo will be releasing a second 3 track EP in collaboration with Sam Nelson. In addition to these tracks, the Bloom Twins said they will be
    releasing a new single consistently every few weeks or so.

    The duo will also be touring with X Ambassadors for upcoming festival appearances. They are also working on a clothing brand that will be sold as merchandise at the duo’s future shows.

    The brand is called Gussi, which was inspired by how geese began attacking Russian soldiers after they invaded Ukraine. Proceeds from the clothing sale will be going to charities that help Ukraine and Ukrainian citizens.

    The twins said, akin to their band name, that they will keep developing their brand and exploring new realism, both in the music world and in other areas of the arts.

    Blooming roses basically means that you never stopped developing. You’re always growing into this new thing,” Anna said.

    We’re excited to see where Bloom Twins blossom next.

    total looks Michael Kors

    Anna wears

    dress Closet London
    shoes Essen
    choker Stylist's Own
    Sonya wears

    dress Closet London
    shoes Essen

    Sonya wears

    jacket Nadine Merabi

    skirt Ganni

    ring Maria black
     

    Sonya wears

    jacket Ganni
    trousers Maria black
    shoes Essen

    Anna wears

    total look Nadine Merabi

    shoes Essen

    Anna wears

    dress Nadine Merabi

    neckless Stylist's Own
    bracelet Tomwood Project

    total looks HUGO BLUE
    dresses Maska
    stockings Stylist's Own
    shoes Closet London

    photography Sandra Myhrberg

    fashion Alphons Amuri 

    makeup Yin Lee

    hair Dayna Vaughan-Teague 

    special thanks to The Ragged School Museum 

    total looks Michael Kors
  • photography Sandra Myhrberg

    fashion Jahwanna Berglund

    .

    total look HUGO

    jewelry Maria Nilsdotter

    The New Era Interview with Jireel

    Written by Yasmine M

    The Swedish artist Jireel is back. He is one of Sweden's biggest in his game of feel-good tracks and ready to take on 2024. Odalisque meet up with Jireel for an editorial photoshoot embracing the new era of his artistic side. Talking about everything from his devoted fans, how to take care of his mind, and of course the new album and tour annoncement. 

    From ''Snap'' to ''Cataleya'' in 2017, how do you feel you have evolved throughout the years? 
    I definitely feel like I've evolved a lot. Coming into the industry, I wanted to work with as many different artists and producers as possible. In the end, you learn something from every person you work with. It goes a lot faster for me now to create music, and everything is just super natural. Experience is the key.

    How would you describe your musical style today?
    I honestly feel like my style is my style. My sound has been shaping into this fusion of all the genres I've been touching lately. When you listen to my music today, I think you will find flavors from hip-hop and RNB, to afro beats, kizomba, and pop in my latest album, and it's that fusion that makes my sound unique to me.

    Tell us about your new album. How was it writing it, how has it been creating it?
    It's been a fun journey. I've been going a little back and forth about the exact tracklist, but I tried to connect as much to personal experiences and feelings as possible in this album. To do that I had to feel a lot myself, and I also had to touch my roots to get out the sound I wanted for the album.

    .

    What emotions do you want listeners to have when they listen to your music and new album?
    I want my listeners to relate, and be able to feel what they need to feel for the songs. The album is designed for you to just feel. There are some songs on the album I think you can relate very differently to, some songs will make some people dance and smile, while the same song can on the other side make people miss somebody, or relate directly to a prior situation in their lives. I want to touch both the heart and the mind with this album.

    What inspires you to write and create music?
    Everything around me. Personal stories, stuff that happens around me, and certain feelings and experiences.

    Tell us three things about you that are important or funny?
    1. Don't mess with my sleep. 2. Avoid me when I'm hungry 3. I just dropped an album and you are really missing out if you haven't listened yet.

    Do you have any wishes? Advice for others?
    I always wish for my family, and the people around me to be good, all of them. My advice for others would be: to avoid negativity. Life's too short and we should all do the best of it, and really try to live our lives to the fullest.

    .

