Carmen Modjito is Melbourne newest up-and-coming sass-pop diva. An experienced performer, Carmen honed her skills on the musical theatre stage, as well as in her bedroom listening to Kate Miller-Heidke, Amy Winehouse and Mariah Carey. These influences and cultured background in music has helped shape up the iconic star that is today. Her style is eclectic and warm, and always served with a touch of sass. Her debut album, ‘Girl On Caffeine’ was released in April 2018 and can be found on most streaming and music download sites. But if you want to get into her newest hits, Her most recent and fresh music video, "Sweet Seductive Night", was released on 1st March 2019!
“Sweet Seductive Night” is the perfect song to share a dance with between you and a companion. The well produced video displayed that. In the visual released, "Sweet Seductive Night" demonstrated two people doing a specific style of dance some may call the Tango. The ballroom styled music complemented the smooth suave rhythm between both characters and emphasized the chemistry between them both by adding fitting lyrics. “The way he talks, the way he walks to me” Carmen sings to help create that moment of passion and connection. A noticeable moment in this song for me was the transition around 2:48 where there was a sudden change in rhythmic tempo and pace. It gave the song a little bit more versatility and in my opinion added gasoline to the already fiery record. Right after that transition, the song goes back to its sultry and sensual aura and it feels even more sensational due to the meticulous timing in transitions. Just like the title of the record, “Sweet Seductive Night” is everything sweet, seductive, with a hint of a dark atmosphere surrounding the tangible hit.
Listen to Carmen's "Sweet Seductive Night" now on Spotify!
Check below for Carmen's exclusive interview, giving us the in on her album and goals for this year!
Hey Carmen! Great to chat with you. Can you tell our readers a bit about you!
Hi there! I’m a 23 year old singer/songwriter based in Melbourne, Australia, and I write pop music, usually with some sass! I’ve been singing since I was very little, but I didn’t see music as a career until I was about 15, and then I thought I’d end up on the musical theatre stage. Pop didn’t come into my life as an option until later! I’m still developing as a songwriter, but I’ve always loved telling stories and songwriting is has become my favourite way to share my experiences and others’.
How is the music scene in Melbourne, Australia?
We’re very lucky with the music scene in Melbourne — it’s very established and part of the culture of Melbourne, as are the arts generally and there’s always something on no matter what night you go out. The hardest part is picking what you want to see! Melbourne has the reputation for being Australia’s artsiest city, and I think it’s deserved… but I’m biased ;)
You have some great musical influences, who do you think made the greatest impact on your artistry!?
Ooh, that’s tricky because I think different artists have influenced different parts of what I do, but I’d say Australian performer Kate Miller-Heidke has probably had the biggest influence. I love the way she combines her classical training and quirky songwriting to create music that is really original. Growing up I also listened to a lot of Chaka Khan, Amy Winehouse and Sara Bareilles (as different as they are). Chaka Khan has such power and incredible spirit in the way she performs all her songs; Amy Winehouse is so sassy and delivers her songs with a rawness that’s aspirational for me; and Sara Bareilles plays with emotion and pop fun in a way that really resonates with me and I try to draw on all these qualities when I write and perform.
Tell us a little bit about your past album ‘Girl On Caffeine’
Girl On Caffeine kind of came about by accident! About a year before we started recording I went through a difficult period in my dating life and suddenly had an idea for a song pop into my head (it would end up being the most controversial song on the album, “CMFK”) that I ended up demoing for a music class at uni in September of 2016. I really enjoyed the process, and thought it would be fun to record it in a studio, and by chance a recording studio owner was friends with my old boss. In the following January I got in contact with him, intending to record a short 3-4 song EP… but by the time we started recording in June I had a whole album’s worth of material I wanted to put together, and it became my first album, Girl On Caffeine.
“Sweet Seductive Night” was such a pleasant song! Can you tell us a bit about the creation of it!
A friend and I wrote “Sweet Seductive Night” when I was 16 after going to see my favourite band (The Cat Empire) in concert. We were goofing around (her on the guitar, me singing) and she played a couple of chords and immediately I got an idea. 20 minutes later we had the whole song done! When I got into the studio to record the album I decided I wanted it included, and my co-producer suggested adding the percussion and trumpet, which totally lifts the song and make you want to dance… like we did in the music video!
I was so excited to get to dance for the video of “Sweet Seductive Night”, especially with my dance partner, Tito, who helped to make it such a fun experience. We worked hard not just on the dance, but also on our connection as actor/dancers so that we conveyed the story of the song, which our main choreographer, Angela Fayth, really helped us with. Between her and Jai Barkley the choreography turned out so beautifully, and when we added lights and costumes on the shoot day it all came together as I’d hoped. The crew were great at executing what I’d envisioned and I’m really proud of the final product.
What’s next for you through 2019?
2019 will be a big year. I’ve been writing a lot of new material that I’m really excited about, and I’m hoping to start work on recording it later in the year. In the meantime I’m still studying music at university, and planning to get more regular gigs happening in Melbourne. There may be another music video or two (no spoilers!), and I’ve got some other creative ideas I want to try out that might be a little less musical... We’ll see! I’m loving exploring new songs and ideas and I can’t wait to share some of it — soon!
Be sure to check out Carmen on her socials to stay connected: