Today we’d like to introduce you to Osmar Okuma.
Osmar, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I was born and raised in Lima, Peru which is also where I started to appreciate music. I remember playing the drums in a punk band with some friends in middle school as my first introduction to music. This made me want to learn more and ended up joining a music academy which specialized in Jazz. Soon after joining the school’s big band, I started to learn the Upright Bass and have been playing this instrument ever since.
After graduating High School, I decided to keep studying music in the US, so I attended Fullerton College where I got an education in music but also the experience of living and studying in a city far away from home. Soon after completing the program I decided to audition at Berklee College of Music and was fortunate to get awarded a scholarship for the duration of the program. After my program, I returned to California and obtained a Master’s Degree from the California Institute of the Arts.
My time while studying was non-stop music playing and its where I got most of my professional level experience. I was able to play music in various settings, genres, venues…etc. With great musicians some of which I still admire and still look up to today. The variety, amount and quality in the work I was involved in was a valuable and humbling lesson for me.
Currently aside from teaching, playing live shows and doing recording sessions around the LA area I have also been working on writing a video game and film music demo as well as my recording projects.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
I have had a very diverse background regarding the music that I listen to and create, but I feel that Jazz has always been the spine that keeps everything together. For that reason, I also like to have a few different projects with contrasting genres, so I feel that my music changes along with what I am interested at the time. Lately, I have been performing Jazz and Latin music, but at the same time, I am also working on a beat tape as well as video game music. The live performance aspect is great because it allows me to play out in different projects and venues around LA with so many great musicians but I love working on producing music as well because it gives me the freedom to make all creative decisions.
My message is that it’s important to have some variety and not to be afraid of branching out and learning new styles or techniques for your art. The beauty of art is that it reflects all areas of your life into it and that is what gives your art its voice. Music is an enormous world with so many cultures, styles, and backgrounds, so I feel it is important to have open ears because there is a lot of inspiration out there.
Do current events, local or global, affect your work and what you are focused on?
I think that the role of art is to archive and record humanity in its best and worst times and it has not changed. Art is a medium which can explain things which words can’t, and it always has been, so in a way, our role is to reflect what the world is feeling at that moment. I think that the platform and the medium by which artists achieve this always changes, however, the fundamental role that an artist has in society remains the same.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
I perform with different projects around the LA area frequently so you can find out about those in my contact info. For my production work where I write hip-hop influenced beats and game music you can search for me under the name Amku. I also release most of my music through social media and Soundcloud so that would be the easiest way to listen to me and find out where I will be playing next.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amku_music/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/osmar.okuma
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/amkumusic
- Soundcloud: https://
soundcloud.com/amku_music and https://soundcloud.com/ osmarokuma
Image Credit:
Beshar Al Azzawi, John Caruso.
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