Ciarra Cmphany AKA C. Cmphany is an artist whose name is sure to catch listeners eyes before they even press play on her music. Her latest single “Boom!” is one she classifies as Pop-fusion R&B. Her goal is to bring her own special symphony to the music she writes and performs and just to the music industry itself.
Ciarra Cmphany has been a classically trained opera singer since the age of 13, has a background in ballet, tap and jazz dancing and graduated from the Duke Ellington School for the Arts. Her goal to bring something new yet familiar to the world of R&B is done through her love of multiple genres. With every plan for her music, she carries it out with purpose and precision.
“I just dropped a project last year and it’s only in these past few years I’ve learned to harness the power of understanding, resilience, following through and executing. I’ve learned to be an initiator. I've learned if someone is not going to do something, I need to get it done.” she said.
Ciarra Cmphany’s track “Boom!” has been in the works longer than one might expect. She’s had the beat for the song for years but just couldn’t quite get the song to come out how she wanted.
“I love love itself and the idea of being sultry. I was thinking to myself ‘How do I write about love in a captivating , exciting and unforgettable way?’ I wanted to build concepts around the captivating aspect so I went into this repetitious catchy direction for the song. Once the song was headed in a direction where it felt cute to me, I just went from there." she said.
Two key words stuck out when Cmphany began to discuss the song further: entranced and ethereal. There’s a certain upbeatness to the track but there's also an element of tranquility. She wanted to paint cinematic mental pictures of the early stages of love in her listeners minds and how life changing it seems at that point.
“I pictured Aladdin and Jasmine riding on the magic carpet or that stage of life in high school when your crush is basically the center of your life. I want people to play mental movie trailers of their most captivating moments of being in love as they listen.” she said.
For the upcoming music video for “Boom!” Ciarra Cmphany stepped into the director's chair herself. In addition to being a singer-songwriter, she’s also a choreographer but before all that, she’s a planner. The power of being an initiator is something that goes into all aspects of her creative endeavours.
“There are a lot of visually captivating scenes. It was really fun to bring it to life. I was planning a lot and it’s a very fragile process. It’s like a flower in a vase, you have to take care of multiple aspects of it for it to look its best. There are multiple moments and elements in the video but everyone involved captured the vision I had and brought it to life. The whole process was fun and it taught me lessons for the future.” she said
C. Cmphany’s time at the Duke Ellington School for the Arts taught her a plethora of technical musical concepts. However, she has learned that her experience on a technical level is different from her ability to connect with her listeners. During her time there, she learned about the technique of text painting and implemented it into her musical endeavors.
“Text painting is a compositional strategy where the composer takes the instrumentation and models it after physical elements in the world or physical elements within the poetry of the song’s lyrics. I took this idea and implemented it into how I approach my choreography. I want it to be as emotionally invoking as the music is. I’m in the planning stages of the choreography for ‘Boom!’ right now and I'm looking forward to implementing intentional dynamic motions that invoke the feeling of the lyrics of the song.” she said.
Like all great artists, Ciarra Cmphany has an appreciation for multiple genres of music. She classifies herself as a neo-R&B and neo-classical artist. Her goal is to bring something fresh but comforting to her listeners. The element of familiarity is there but, something unique is paired with it.
“I like to bridge the gap between the appreciation I have for aspects of the past and still connecting with the newer trends from the present too. The way the subject matter in R&B has shifted from the past to the elements of social media within it in the present is something I fully understand. I can write for audiences familiar with one era or the other because I connect with both.” she said.
Her previous project, Old School Love was a project that had sounds from the current landscape of R&B as well as ones from the nostalgic era of the past. Intentional moments on this project include references to one of her favorite movies, the 1978 classic, Grease as well as paying homage to Boyz II Men and Sade. Her preference is traditional instruments as far as production but the modern R&B sound is on the project too.
C. Cmphany’s listeners will learn more about her upcoming project for this year in October and this is something she’s very excited about as she’s stepping into more new lanes with the music while keeping her love based songwriting as strong as ever.
“It’s still going to be about love but it’s going to traverse the ebbs and flows of my heart a little more. Before, I had trouble writing about heartbreak. I couldn’t quite get myself together in order to transmute my pain into something that would help other people. There’s going to be a lot of different feels on the project. I’m excited about it.” she said.
Ciarra Cmphany’s name is one that stands out. With her being classically trained and having a love for all genres of music, it’s a name that encompasses all she’s done already musically as well what she’s going to continue doing going forward.
“I bring my own version of a symphony to everything I do. I want my music to be emotionally captivating. I’m going to continue to take the lyricism that comes from my life and combine that with the technical knowledge I have of music and transform them into my own version of music composition.” she said.
You can see and hear more of the symphony of Ciarra Cmphany’s life by following her on these platforms.
Website
Apple Music
Spotify
YouTube
Instagram
Twitter
Facebook
