SARA KAWAI<\/span> is a versatile LA-based harpist and producer with 18 years of studio\/live experience playing the harp and 8 years in music production. Hailing from Boston, Sara began her journey with classical harp training and is now blending her classical roots with the dynamic worlds of hip-hop, R&B, alternative, pop, electronic, and more. Sara has performed with a diverse range of artists, including SZA, Kehlani, Lizzo, Blxst, The Marias, 03 Greedo, Pink Sweat$, Mereba, Kalan Frfr, Sabrina Claudio and more, most recently on BET Awards Show with Kehlani, Jimmy Kimmel! Live (with Miley Cyrus), and NPR\u2019s Tiny Desk with Audrey Nuna.<\/p>\n In addition to live performances, she also has in-studio experience writing and collaborating with various producers and artists like Miley Cyrus, Laufey, SZA, Monte Booker, Brandy, Dahi, Michael Uzowuru, Wondagurl, 6lack, Louie Lastic, UMI, Medasin, and many more. Recent cuts include Miley Cyrus\u2019 \u201cMore to Lose,\u201d\u00a0Ravyn Lenae & Ty Dolla $ign\u2019s \u201cDream Girl,\u201d Destin Conrad & Kiana Lede\u2019s \u201cUnpredictable,\u201d Zacari & Isaiah Rashad\u2019s \u201cBliss,\u201d Ambre & Mack Keane\u2019s \u201cELEVATE,\u201d Yuna\u2019s\u201cRelax Your Mind,\u201d UMI\u2019s \u201cBroken Bottle Reimagined,\u201d Laufey\u2019s \u201cDear Soulmate,\u201d\u00a0ASTN\u2019s EP \u201cWhere Do We Go From Here\u201d and more.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n YOU BEGAN WITH RIGOROUS CLASSICAL HARP TRAINING BEFORE TRANSITIONING INTO THE WORLDS OF HIP-HOP, R&B, AND ALTERNATIVE PRODUCTION. WHAT WAS THE CATALYST FOR THAT SHIFT, AND HOW DID YOU NAVIGATE THE CHALLENGE OF BREAKING OUT OF THE CLASSICAL “BOX” TO FIND YOUR TRUE VOICE?<\/p>\n As a kid, I grew up listening to Rap\/R&B music from my brothers\u2019 CDs in the car. Then when I started playing harp, I always used to cover all my favorite Rap and R&B songs on the harp when I was supposed to be just practicing my classical harp solo concertos or orchestra music. As I got into USC, I came in as a classical harp major but realized quickly that wasn\u2019t what I wanted to do my whole life. I left that major and switched to the Music Industry major and connected with other creatives that allowed me to be comfortable with making that shift from the classical \u201cbox\u201d to what I actually enjoy doing more.\u00a0<\/p>\n YOU\u2019VE BEEN HEAVILY INVOLVED IN COMMUNITY-ORIENTED MUSIC ACTIVITIES AND UNDERGROUND DJ EVENTS IN LA. HOW DOES THE RAW, IMMEDIATE ENERGY OF DJING THESE COLLECTIVE EVENTS COMPARE TO THE METICULOUS PROCESS OF WORKING IN A STUDIO?<\/p>\n With DJing, it\u2019s really all about being in the moment with a whole crowd of people. It\u2019s a bit more pressure as you have one hour or so to please the crowd and read the room to the best of your ability. It\u2019s definitely super rewarding and I get moments of instant gratification when I mix songs and have good reactions to it. On the other hand, I feel like I can make more errors or take even bigger risks with being in the studio. There\u2019s less pressure to have the best possible outcome in the moment as there\u2019s always time to go back and edit things and listen to demos over and over again – over analyzing what sounds or fills or instruments to add next.\u00a0<\/p>\n HOW DID IT FEEL TAKING YOUR MUSIC AND STYLE ACROSS THE GLOBE FOR YOUR DEBUT DJ SET IN TOKYO, AND HOW DOES TRAVELING INFLUENCE YOUR CREATIVE PALETTE?<\/p>\n It felt very full circle for me to play in Tokyo. My family immigrated from Japan and this past trip was probably my 15th time visiting Japan since I was a child, but I have never performed there until this past May. Though I love my Japanese culture, I am definitely more Americanized than the locals, so it was really dope to bring the music I grew up listening to and share that with locals in Japan. Traveling always makes me feel inspired when I come home from a trip. It always brings me such drive and motivation to practice and learn even more to be able to express everything I feel.\u00a0<\/p>\n HOW DO YOU APPROACH USING PLATFORMS LIKE TIKTOK TO MARKET YOUR WORK AND CONNECT WITH FANS COMPARED TO HOW YOU BUILD COMMUNITIES IN PERSON?<\/p>\n To be honest, I don\u2019t love making content or sharing too much about my personal life on social media unless I feel very called to it but I solely use platforms to share the work I\u2019ve done in order to get more gigs as Instagram or TikTok is basically my resume for other people to look at. With building community, I try to go out to events as often as I can when I\u2019m not busy and connect with people in person. I also throw a lot of community events or parties in LA and I feel it has cultivated a community in LA that I cherish a lot. I feel it\u2019s a lot easier for me to meet people in person to catch a \u201cvibe\u201d than to just make content and expect people to interact with it.