Blending British resilience with Australian charm, Kelsy Karter + The Heroines have captivated the global music scene with their electrifying fusion of defiant rock ‘n’ roll and unbridled artistry. With their signature edge and raw energy, the band is excited to unveil their highly anticipated new album, “LOVE MADE ME DO IT“, set for release on January 31. To delve deeper into this upcoming launch, we caught up with singer and frontwoman Kelsey Karter.
Kelsey and “LOVE MADE ME DO IT”
So, Kelsy, welcome to Femme Metal Webzine. And how are you, and how these days are treating you?
Yeah, I’m good. Thank you. I’ve we’re off tour at the moment. Um, so I’ve just been taking advantage of the time to write a lot. And, yeah, hang out with my loved ones.
I know the tour is in support of “LOVE MADE ME DO IT”, which we arrive on the 31st of January next year. What you can share about the general production of the album?
God is big. I guess that’s probably the main thing. It’s a very big record. It’s electric, it’s emotional, it’s dramatic, it’s theatrical, it’s very intentional, I would say, like, everything about it is, is very intentional.
A very intentional album
What do you mean by ‘very intentional’? Did you build up everything or…?
We took our time crafting this album with a lot of care and intention. Nothing about it was rushed or left to chance; every detail was deliberate. It’s a well-thought-out piece of work, and we’re proud of
“LOVE MADE ME DO IT”- the rock opera
“LOVE MADE ME DO IT” is described as a rock opera. Its central theme explores the multifaceted nature of love, highlighting its many sides, facets, and textures. Love, as portrayed in this opus, can be everything—complex, beautiful, and profound. But at the end, which is its main focal theme?
It is about all-encompassing types of love, like everything, all the different types of love you can feel, and the duality of love, you know, the good and the bad, the delicate and the aggressive, the joyousness of it and the pain of it. It’s just all-encompassing love and just the different types of love that we experience.
The opener single “Hotel Flamingo”
I love the opening single “Hotel Flamingo”, and you sing also, “She could kill me if she wanted to Like all the broken lovers do”. I feel like he’s talking about a sort of relationship, a conflicted relationship. And this hotel Flamingo is the, you know, the place where all this happened. I don’t know. It’s my interpretation, you know, yeah. I mean, to hear it from you…
I mean, you’re pretty dead on. You know, everybody talks about the love of a partner or a friend or oneself, but nobody ever talks about the love, the power of love from a stranger. And when I was going through a dark place, I wanted anyone but someone I knew, you know, I wanted someone who didn’t know me.
I wanted someone that I could pretend to be someone else with and sometimes standing on the edge of the cliff is putting yourself at risk at whatever, whatever that means for you in this story, it means finding a stranger and locking yourself in a room with them where they could potentially kill you and but it is also a metaphor for love killing us.
Thinking about a hotel Flamingo
You know, when we feel love at its deepest, it is the most incredible thing, but it’s also the most painful thing. And you know it, it’s in my experience, anyway, I feel like I could die when I feel horrible pain from love, you know? So you were right about the hotel Flamingo isn’t necessarily a place like a hotel.
It’s a to whatever you need it to be, you know? It’s the place that you go to fall in love. It’s the place. You go to find yourself, it’s a place you go to die. It’s, it’s whatever you interpret “Hotel Flamingo” as, but in the song for me, yeah, it’s the place to be someone else. I guess that’s what it meant for me.
Autobiographical elements
“Hotel Flamingo” reflects the autobiographical elements of the opera. How challenging was it for you to put your feelings, emotions, and personal experiences on display? It’s almost like sharing a deeply personal part of your life with strangers, as you mentioned earlier. Did it feel like exposing yourself completely, and was that a confronting experience for you?
Do you know what? It’s really funny. You’re making me think about it because it’s ironic. I’m a very private person. I’m very guarded, I have always been very guarded in my privacy. I used to hide by my parent’s legs when I met a stranger. I was a child when I and I’ve always been guarded and private [laughs]. But one thing that I think is powerful as being an in being a voice, a front woman, a songwriter, or a performer, is that we get to tell our stories and expose ourselves and our vulnerability through our art. And I don’t find it hard to do when I’m writing a song or performing it.
