Today we’d like to introduce you to Kai Nakamura.
Hi Kai, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
When my dad was driving me to a kindergarten, I was always hearing Queen or the Police from his mix tape. As I think of it now, his music taste had been influenced my music taste for sure. I grabbed an acoustic guitar at 15. Went to a school that had music program at 18. I had so many great inputs while I was going to the school. It Shaped me as a musician and made my love of Western music stronger. I decided to move LA When I was 22. I knew no one in LA. As I flew out from Japan to LA, I wanted become a guitarist of a band. I found few bands to join in earlier days. I was excited, but it didn’t go well in the end. Time goes by, I realized how much I love creating a song than playing guitar. I had an opportunity to learn music production at Cre-8 Music Academy (Where Westlake Studio is). It changed my course of music journey. Then, I leaned more about mixing and vocal production at Berklee Online. After taking those classes, the mixing instructor from Berklee, Rachel, introduced me to her mixing program. I’ve been in the class and am still studying. I had the opportunity to be a mixer for a few artists through the program (a few songs I mixed are coming out sooner or later). Now, I’m in a few bands playing guitar, producing, and mixing for some other artists. I was able to survive til this day because of help from my great friends in LA I call family. They helped open so many doors for opportunities. I can’t thank enough. I hope I can give them back when they need help.
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?
There was always some problem that I needed to solve. It was financial, physical, mental, or something else. For example… I became almost homeless and living in an old factory in Downtown LA because my friend and I were scammed by a guy from craigslist. There was a band that I was in had so many troubles within members. Me not understanding the music production or mix when I started learning. Also, the Japanese mindset was not helping much. When crafting or doing some work, we hardly praise ourselves. Even someone gives us compliments, we don’t easily accept, meaning, we think we gotta do better, it’s not enough to get compliments. I think I’m doing better than before, though I have to be careful not to compare with others but myself.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Currently, I wear a music producer hat, guitarist hat, or mix engineer hat. I am a guitarist for WASI, Ard Eevin, and sometimes Lucy and La Mer, Bolshiee, and some other artists. I produced some WASI songs, Lucy and La Mer songs, and created a beat for Bolsiee. I am proud of all of my work even though some of them were not perfect. I was able to expand my genre by working on Bolshiee’s song White Lies. I couldn’t believe it came out of my brain at the time. Also, I did not think she was going to pick the beat. For Lucy’s Ice Cream song, I was able to be the ideal producer I wanted to be. I was taught that a producer has to be a bridge of artists and songs that are slightly better version their final visions. We worked based on her vision while we were working.
When I’m working with WASi or Ard Eevin folks, we just do whatever we come up with. That’s what we do during the process. Magically, songs become alive and finished without knowing.
I grew up in Japan and listened to Western music more than Japanese. So, I’m different from most the Japanese and U.S. people already. When I work on music, I seek for uniqueness than what is relevant. I just don’t wanna lie to myself when it comes to music. I still look for new music and listen to it, but I never want to make original music to sound like someone. Though I have a cover band project with my friend for fun. It’s called Band in Pajamas. Also, we (same members) have another band called Long D’visions that is for original music.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
It made me realize how technology has advanced. I couldn’t think we could survive lockdown 10 years ago. But we had fast internet call, apps that connect friends and family without effort. I could work on music remotely and collaborate others through internet. At the same time, also realized appreciation towards live music. Watching the computer screen and listening the live stream through speakers that can’t provide 90-100dB sound isn’t same as being in a live venue.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kaidaguy.n/
Image Credits
David Rodriguez
Kat Contreras
