SARA KAWAI 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’s Tiny Desk with Audrey Nuna.
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’ “More to Lose,” Ravyn Lenae & Ty Dolla $ign’s “Dream Girl,” Destin Conrad & Kiana Lede’s “Unpredictable,” Zacari & Isaiah Rashad’s “Bliss,” Ambre & Mack Keane’s “ELEVATE,” Yuna’s“Relax Your Mind,” UMI’s “Broken Bottle Reimagined,” Laufey’s “Dear Soulmate,” ASTN’s EP “Where Do We Go From Here” and more.
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?
As a kid, I grew up listening to Rap/R&B music from my brothers’ 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’t 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 “box” to what I actually enjoy doing more.
YOU’VE 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?
With DJing, it’s really all about being in the moment with a whole crowd of people. It’s 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’s 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’s less pressure to have the best possible outcome in the moment as there’s 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.
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?
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.
HOW DO YOU APPROACH USING PLATFORMS LIKE TIKTOK TO MARKET YOUR WORK AND CONNECT WITH FANS COMPARED TO HOW YOU BUILD COMMUNITIES IN PERSON?
To be honest, I don’t 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’ve 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’m 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’s a lot easier for me to meet people in person to catch a “vibe” than to just make content and expect people to interact with it.
HOW DID THE OPPORTUNITY TO PLAY HARP ON MILEY CYRUS’S "YOUNGER YOU" FOR THE HANNAH MONTANA 20TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL COME TOGETHER, AND WHAT WAS IT LIKE CONTRIBUTING TO SUCH AN ICONIC POP CULTURE MILESTONE?
I played on Miley Cyrus’ last album, Something Beautiful 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’s 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 “OMG IT’S FOR HANNAH MONTANA!” I recorded for the song “Younger You,” then a couple weeks later they 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.
YOU MENTIONED TO US THAT YOU’RE WORKING ON FULLY PRODUCING A COLLABORATIVE ALBUM. 👀 WHAT’S THE OVERARCHING VISION FOR THIS PROJECT?
I’m super excited that I’ve been working on something special of my own with all my favorite people and collaborators. It’s 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’m hyped to finally release something that’s my own child and show people what my creative world looks like.
WHEN YOU’RE IN-STUDIO COLLABORATING WITH POWERHOUSE PRODUCERS AND ARTISTS, HOW DO YOU ADVOCATE FOR YOUR CREATIVE IDEAS WHILE REMAINING A TEAM PLAYER IN THE ROOM?
As a harpist, I think I definitely have more say in what to add, as a lot of people don’t 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’t resonate with it, I don’t take it personally - though it doesn’t happen very often. I often find myself in rooms that are very collaborative and I think that’s just the energy I try to cultivate within the rooms I create in.
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?
Oof, that’s 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’s 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’t getting paid properly or knew my worth, so I needed to change how most people perceive me as not just a harpist.
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?
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.
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