It’s when I have to speak about it like this that’s harder for me than putting it in a song. And with my first album, I saw how the most vulnerable songs were the ones that resonated with people. And, I got into this business to make people feel something, and I saw the power of that through being, you know, honest in my songs. So, it’s weirdly easy to be vulnerable in songwriting, easier than it is to be in conversation.
Speaking about feelings…
Do you ever feel like you’re overanalyzing when you talk about it? Like in a session with a therapist. It seems more like you’re just sharing your thoughts. But when I listen to “Hotel Flamingo,” it feels like a vivid experience—something open to many interpretations. Honestly, I’ve never thought about it that way before.
I would never sit there and tell someone when I was going through heartbreak and wanted to leave this earth. I just wanted to go and sleep with a stranger down the street at a bar. I like, I wouldn’t, I probably wouldn’t say that out loud to someone, but I’ll say it in a song, you know, so and like, it’s, yeah, it’s interesting. I don’t know why that’s what you’ve met. You’ve made me think about it. I’ve never really thought about it.
The trailer of “LOVE MADE ME DO IT”
I’m really glad I allowed you to trigger some different perspectives, so to speak, because I love the song—it’s kind of stuck in my head right now. Also, I watched the trailer for the album, and there’s this scene with the heroines. I see you, Kelsey, lying on the ground while the band is shouting at you: ‘Are you well? Kelsey, come on, wake up, stand up,’ something like that. It’s such a powerful moment!
Then, I read the statement in the YouTube description and learned that this album is self-produced, with no involvement from major labels or record companies, as far as I understand. So, I’m curious—how difficult is it nowadays to be an independent artist and release something as monumental as this?
I think I’m quite good at problem-solving. It’s something that I’ve always been good at. I always liked puzzles. I always liked to like, I had to crack a lock, like, I want to be the one to do it. It’s something that I’ve always enjoyed, and I learned throughout my career that nobody knows what they’re doing. It’s just people are throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks. And so who’s to say? You know, I was signed to a big label, released my first album through a big label, and love them.
Being an independent artist
No bad blood, all good, all love, but it wasn’t the experience that you think it’s going to be, I realized that most of my success has come from outside of that experience, from being independent, from taking our careers by the balls for like, a better term, and like steering the ship, you know, ourselves. Um, we have an incredible creative team that surrounds us.
And I’m obviously the boss, which is a position I like to be in, but it’s like a machine, and you have to have all the parts of the machine. And thus far, we haven’t experienced too much, too much of an issue of not being signed to a major label. If anything, we get more creative control. We get to call the shots. We get to write what we want, say what we want, where what we want. And I’m, you know, I built my career off of that. So our thought process is, we’re just, we’re moving the train to whoever wants to get on and join us. Get on. If you don’t piss off, we’re going to keep moving. You know, that’s just our mindset.
Kelsey and the partnership with their fans
It’s easier for fans to reach out to the band these days. From what I’ve noticed when artists are associated with a big company, they often become somewhat ‘protected’ or distant, making them less accessible. As a fan, it can feel like it’s harder to communicate with the artists themselves.
Absolutely. I think it’s crucial, no matter what your business setup or level of success is, to establish boundaries. Just like a fan wouldn’t want you calling them at home, you need to set clear boundaries and maintain mutual respect between yourself and your fans. That said, I view it as a partnership. I can’t do what I do without them, and they’re there because they connect with the music. When we’re at a show, it’s not just my show — it’s our show, together. We’re in this as partners. It’s our thing. So, I believe it’s really important to connect with your fans, regardless of your level. There are pros and cons to both being signed and being independent.
The current plans
You’re currently touring the East Coast in the US. I wanted to ask you, well, January 31st, 2025 is the release of the album. Is there any chance for also the Europe audience to see you on the other side of the world?
Yes, there is, trust me, it’s coming. We are doing 100% doing Europe and the UK and well, this coming year 2025, we will be bringing the album over there, for sure. It’s all okay, yeah, now the Netherlands is one of our favorite place, places to perform. We love it there.