Bloom Twins – 20 Questions 

The Bloom Twins are 19-year-old identical twins Sonia and Anna Kuprienko who grew up in a small town outside of Kiev in Ukraine, but are now based in London. Their sound is described as ‘dark-pop’ and they have caught the attention of fellow musicians such as Nick Rhodes from Duran Duran and various publications including Vogue, Nemero and The Sunday Times. With their new single due for release in February 2016, we gave them a set of Pete’s customised 20 Questions. Here are their responses:

Sonia Kuprienko

  • Suggest two or three great drum intro’s to songs or instrumentals – any genre (tune /artist/ source album)

Come Together/ The Beatles/ Come Together

Ringo is a master!

Rock and Roll/ Led Zeppelin/ Led Zeppelin

50 Ways to Leave Your Lover/ Paul Simon/ Still Crazy After All These Years.

  • Name a great recording including in the title 1/ Black 2/ White 3/ Blue (artist / title / source album for each please) and explain why chosen

Amy Winehouse/ Back to Black/ Back to Black. It is one of my favourite songs and lyrics. Very deep, emotional, dark. Everything that I love.

Disclosure feat. Aluna George/ White Noise/ White Noise. It is Fresh, new and easy.

Lana Del Ray/ Blue Jeans/ Born To Die.

Beautiful, haunting and a dark song.

  • A recording that makes you laugh ….intentionally or otherwise! (artist / track / source album )

Flight of the Conchords/ Business Time/ Flight of the Conchords

  • What has Anna worn that has made you laugh?

Penguin onesie. Actually both of us did and went for walk.

  • What was it like growing up in Ukraine?

It was very good actually! We have a very big family, with the huge dog at that time.  We had no time for dolls, but it was actually our fault, we started singing before we could talk, and we were doing it non stop. Our parents didn’t have a choice other then put us in a music school, to learn everything what we could. Very proud to be from Ukraine. It taught us how to work, to laugh, and to laugh again.

  • Suggest an ‘expanded edition’ album release where the additional cuts impress you…and why?

Adele ’19’! It is very beautiful set of acoustic songs live from Hotel Cafe, really makes you feel connected with her.

  • Which of your own recordings show you at your most a/ aggressive b/ relaxed c/ confused?

a) Black Heart

b) Do You Dare

c) Amnesia

  • Which artist did you go to see perform with low expectations but ended up impressed? Where and when was this?

Nothing But Thieves. We were on a same bill with them at the Great Escape Festival in Brighton few years back, and when we just saw them, we expected something like “One Direction” as they are pretty good looking, but when they started playing we were completely blown away by their music and performance.

  • Where in the world in your opinion is live music best received? What venues appeal?

We can only speak in regards to places where we played. Our favourite places were Lisbon, Portugal; Bournemouth in BIC (Bournemouth International Centre) Audience was so cheerful and happy; Liverpool was also fantastically warm.

  • Two tickets suddenly arrive for a live performance, they are for someone you have always wanted to see…….which act or artist and which numbers will be hoping to hear?

Thom Yorke. ‘Lotus Flower’.

Anna Kuprienko

  •  Has a radio DJ anywhere (and any era) ever impressed you and if so why?

Zane Lowe because he was great in discovering and playing some amazing talent.

  • Can you dance? Do you dance? How do your family rate your dancing?

I do dance, wouldn’t say that I can though. I never asked my parents how they would rate my dancing skills but I’m sure it will be 3-5 out of 10.

  • Name a recording (an album maybe) that really ‘grew’ on you and has ended up as essential listening? What is it about this recording that you value?

Thom Yorke “King of Limps” and “Lotus Flower” is my favourite song. As for me this album (and the song especially) changed how I perceive music.

  •  Everytime I get a ‘Best Of…’ of anybody, there’s a song or two missing that I wish had been included….can you think of an instance of this? What are the missing items that you would like to have seen included?

In Radiohead- “Best Of” is definitely missing “Everything In Its Right Place” and “Fake Plastic Bottles”.

  • Suggest a song that reminds you of your childhood – and why might this be?

The Beatles- “Help”. As my parents used to listen to it on repeat when we were waking up.

  • What has Sonia worn that has made you laugh?

Penguin onesie.

  • Is there a book or novel that you would like to create songs or the score for? Why is this?

“The Operator” by Tom King. It’s based on true story of David Geffen. It’s about music industry 1970-1990 years. And band like Rolling Stones and singer/songwriter as Laura Nyro really inspired me.

  • Which is the best sequenced album- any artist, any genre – that you really rate and why is this? Any favourite songs or pieces on this album? ( I like the running order of Spirit’s ‘ 12 Dreams of Dr Sardonicus’,,by the end a lot of ground has been covered)

Adele- “21”. She was so young when she released the album! Her music is so deep and so inspiring. She didn’t need electronic production to express her talent and it was enough for everyone else too!

  • How did the guest slot on Duran Duran’s 2015 UK arena tour come about?

Nick Rhodes photographed us for “Untitled” magazine. Then he was invited to a Christmas party where we played. We chatted at a party and he asked whether we’d like to write a song with him. 8 beautiful songs later Duran Duran were going on tour and considered us to be one of the support artists. It was a big risk for them to give us that chance to play UK’s biggest arenas.  We are really grateful for this opportunity.

  • Did you enjoy school? Whether you did or not, which song reminds you of schooldays (artist / title / source album)?

I (Anna)  enjoyed seeing my friends and Math, nothing else.

Radiohead- “2+2=5”, Hail To The Thief

Beck- “New Pollution”, Odelay

Pete Sargeant

The Bloom Twins will release their new single in February 2016 which will be followed by the release of their debut EP. For more information and social media links visit: http://bloomtwins.com/

(Thanks to both Anna and Sonia for taking part in our ’20 Questions With…’ series and Lenka Chubuklieva who helped make this article possible.)