Q&A with global pop-star Karen Ruimy

1. Has creativity always played an important role in your life?

I am an artist so I am living my life around my creativity yes. And when I am creative and I receive this magical flow of being inspired, or training my dance or singing, or writing these are the moments when I feel the most myself. The most vibrant moments are in creativity. So yes I am always on the search for them.

2. What was the best thing writing books taught you?

It taught me total honesty, and authenticity. You can touch people, or you can feel the high energy of spirit only when you reach your true self, your true feelings. From there, you can receive the wisdom or healing you need. Your true inner self is your gateway to your higher energy. The second thing it taught me is trust and finding the flow. Writing is a great lesson of trust. Sitting down and knowing you will enter a space of creativity and receiving. When I don’t write for a while, I feel how energies get stuck in myself. I so need to download, clarify my mind, and from there receive some great knowledge to share. It is a healing and a sharing. It is such a moment of celebrating life experiences and finding the light and progress from it.

  1. Why did you decide to start your brand KALMAR?

My passion is spiritual progress and the expansion of our consciousness. Offering the writings is one thing but I felt creating scents was another powerful tool to share. I believe scents have an amazing power to bring you back to some deep and high energies. So I decided to create some scents to help people realign themselves in their own rituals with the energies they need Joy, Calm, Peace and Love.

I wanted to share this beautiful way of life I have created for myself all based of finding the higher energies in your day and living form a positive mindset and connection to the soul. That’s why we called it Kalmar for your soul and senses.

  1. Do you have a favourite aspect of running the business?

I am a creative so all things creative and spiritual are totally my thing. From creating the scents with the nose in a lab, to creating some prints for the caftans because colours are vibrant healing energies are my delicious activities in Kalmar. And obviously all the meditations and rituals I create for our customers.

I also love to help the team work from their highest energy, their intuition and trying to be aligned with the flow.

I have an amazing team around me to take care of the running of the business.

  1. Where is your favourite place in the world and why?

Hawaii.

The energy of the Pacific, the energy of the ancestors.

The energy of the goddess Kali.

The gorgeousness of nature. Being on an island always heals me and brings me back to my deep nature of being totally merged to Mother Nature.

  1. Why did you choose to do a cover EP?

I met Phil Ramone in NY. He wanted to create this project with me as he really loved the voice. And after working together we felt it would be such an amazing adventure to bring back these songs form these string women in the 30-40’S.

I kind of trusted him totally as he was such an incredible producer who worked with so many incredible artists. For me it was like a huge opening in my artistic life. I took it like a gift of life.

  1. What was the process you used to choose the tracks you covered?

The feeling. How do I feel when I sing this song? Is it something I can create from my deep artistic self? Am I pushing it because Phil likes it? 

Honesty basically.

  1. How has your spiritual journey inspired your music?

Finding my voice as a writer was all inside. It is in essence finding your true self, and finding your voice.

I remember the first vocal session was with an Indian master learning the Sa Re Ga Ma etc.. it was all about connecting to the universal voice inside. Vibing with the inside with no rules. It was this in-between journey between music and voice. So this has been so important to me. Music and the spiritual journey are one in me since 30 years.

But also music has inspired me for all I am creating in my spiritual journey.

My meditations are always synchronised to amazing music.

My spiritual journey has opened in myself avenues of creativity and trusting my artistic soul that has allowed to open up to my singing. I know deep inside myself the singing and the channelling of my soul are one.

When I guide a meditation I use a certain tone of my voice and it is touching people souls. And this is a natural process.

When I sing I love to reach this authentic voice that comes from deep. I feel that when I touch people. Such a dream to be able to do so. And this album has in a way allowed me to merge both sides of myself.

  1. What would you say drove your interest in Jazz?

Jazz has that softness that is close to my heart and soul expression. Emotionally very close to me. And it has also this very important character of being always different. It is not a precise music, it is a music of the heart and the moment. Exactly like flamenco. There is not one same gig ever.