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Daily Inspiration: Meet Paper Rainbows

Today we’d like to introduce you to Paper Rainbows. Them and their team share their story with us below:

The Paper Rainbows project began in 2020 when Nate and Kaelie Highfield became new parents to a beautiful baby girl. As successful songwriters, the couple has always appreciated the simple beauty of music written with children in mind. Now they found new inspiration in their daughter, Juniper. When they shared the idea of making an album of children’s songs with their partner, Rob Chiarelli (Will Smith, Christina Aguilera), the Paper Rainbows adventure had begun.

The project quickly became a virtual “who’s who” of the music business, including Reggie and Vincent Calloway (Midnight Star, Gladys Knight, Natalie Cole), Derek Nakamoto (Men in Black, Whitney Houston), Tom Saviano (Heat, Al Jarreau), Barry Rudolph (Hall and Oates), Tom Kahre (Kanye West), Charlie Lo Presti (Foo Fighters), Chandler Bridges (Johnny Mathis, JayLo), James Kocian (Ginny Owens) and Ed Smith (Aretha Franklin, Michael McDonald). With the love and support of so many talented musicians, the ‘Imaginations’ album grew from an idea into a collection of beautiful songs performed by world-class musicians and arranged in a way that is sure to please children, adults and the young at heart.

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 first decided to create this children’s album in 2020 during the lockdown. Normally we’d be meeting up with people writing and recording in studios. We made as much progress as we could but it was a relief finally in early 2022 when we gathered all our friends/musicians at the legendary East West studios in Hollywood.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
We Nate Highfield, Kaelie Highfield and Rob Chiarelli formed Street Lamp Records in 2014 and are very successful at writing music for ads, tv and film. We’ve done music for Tmobile, Verizon, Mcdonald’s, Maybelline, Kohls, ABC, NBC, FOX, Netflix, Hulu and many more.

Rob Chiarelli is an American record producer, mix engineer, musician, published author and 4x Grammy Award winner. Widely recognized as a music producer for Will Smith and Men in Black II (2002), Chiarelli’s work appears on numerous Gold and Platinum albums and motion picture soundtracks, including 16 GRAMMY winners.

As a mix engineer and record producer, Chiarelli has worked with such well-known artists as Will Smith, Kirk Franklin, Christina Aguilera, Angelique Kidjo, Sting, LeAnn Rimes, Kirk Franklin, Mary Mary, Janet Jackson, Madonna, Stevie Wonder, Keiko Matsui, Coolio, Ray Charles, American Idol, P!nk, Johnny Mathis, Paula Abdul, Diana Ross, En Vogue, Ice Cube, The Four Tops, Yolanda Adams, The Temptations, K-Ci & JoJo, Aaliyah, Hilary Duff, Jesse McCartney, Ricky Martin, The Corrs, Luther Vandross, Erin Boheme and Charlie Wilson.

What sets us apart is our team. We push each other and inspire each other. Our company motto is “No Drama,” which allows us all to create, have our opinions heard, and get better at what we do every day. We love the craft and feel honored to get to write together.

Who else deserves credit in your story?
One of the great things about this project is that we got to have all of our friends and mentors involved. They produced, engineered, and performed on the album.

(Reggie and Vincent Calloway (Midnight Star, Gladys Knight, Natalie Cole), Derek Nakamoto (Men in Black, Whitney Houston), Tom Saviano (Heat, Al Jarreau), Barry Rudolph (Hall and Oates), Tom Kahre (Kanye West), Charlie Lo Presti (Foo Fighters), Chandler Bridges (Johnny Mathis, JayLo), James Kocian (Ginny Owens) and Ed Smith (Aretha Franklin, Michael McDonald).

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Angela Chiarelli

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