Today we’d like to introduce you to Charlene Louissa (artist Louissa) Kaminski
Hi Charlene Louissa (artist LOUISSA), we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Absolutely, and I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to share my story. I first began music actually as an instrumentalist and a dancer. I was writing songs, but they were more like poems with no melody. My house was musical – my mother was an amazing pianist and she and my dad were always playing records and tapes. I studied piano under my mother and grew up dancing around the home to her playing classical pieces and ragtime pieces. I truly was an entertainer first – putting on shows and wearing dance costumes everywhere. My mom ended up getting breast cancer when I was very young, so my dad put me into violin lessons with a Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra member for violin and another piano teacher to continue to nurture my passion. By the time I turned ten years old, my mom had succumbed to her illness. Life was messy, and although my love for music was still there, my musical endeavors became more of an internal pursuit.
By age 11, I was teaching myself how to produce in Fruity loops. Around the same time I begged my dad for voice lessons and began studying with an opera singer. I consider this to be the pinnacle moment for me. Music and creative expression were my therapy after losing my mom. It was my way to find a life beyond a life without my mom. Louissa came from grief, a feeling of not feeling seen or heard. From that point, my artistry has been an evolving evolution of alchemized highs and lows.
I found myself in and out of the journey in adulthood. Fitness and motherhood overshadowed music, but In 2015, I feel that the Universe shook me so hard to wake up. I fell ill with Lyme encephalitis overnight. It was doctor to doctor, test to test, and being nearly bedridden at times. It was single-handedly some of the darkest days of my life. I still suffer from some lingering symptoms and have to take extra care of my body. But, I turned back to music. I used it as an escape from my physical body. And, just as I was healing from my own life-altering illness in 2017, my dad fell ill and passed within three months. We spent much time connecting and talking about music while he was in the hospital. He asked me why I never really pursued it. Something in me clicked from that conversation and here I am today. I’ve made so many songs, graced so many venues and collaborated with people I could only dream of.
I have somehow found myself in the presence of Grammy nominees and winners and platinum and billboard charting industry professionals. It’s pretty surreal. I try to learn every bit that I can from them when we collaborate. I’m working really hard to live a life I look back on and am proud of. I’ve released several singles, and now I feel it’s time to really embrace everything that makes me unique to truly craft a sonic and visual story. I really want to get more into producing, to get out what I hear in my head. I want to learn more about mixing and do shows all over the world. I want to do it all!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Not in the least. It’s sometimes hard to wrap my head around how the thing I love so much can have a journey that can cause so much grief. Eventually, I see the lessons from it all and it makes me a better human and creative. I have battled false promises, financial scams, rejection, health issues and life. I often feel like my support system is small, especially after losing my parents. My husband is also military, so there are times it is just me and my daughter. I rely on a lot of internal strength. My body really hasn’t been the same since getting Lyme disease. This process has been more of a mental battle than anything. You are forced to face shadows of your mind you didn’t know where there – to dig deep for a tenacity and grit you couldn’t fathom you had. It’s easy to get distracted by the path of others, but this journey is for you and you alone.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I like to say I’m a mood curator. I do that through my mediums as a singer, song writer, live performer, vocal arranger and producer.
It’s been really fulfilling to recognize my ability to shift the energy in a room with my studio and live performances. My music is genre melding. The songs are very empowering and ethereal, sometimes dark – but those parts of me seem to reach people that need to find me and I need to find them.
On this crazy journey, I have had the pleasure to be featured on Pharrell’s Mighty Dream Forum, be nominated for several awards, and grace many venues. My favorite time is in the quiet of the studio working on demos, collaborating, writing, and producing. I have learned so much about myself, all that I went through and why, that an artist is to be someone without limits – to be a vessel. The goal is to embrace every idiosyncrasy and connect with those that see you and you see. I feel I’m just now sonically coming into my own. I am just getting started. Every song, session, and performance I learn more about what works and what doesn’t and how I want to grow and develop. I have a grit that has gotten me through the darkest of times. I can always get back up and start again.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
I hope that my story and my music empowers others. That there can be so many detours and so many hopeless times, but you can alchemize that. It’s never too late. Embrace every inch of your sprit. Life can knock you down a thousand times, but make sure you get back up one thousand and one.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/louissamood/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/louissamood/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtOVrOSM7uwAEsMGXbiUMfg
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@louissamood
Image Credits
Jordan Pope
Reinhardt Kenneth
Robert DG
