Since arriving four years ago as a seventeen-year-old in the United States, the Gold Coast’s Kelsy Karter has been making a name for herself with her brand of soul/ pop music.
Kelsy is based in Beverly Hills and made the life-changing decision to move overseas after graduating from high school. “I have always felt like a bit of an outsider, like I don't want to say I didn't fit in with normalcy, but I always saw something more chaotic for myself. When I was growing up, I went to America a lot and saw people doing what I had always loved doing, and they did it as their life. It was their career. It has always been something I had planned to do. I went over to America just before my 17nth birthday for a dance tour, basically workshops at all the major performing arts centres, and I saw people just doing crazy things with their careers. I went home and said to my Mum: 'That's where I need to be’.
“So after school I just got on a plane and left. It was kind of a quick thing, I didn't really think about what I was doing. And it's funny because about a year later I looked at myself and thought 'how did I do it?’ because I think being so young and doing it you just don't think, you just go. But now I think about it and go 'I don't think I could have done it right now'. I wanted to go and just do it.”
The last three years have been incredibly educating for Kelsy, and she's adopted a fantastic attitude towards her music and performance. “I have been through so many situations in LA. Projects, producers and different people pushing me in a certain direction, trying to fit in. This EP [‘Kiss The Boys’] I have complete control, I've taken the bull by the horns and said 'whatever comes out of me is what I'm supposed to put out'. If people dig it, sweet. If they don't, sweet. Being true to myself as a musician is what I care about.
“[The EP’s] going to have a mix of the elements I grew up on. I've got a kind of strange tone to my voice, and when you're a musician in LA you've got to capitalise on your strength. So it's going to be a mix of soul and pop, some rock and roll in there. Very theatrical. I grew up performing in the theatre, so I love theatrical ethics and cinematic type stuff. So I've got a lot of orchestra stuff in there, a lot of real instruments.”
She's been hammering out songs nonstop, including a piece about her favourite actor. “The first movie I saw that made me want to be a performer was ‘Edward Scissorhands’. When I first saw that movie, it just took me. Everybody that knows me, knows that movie defines me as a person. I love [Johnny Depp] to death, as you can tell from the song I wrote. It's supposed to be funny, but I got some pretty hectic mail from Johnny Depp fans, telling me to stay away, that he's theirs.”
In the States, Kelsy has been dubbed the ‘Rebel Doll’ by local press. While she’s building a career Stateside, Kelsy will never forget her Gold Coast roots. “I would always claim to be half-American growing up, to brag about it. Then as soon as I left and moved to America, I learned how to appreciate my home a lot more. There's no place like the Gold Coast, especially in America. I definitely appreciate the beaches. There's no place like home.”
Written by Daniel Conaghan
Kelsy Karter will be releasing three videos in the next three months as she continues to work on her debut EP, ‘Kiss The Boys’.
