#OnOurRadar: Meet Sebastian Kamae

At the tender age of 5 years old, Sebastian Kamae was given his first music lesson. The Dutch producer/artist grew up in a musically inclined home, so it was only a matter of time until he discovered his love for production and being an audio engineer. 

At 17 years old, he received his Bachelor’s degree in “media music”. Since then, Kamae has made a lot of strides in his musical career. He got his first Spotify placement back in 2018 with the successful release of Threat by Keynes Woods and Reasons by JP Thornewell. His hardwork and dedication to his craft has led him to connect with a number of artist to create timeless music. 

We recently had the opportunity to chat with Kamae about his music inspirations, creative process, upcoming projects and more. 

Check out the full interview below: 

What makes you rare?

It's not easy to say that about yourself, but I think what makes me stand out as a producer and artist is the combination of sounds / genres (hiphop, rap, jazz, electronic music, soul, house, pop, lo-fi, boombap) , instruments & different skills I have. Next to producing music myself and for others, I have a bachelor in Audio Engineering & Production, so I can also do mixing, mastering, recording, work in the studios, etc. Next to that the network in the United States (Especially Chicago) as a dutch artist.

What’s your creative process like?

It varies, but when I work on beats, I mostly start by making little loops in Ableton by playing some keys, guitar, bass or going through sounds & samples. I stack the loop with as many layers as I like and then start building it out and arranging it as a track, piece by piece. This process can take hours when I'm alone or with friends, but I usually try to work a lot faster when I'm with a vocalist, so they can immediately start vibing, writing and humming to something.

What’s the biggest misconception about Lo-fi music?

Probably that everyone thinks it's a new genre and thing. I don't even like the term that much, it's whatever you name it... Beats, Boombap, Lo-fi, but it obviously is heavily inspired from much older music and legends like J Dilla, Nujabes, Madlib, etc.

Also, a lot of the music that's coming out in the instrumental hip hop scene right now, doesn't even sound that 'lo-fi'. Another one could be that everyone making this music is a bedroom producer and doesn't have an actual fanbase or is actively building a brand. A group of artists actually tries to stand out and makes a lot of different music in all kinds of genres.

What’s your dream collaboration?

Kendrick Lamar, Saba, Wiz Khalifa, Kiefer and many many more artists I love and would love to work with.

You have ton of collaborations with different artist, how you do determine which artist would sound better on a song? Do you guys create it together from scratch?

True! I really like making music together with other people! Also it's a great way to expose your music to new fanbases. Often I create tracks together from scratch with the collaborator (mostly my good friends). Sometimes I make something myself and really hear how someone else's sound could work well on it and I hit them up.

How has the pandemic helped or hurt your creative process?

I'm lucky enough to not really be hurt bad by the pandemic, since most of my art and revenue streams come from online. It has delayed plans for me to play music live and hurt the music industry in general. There's also definitely been times that I've felt uninspired, since you can't travel or meet new people, go to events, etc.

What’s next for you?

A lot of exciting stuff is happening and coming up. My plan is for my 3th album to come out end of 2021 or in 2022. I can't wait to go back to the United States and travel to different cities like Chicago & L.A. again, to work with other artists. I've multiple EP's in the works (some collaborative) and am planning releasing a lot of music in 2021. I'm also working on more unique visuals with my brother, Pepijn de Jonge & friends, showing my face more, starting a podcast, playing live in the future, etc.

Sebastian Kamae Essentials Playlist

Apple Music: https://apple.co/3f0Bey5