    You have your very own record label Records by MOTYhow does that feel?
    It was a natural step in my career. I'm reaching my 10th year as an artist, and I've learned so much stuff along the way. What I want to do is to help the next generations of artists get into the industry the right way. I want to give artists the right tools to be able to create as good music as possible, and at the same time teach them how the music industry works, and help them avoid mistakes that can be avoided.

    What do you enjoy doing when not working?
    I really love training, mostly in the gym but I'm down to play almost any sport as well. Other than that I like reading, and just taking time off to relax.

    How do you keep yourself sane with all your attention and work?
    I think it's important to have a good structure in work, and in life, but also to have a good set of people around you. People who look out for you, people who care about you, and people who keep it real with you.

    With all the different projects in your life, how do you gather energy? Has living in another country changed anything?
    Routines, I get my energy from staying disciplined with my food, my training, and my mental well-being. Moving to another country gave me so much more time to focus on myself, and my music, and I really found my safe spot in Mallorca.

    What are your plans for the summer and fall?
    More songs, more music. Being independent really gives me the freedom to release at my own pace. I also got some international collabs thats dropping this summer. This fall, I'll be performing at Annexet in Stockholm on the 23rd of November, as a part of my Scandinavian tour. I'm really looking forward to playing all this new music with a whole new stage design.

    Shortly after the release of the spring album 'Luanda', the ever-restless Jireel is now releasing a summer single. 'IBIZA' is a straightforward declaration of love produced by Dylano, who was also involved in the smash hit 'MANO'.

    This fall, Jireel will embark on his first Scandinavian tour.

    Listen to 'IBIZA' (Release: 6/28)#”

    robe and trousers OAS
    vest and shoes Filippa K
    necklace and bracelet Maria Nilsdotter
    ring Izabella Display
    shirt OAS
    trousers Tiger of Sweden
    bracelet Cartier
    rings Maria Nilsdotter
    total look HUGO
    belt Oscar Jacobson
    ring Maria Nilsdotter
    shirt and belt Oscar Jacobson
    trousers Filippa K 
    bracelet Cartier
    rings Maria Nilsdotter
     suit Oscar Jacobson
    turtleneck Filippa K
    jewelry Izabel Display

    photography Sandra Myhrberg

    fashion Jahwanna Berglund

    grooming Adam Nilsson

    assistants Idde Beskow & Lovisa Zettergren

    special thanks Näsby Slott

  • CHANEL BEAUTY BACKSTAGES FALL-WINTER 2024/25 HAUTE COUTURE

    Written by Fashion Tales

    MAKE-UP STEP BY STEP


    COMPLEXION
    Apply LES BEIGES WATER-FRESH COMPLEXION TOUCH with the
    2-IN-1 FOUNDATION BRUSH FLUID AND POWDER N°101.

    Correct the imperfections of the face using LE CORRECTEUR DE CHANEL with the RETRACTABLE DUAL-TIP CONCEALER BRUSH N°105 where needed.

    According to your skin tone, apply EXCLUSIVE CREATION DIAMOND DUST GOLD AND PEACH or LIGHT AND BERRY on your cheeks.

    According to your skin tone, add BAUME ESSENTIEL MOONLIGHT KISS or BAUME ESSENTIEL SOLAR GLOW on the apples of the cheeks using the PRECISION POWDER BRUSH N° 111.

    EYEBROWS
    Brush the brows with DUAL-ENDED BROW BRUSH N°207.  Fill in with the STYLO SOURCILS HAUTE PRECISION. Apply le GEL SOURCILS in TRANSPARENT to add depth to hairs for a strong result.

    EYES
    According to your skin tone, apply STYLO OMBRE & CONTOUR 42 CELESTIAL PINK or 52 ATTAYA directly on the mobile eyelid. Blend it with RETRACTABLE DUAL-ENDED EYESHADOW BRUSH N°200 all over the mobile eyelid.

    LIPS
    Apply a light touch of 31 LE ROUGE in ROUGE LION or ROUGE INTIMISTE (further the look) in the middle of your lips and smudge it all over the lips.

    NAILS
    Prepare with a coat of LA BASE CAMÉLIA. Set up with LE VERNIS DE CHANEL 111 BALLERINA, fix and add shine with LE GEL COAT.

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