Artist Spotlight: Blast Havers

Ori Kawa of Blast Havers shares his journey into the music industry, the challenges he's faced, and his approach to creating authentic and memorable music. From his early days in San Francisco to his creative process and the importance of connection, Ori offers a candid look at what drives the musical direction of Blast Havers.

SXSW Pop: How did you get started in the music industry?

Blast Havers: When I was attending a junior college Jazz History course, a classmate approached me because he had been to a party that my brother threw. He was an intern at a record label in San Francisco, and there was another label in the same building looking for someone. I took the internship and it soon became a job, my first paid employment in the biz. I operated and promoted the label's side business, a cd duplication service for local bands and DJ's. With a bunch of studios and labels located in the building, it was a great environment to be in with creation and business happening all around.

SXSW Pop: What's the biggest challenge you've faced in your career so far?

Blast Havers: The biggest challenge so far has been overcoming the thought of quitting music altogether. I have tried quitting more than once, but each time, I was drawn back in by my own need for a creative outlet. So now I've realized that I couldn't even quit if I tried to, so the whole idea is pointless! However, I've noticed that some of the things that led to contemplating giving up are ongoing challenges. For instance, celebrating too soon or too much, putting off tedious production tasks and thinking I need help when I know full well I can complete them, and not getting the right help with the tasks that I really should be getting help with.

SXSW Pop: How do you balance the need for catchy melodies with the importance of meaningful lyrics?

Blast Havers: It's all in the delivery, like bad news delivered with a smile or dark humor. But I believe that this balance is not always achievable within a song, but it can be achieved with a catalog. Sometimes the aim of the song is pure movement--make 'em dance. Meaningful lyrics not needed; sometimes it can even be counteractive if the lyrics are too heavy for the mood. So with this type of song, simple catchy hooks work best. Other times, a song might have a very specific point that I'm trying to make, and even the hook is more complex than the usual one-liner. With these ones, I usually end up expanding to pop format, with two or more verses. Sometimes a song might be both a catchy hook and purposeful verses. I usually just like to go off the feel of the beat to determine the direction of the lyrics and subject matter. But, to bring it back to the point of achieving this balance with a catalog, I don't worry if the song ends up going too far in either direction, because it won't be the only song in the catalog.

SXSW Pop: How do you stay true to yourself while evolving as an artist?

Blast Havers: Staying true to myself is closely related to the previous question. I have a variety of musical influences--I listen to some pretty weird shit sometimes. I try to just let these influences work themselves through me and the result that comes out the other side is my true-to-self style. So the results can vary widely too. So if I make a song that is specifically aimed at melting faces on the dancefloor vs. something more cerebral or emotional, I don't worry about if it's true to my style. There will be other songs in the catalog, and they are all collectively my style. Coming up with a solid branding direction has helped me to focus this somewhat. With Blast Havers, the songs are generally within a specific BPM (115-120). You might think this would limit creativity, but I feel it has actually provided some freedom of exploration. Since there is one solid "rule", I can approach everything else with a "no rules" mentality, and it still works for the brand. Also, the slower BPM leaves more space in between beats, so more room for weird shit.

SXSW Pop: How do you define success in your personal and professional life?

Blast Havers: Happiness and balance. There can be so many things that determine happiness and balance. For me, I just want to be able to make stuff that I will be able to listen to with my friends far down the road, when we're too old to be able to make music anymore, and be like "yeah, we made that." So when I finish a song and I can picture this, I am happy. Balance is not as simple for me, because it is affected by many dynamics, such as relationships, money, recognition, etc. And all this stuff is what I'm still working on!

SXSW Pop: How do you handle a song idea that doesn't fit into your current project?

Blast Havers: If an idea is good but it's just not quite fitting with a project, I will initially try to work it in somehow, but if it feels like it has to be forced, then it can be saved for a different project. I have done a few "too-many-ideas" projects, so if it starts feeling like those, it's better to simplify.

SXSW Pop: What’s your approach to creating a unique sound?

Blast Havers: There are some different methods I use to create unique sounds. One that specifically comes to mind is with the DAW I use, Logic. I like to search through the pattern/MIDI loops for things that might sound good but with a completely different instrument. For example, maybe I create a bassline by finding a marimba loop and changing the instrument to a bass synth. Another way is I sometimes layer my vocal on a synth. Nobody else can make this synth sound, because it is with my voice.

SXSW Pop: Were there any unexpected challenges you faced while working on this project?

Blast Havers: For this song, "Everybody", I wrote a vocal part for a good friend of mine, Morocco Slim. He is one of those life-of-the-party type of guys, it's just impossible not to have fun when he's around. Just to give some background, in my heavier partying days, the afterparty was usually at my house. The morning of one of these afterparties, I answered the door and it's this boisterous guy wearing some trippy hologram snake eye glasses--he looked like a lizard--so of course he's welcome to the party. That Sunday evening, as people were leaving, my new reptile friend was scouring the place with a garbage bag picking up empty cans. He wouldn't leave without helping clean up. This made a lasting impression on me, and we've been friends ever since. So I knew he would be perfect for the part. But, he had never been in the studio to record vocals before, and when we started the session, he totally clammed up. He was so nervous, to the point that he almost wouldn't do it. It was hilarious because he told me, "you'd think with how much shit I like to talk, I'd be all over this." It was good to see him go through the experience. Luckily, we had a great engineer, Karishma, who made him feel at home. And now that he got the first one done, he's already excited for another session!

SXSW Pop: What message or theme do you hope listeners take away from your latest work?

Blast Havers: I really hope that listeners feel included. Experiencing music is just as the song is titled, it's for Everybody. This goes back to the recording as well. In the music business, so much of the collaboration must be strategic. As an artist, you are supposed to work with people that are at a certain place with their careers. How many followers do they have? How many tracks have they put out? Any of them signed to labels? Right now, I have some collaborations going that were constructed this way. And, working with these producers...I'm sure we will be good friends. But these friendships will be based on the music we make. Good friendship based on music. So, to balance it out, I want to make music based on good friendships. And everybody can do this. Get in on creation, you don't have to be a pro to have fun with it.

SXSW Pop: What's the most important thing to remember when building a loyal following, and how do you stay connected with your fans over time?

Blast Havers: Admittedly, I don't know the answer to this one yet, but I'm figuring it out! Thank you for the Q&A, and hopefully we can have another some time, and I will be able to answer this question. Cheers!