Daily Inspiration: Meet Oakland Rain: Maren & Charlotte Wallevik Hansen

Today we’d like to introduce you to Oakland Rain: Maren & Charlotte Wallevik Hansen

Oakland Rain: Maren & Charlotte , we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
We are the twin sisters Maren & Charlotte and make up the indie/folk/country duo Oakland Rain. We started playing guitar and piano (and writing) when we were about eleven, and by happenstance Maren joined in on a guitar lesson with Charlotte when we were twelve. We learned to play “Imagine” by John Lennon together, and this sparked the start of our musical journey as a duo. Realizing how magical it was to be able to play together was really profound, especially as sisters.

We have both connection to Norway and the US. We lived in the US during high school, which was a formative age to experience cultural differences and life in general. We started writing a lot more during this stay, and got into music school when we got back to Norway.

After music school, and before the pandemic, we played a lot of live gigs/tours and recorded music in the shape of EPs – as well as writing for Ibsen theater plays and an electro-pop project. When the pandemic hit, we were among those who really struggled with mental health. This shaped our view of writing music. We realized that we wanted to write what we call “survival music” and not only “entertainment music” (both are equally valid and serve a purpose). We wrote the music that we needed to hear ourselves. This has really shaped our music ever since.

End of 2022 we had a lot of writing material, and tried out a new studio. During 2023 we worked with the great musicians/producers Freddy Holm and Anders Engen. This is where Part 1 of our double English debut album “Twin Flames” was made. We have released 4 singles from “Twin Flames Part 1: The Evergreen”. This half is about realism, with an earthy americana sound, and is out January 2025. The next half is about escapism, and will be alternative nordic pop (“Twin Flames Part 2: Heavenly Blue”).

During this year (2024) we have had the huge honor of touring with folk legend Judy Collins, and are still in awe that we were invited. We have heard her from the side of the stage, and she has the absolute best stories. Everything from how she convinced Leonard Cohen to sing, to her own incredible story. We are incredibly grateful, and have some special things coming in 2025.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
We have had a journey of both obstacles and good things. We do believe that if one does not meet the obstacles with an open mind and creative solutions, one does not get the chance to see it change either. However, we are very aware that for some artists and songwriters it is much harder to get a seat at the table. This goes for women, LGBTQ+, minorities etc.

We have definitely experienced some challenges due to being young and female, and there is absolutely more to be done for gender equality in the music industry. Just the classic assumptions that we haven’t written the songs ourselves, or that we don’t have an opinion about the production of our music, those are the most common. But we have deep gratitude for our beautiful strong mom who raised us to believe we have a voice that matters, and we really felt the need to write about that in our upcoming album.

Especially “Sister Hymn” touches on this topic, and how grandmothers before us fought battles so that we could get the opportunities that we have today. We also acknowledge that being raised to have confidence is a privilege to not take for granted. It is already an uneven playfield, so any self belief is greatly needed. Those who build themselves up on their own without that support; mic drop! There are incredibly strong girls out there, who fight a battle to be able to tell their truth! We also feel the deep need to have a culture that also allows sensitivity and female perspectives. Maren, for example, is highly sensitive, and says that until we can have a seat at the table as our authentic selves, we haven’t reached our goal.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
We are a sister music duo, and we write music.
We have released a complete collection of 68 songs, including Ibsen theater and a pop project.
We love to challenge ourselves within songwriting, but our upcoming album “Twin Flames” feels like the most real thing we have made to date.

Regarding feedback, we are most proud to hear people resonate with our older song “Yellow Dress” as it touches a battle with self worth after bad experiences. It seems to translate to many situations, and that is what music is for, in our opinion.

Right now, we are most proud of touring with Judy Collins! Once in a lifetime! One of the greatest! Also, it feels full circle as our grandfather loved her – and we pay tribute to him on the album in “If You Were A Song”. He influenced us when it comes to folk and country music.

Perhaps what sets us ‘apart’ (although we don’t believe in rivalry) is being twins, and therefore having harmonies that are deeply connected.

Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
Perhaps something surprising about us, is that we had a horrible Hollywood experience which inspired our song “Yellow Dress”. We cannot tell the details, but two code words: girl power!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.oaklandrain.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oaklandrain/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oakl.rain
• Twitter: https://x.com/oaklandrain_
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@oaklandrain
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/oakland-rain
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5KfRoJYMy6yuBdJfDXU1wR?si=A0y_O1JdTM6sJ2B3E86UZg