By: Shayla Lee
Crimson Apple is a Hawaiian-bred, Los Angeles-based pop group composed four sisters; Colby Benson as the lead vocalist, Shelby Benson on the guitar, Carthi Benson on the bass, and Faith Benson playing the drums. In 2015, the sisters took the leap across the pond from Hawaii to LA to pursue their dream of music. The girls have been hard at work releasing new music and touring. Crimson Apple’s latest track “Somebody” is full of beautiful soaring vocals, drums, and a production that fuses together pop and electronic elements.
I had the chance to chat with the band about their new music, what it’s like being in a family band, and what we can expect from them this year.
To people unfamiliar with you and your music, how would you describe Crimson Apple to them?
Crimson Apple: Crimson Apple is a pop-alt band of four sisters from Hawaii, now based in Los Angeles. We would describe our sound as a cinematic, dark-pop.
Where do you draw inspiration for your music? Who are some of your musical influences?
We draw inspiration from a wide variety of genres. Some of our favorite artists include Twenty One Pilots, Halsey, Taylor Swift, Imagine Dragons, and The Neighborhood. We’re also really inspired by Japanese Rock and K-Pop music. We tend to write about issues or emotions that are important to the band.
Last year you released your track ‘Can’t Get Out Of Bed’ and it’s definitely a banger. Can you tell us more about this song and the inspiration behind it?
Can’t Get Out of Bed was inspired by our lead vocalist’s experience with depression. The song is about struggling with depression and having a hard time explaining it to the important people in your life.
How do you approach creating music? Is it the same process each time or does it vary depending on the situation?
It definitely varies depending on the situation. Sometimes the band will start jamming something together in rehearsal, but other times an individual member will have an idea and bring it to the group to finish. Often times, we start with either catchy melodies or musical hooks or lyrical ideas.
What is the best part and worst part of being a family band?
The best part would be that it’s brought us so much closer together as sisters and as best friends. There’s also a certain chemistry that comes along with being siblings that allows us to create music very openly with each other. Not sure if there’s really a “worst” part of being in a family band, but we do have the occasional sibling squabble. We’re family though, so we always resolve things pretty quickly.
Mental health is something that is really important to us at Femme Riot and we love hearing about how others maintain balance in their lives. As busy musicians, what practices do you implement to ensure your health and well-being are taken care of?
Finding balance is definitely really important and something that we’re trying to focus on more recently. As a family band, it’s definitely hard to find that balance sometimes because it often feels like we live in our work. Over time, we’re learning how to separate work time from our home life. Also, we find that physical health contributes to mental health, so we make sure we’re staying physically active and taking care of ourselves.
Have you faced any challenges being women in the music industry? If so how did you overcome the adversity and do you have any tips for other women going through similar issues?
Being an all-female band in the music industry, we have definitely had our struggles. A lot of people have a certain perception of what a female band is and have placed us in a box before listening to us. We’ve always felt like we have to strive to work twice as hard as other bands to be taken seriously. We feel like we’ve overcome this adversity by continuing to work hard and not let any negativity stop us from our dreams. For other women, we would say to keep at it, stay true to yourself and don’t listen to the noise.
What are your plans for the rest of the year?
We will be releasing a brand new single and EP this year that we’re super excited about! We’re also going to be rejoining the High School Nation Tour this spring.
What songs are currently listening to?
We’re constantly listening to music, but to name a few: We’ve recently been jamming out to Sucker by the Jonas Brothers, the entire Trench album by Twenty One Pilots, and anything My Chemical Romance (since The Umbrella Academy just came out on Netflix).
Anything we haven’t asked that you want to add?
Thanks so much for interviewing us! We’d also like to thank everyone who took the time to read this interview, and if you’d like to know any more about us, please find us on our social media!
You can stay up-to-date with Colby, Shelby, Carthi, and Faith by following them on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Check out their music below!
FEMME RIOT 