Sara Kawai Cultivates Culture and Fosters Friendship With Live Event ‘Kawai & Friends’
Though Sara Kawaiâs work as a producer and classically-trained harpist usually has her busy behind-the-scenes, itâs likely that sheâs rubbed shoulders with some of your favorite artists. Whether or not youâve seen her performing alongside Blxst in their infamous Sparky Sunset Session performance of âHurtâ or with Sabrina Claudio in the angelic KingRexx visual for âDonât Make Me Wait,â itâs hard to deny that Kawai is a force to be reckoned with. With a resumé spanning collaborations with artists from Guapdad 4000 to Amaria, her work represents sacred camaraderie â an artistic spirit fostered through mutual respect and reverence for music and its contributors.
Synthesizing her affinity for bringing people together with her knack for live performance, last month Kawai put on the event 'Kawai & Friends,â a night celebrating music, culture, and the friends made along the way. Set in Los Angelesâ iconic The Echo, Kawai assembled The Avengers with a lineup including her close friends Jay Wile, Amaria, Alemeda, Gogo, Olea, and ~secret~ special guest Amindi. The result was just as youâd expect, a night filled with good vibes, friendly people, and performances from some of musicâs most talented up-and-coming acts.
For the uninitiated, itâs worth noting that the 'Kawai & Friendsâ roster is so much more than a showcasing of local talent. Combining the dulcet R&B sounds of Cautious Clay with a dose of Choker-type experimentation, Jay Wile is a versatile San Antonio alt-R&B artist whose music isnât afraid to take risks. Kawai notes âI met Jay at an Afropunk Workshop I was performing for at the end of 2021. He moved out to LA soon after and we started making music together here and there. [We] quickly became friends.â Wileâs tracks like âNumbâ and âWhoâs Lovinâ U?â are must-listens, especially as summer transitions to fall.
Turning towards Amaria, she likely needs no introduction (yet here I am typing). Her music is distinctly marked with a signature dreamlike and hypnotic energy, with tracks like âLose Controlâ and the Mick Jenkins-assisted âGot Me Likeâ serving as perfect examples of why she might be R&Bâs next big star. âI met Amaria through Instagram,â Kawai recounts. âWe followed each other earlier this year and it just so happened that Amaria moved to LA a month or two after we connected. I met her out at a DJ event through our mutual friend Alex. We clicked instantly and started hanging out more and more.â
While Jay and Amaria occupy R&Bâs more downtempo register, Alemeda is much more difficult to pin down. Her 2021 single âGonna Bleach My Eyebrowsâ is an eclectic and ambient house-infused pop banger that is just as futuristic as it is infectious. Fast forward nine months to her most recent single âUR SO FULL OF IT (ILY NYC),â and youâre treated to a cathartic alt-rock bop that highlights Alemedaâs genreless style - all held together with a special talent for clever songwriting. âI connected with Alemeda through a friend that told me about her before she started releasing music. When she moved to LA, we started to run into each other in studios.â
The showâs secret guest was none other than Amindi, whose dominance over the past year has been inescapable from the release of her debut EP nice to her collaborations with Your Grandparents and Isaiah Rashad. While her style is marked by her own careful precision and attention to detail, tracks like âgreat againâ and âhaircutâ are sure to win over even the most hard-headed music skeptics due to the spectacular level of soul that Amindi can generate over a three-minute runtime. Kawai recalls their fated encounter by revealing, âI met Amindi actually through Amaria funny enough. They were friends prior so I would always say hi to Amindi in passing when me and Amaria would see her while weâre out shopping or hanging out around LA. Amindi was always so sweet and friendly so it was always a pleasant experience when I would see her. Iâve always admired Amindiâs work and music too so Iâm grateful that she was down to do my show."
Though the world of rising artists can be competitive, isolating, and wrought with artifice, âKawai & Friendsâ is a testament to keeping good company, loving music, and simply being friendly.