\u00a0<\/p>\n HOW DID THE OPPORTUNITY TO PLAY HARP ON MILEY CYRUS\u2019S “YOUNGER YOU” FOR THE HANNAH MONTANA 20TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL COME TOGETHER, AND WHAT WAS IT LIKE CONTRIBUTING TO SUCH AN ICONIC POP CULTURE MILESTONE?<\/p>\n I played on Miley Cyrus\u2019 last album, Something Beautiful<\/em> and her team and producers kept in touch with me, then they brought me back for the Hannah Montana Anniversary. I actually was called into the studio with Miley\u2019s producer, Michael Pollack, and had no idea what project it was for but was told at the moment that Miley was bringing back Hannah Montana for an anniversary. I was so shocked and immediately texted my managers like \u201cOMG IT\u2019S FOR HANNAH MONTANA!\u201d I recorded for the song \u201cYounger You,\u201d then a couple weeks later\u00a0they called me back saying they wanted me to play harp in the actual taping of the anniversary and I was over the moon. I grew up coming home from school to watch every single episode of Hannah Montana when I was 7-12 years old, then watching her on stage on her Bangerz Tour at 14. I was always a huge fan of hers, even her music after Disney Channel. To be a part of something so iconic like this, was truly so special to me and I will always keep near and dear to my heart.\u00a0<\/p>\n YOU MENTIONED TO US THAT YOU\u2019RE WORKING ON FULLY PRODUCING A COLLABORATIVE ALBUM. \ud83d\udc40 WHAT\u2019S THE OVERARCHING VISION FOR THIS PROJECT?<\/p>\n I\u2019m super excited that I\u2019ve been working on something special of my own with all my favorite people and collaborators. It\u2019s something that kind of came naturally to me as I felt I had so many unused demos that I made with friends and decided I should just put my own album out. From then, I started working more intentionally with friends to add to the project. It has elements of alt R&B, Rap, cinematic scoring, neo-soul, and of course my harp is featured throughout. But I\u2019m hyped to finally release something that\u2019s my own child and show people what my creative world looks like.\u00a0<\/p>\n WHEN YOU\u2019RE IN-STUDIO COLLABORATING WITH POWERHOUSE PRODUCERS AND ARTISTS, HOW DO YOU ADVOCATE FOR YOUR CREATIVE IDEAS WHILE REMAINING A TEAM PLAYER IN THE ROOM?<\/p>\n As a harpist, I think I definitely have more say in what to add, as a lot of people don\u2019t have much prior harp knowledge. Though, as a co-producer in the room, I like to just add in my creative ideas and if the other people in the room don\u2019t resonate with it, I don\u2019t take it personally – though it doesn\u2019t happen very often. I often find myself in rooms that are very collaborative and I think that\u2019s just the energy I try to cultivate within the rooms I create in.\u00a0<\/p>\n IN COLLABORATIVE SESSIONS, SESSION MUSICIANS ARE SOMETIMES TREATED DIFFERENTLY THAN SONGWRITERS OR PRODUCERS. AT WHAT POINT DID YOU REALIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF CLAIMING YOUR WRITER\/PRODUCER SPLITS ON THE MUSIC YOU HELPED CREATE?<\/p>\n Oof, that\u2019s definitely something I deal with a lot. I still run into the issue of just being credited as a session musician even when I know I deserve more, but to be honest, many artists and labels can be a bit greedy. It\u2019s another reason why I take production more seriously because now more people value me as not just a musician, but a producer as well. I realized this when I was getting a lot of bigger placements earlier in my career, I wasn\u2019t getting paid properly or knew my worth, so I needed to change how most people perceive me as not just a harpist.\u00a0<\/p>\n MANY SONGWRITERS DON’T REALIZE THAT REGISTERING WITH A LOCAL PRO (LIKE ASCAP OR BMI IN THE US) DOESN’T AUTOMATICALLY MEAN THEIR INTERNATIONAL ROYALTIES ARE BEING EFFICIENTLY COLLECTED. HOW DID YOU REALIZE YOU MIGHT BE LEAVING MONEY ON THE TABLE AND WHAT LED YOU TO PARTNER WITH SONGTRUST?<\/p>\n After changing management a couple years ago, I was taking a look at my discography and I figured there was so much income I was missing because I had been a part of many big songs. I am very grateful that my current team is knowledgeable on that side about royalties and they have collected everything for me that I had previously missed beforehand and have helped me become more acclimated to using Songtrust.<\/p>\n Follow Sara Kawai on:<\/p>\n![\"Sara](\"https:\/\/blog.songtrust.com\/hs-fs\/hubfs\/Sara%20Kawai.png?width=968&height=333&name=Sara%20Kawai.png\")
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