Kollaboration Update – 6/8/2015

On Saturday, June 27, Kollaboration Los Angeles triumphantly returns to Downtown Los Angeles for our 2015 showcase. Join us at the Los Angeles Theatre Center in DTLA for a celebration of Asian American talent and passion! Get your tickets now!

Watch our Global Executive Director Christine Minji Chang chat with Halo Halo​’s host, Kat Iniba on KSCI LA-18!


​Introducing Kollaboration Artists

Arguably one of the largest collections of Asian American talent online. Hundreds of artists have graced our stages over 16 years in 16 cities. We’re working on compiling them all here as an incredible resource for‪ Kollaboration‬ and community. We hope that you enjoy it as much as we’re enjoying creating it!

Get involved with Kollaboration!

Kollaboration has open staff positions for our ​Atlanta, Boston, Seattle, SF and Toronto teams! If you’re interested in contributing to the movement, meeting new friends, & working with amazing artists, apply here: OPEN POSITIONS


Kollaboration Blog – CALLING ALL WRITERS!

If you’re interested in writing about music, film, literature, tech, culture, society & more for the Kollaboration blog, please send an email to: blog@kollaboration.org!


Check out the latest from the KollabCast

Episode 18 featuring Aaron Yeung – Aloha Hot Aaron

Episode 17 featuring Jenny Yang – Tell Us A Story

Episode 16 featuring Travis Atreo – Caveman Selfies

 

Come check out and participate in one of our local Kollaboration events, now held across the country! Here are some upcoming events:

New York – Kollaboration New York and TAP-NY are teaming up for a laid back karaoke happy hour at Karaoke Boho West4 on Tuesday, June 9th!​
Houston – Kollaboration Houston is proud to be promoting tons of talent and the hottest food trucks in the city at the upcoming Food Truck Park event on June 19th!​
Dallas – Kollaboration Dallas Showcase Auditions are now ongoing! Applications close June 16, CLICK HERE for​ more information.
D.C. – Kollaboration DC is hosting an Open Mic Night this June 27th at The Board and Brew, featuring local artists from the DMV community!

 

“Mellow Yellow” – Dumbfoundead

Listen to Dumbfoundead’s “Mellow Yellow” produced by Josh Pan. »

“adios, ozone” – Plaitwrights

Watch the official music video for Plaitwrights’ “adios, ozone”. »

“Lean On (feat. MØ)” – Major Lazer & DJ Snake Choreography by KINJAZ

Watch this Kinjaz Collab piece by Mike Fal & Anthony Lee. »


 

Help keep the Kollaboration movement alive & kicking in 2015! Every little bit helps & we are grateful for your support!

 

Kollaboration’s Global Executive Director Representing on LA18’s Halo Halo!

Kollaboration Global Executive Director Christine Minji Chang went on LA18’s Halo Halo with Kat Iniba to talk about Kollaboration’s recent award by the City of Los Angeles as well as the many projects Kollaboration has brewing!

More Pictures from the Los Angeles City Hall APAHM Event:

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Buy your Tickets Now for Kollaboration Los Angeles 2015 – June 27 @ DTLA

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On Saturday, June 27, Kollaboration Los Angeles triumphantly returns to Downtown Los Angeles for our 2015 showcase. Join us at the Los Angeles Theatre Center in DTLA for a celebration of Asian American talent and passion!

Six talented finalists from all across Southern California were chosen through an intense and competitive round of auditions to compete for the chance to move on to the Kollaboration Star finale later this fall and perform for the national title and $10,000 grand prize! In addition to the talent competition, Kollaboration Los Angeles will also feature amazing performances from prominent Asian American guest artists (To be Announced!).

Your 2015 Kollaboration Los Angeles Finalists:

Lisa Sonoda, Singer/Songwriter
Perry & Danielle, Acoustic Duo
Peter Chung, Singer/Songwriter
Rosy Donovan, Singer/Songwriter
Track IX, Beatbox
Will Park, Singer/Songwriter

Hosted by Sean Miura, community organizer and producer of the long running Tuesday Night Cafe

Special Performances by hip hop artist Azure

Kollaboration Los Angeles 2015
The Los Angeles Theatre Center
514 S Spring St, Los Angeles, California
Show starts 7:00PM

General Admission tickets on sale now for $20

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What’s new on the TRAKTIVIST Playlist – 5/8/2015

Our friends at TRAKTIVIST.com shared with us a list of their favorite new releases from the last few weeks. Take a listen and check out some sweet new tunes from APA artists!

1. ‪Steve Aoki ft. Linkin Park‬ – ‪Darker Than Blood ‬

2. Sam Tsui & Casey Breves – Time After Time (Cyndi Lauper)

3. AWOLNATION – Sail (cover by Kawehi)

4. Liane V – Don’t Be That Guy feat. Honey Cocaine

5. Best Coast – Feeling Ok

6. Towkio – Reflection (Prod. Kaytranada)

https://youtu.be/4MXasLmGjcE

7. Jonwayne – Green Light (ft. Anderson Paak)

https://soundcloud.com/jonwayne/green-light-ft-anderson-paak

TRAKTIVIST.COM is the premiere platform to discover, promote, and historically archive music made by Asian Americans. From new releases to undiscovered gems, music will be posted every week for your enjoyment. Check us out at www.traktivist.com

Hear more from the TRAKTIVIST on this week’s KollabCast!

9 Things We Learned from Gowe’s Reddit AMA

Seattle hip hop artist Gordon Tsai, better known as Gowe, recently held a Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) for his fans on April 13.

Most of the fan questions revolved around his music, but a few focused on Gowe’s unique upbringing as a Korean adoptee raised by a Chinese-American family. It wasn’t until Gowe was 18 years-old that he found out he was adopted, and it was through his music that he was able to express his experiences and feelings.

In the AMA, Gowe explained many aspects and inspirations to his music, life and his latest album Music Beautiful. Here are the top 9 things readers learned from Gowe’s AMA.

1) His stage name Gifted on West East represents his love of east and west coast hip-hop as well as his gratitude for his gift of talent

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2) He still identifies with Chinese culture but enjoys discovering his Korean roots and is fascinated by the Asian American experience

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3) Discovering he was adopted after 18 years was a real shock

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4) He is currently searching for his birth mother, status pending

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5) His goal is to use his music to encourage his listeners to think deeper and be agents of positive change

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6) He follows some awesome people from the APA music community (and you should too)

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7) Gowe is inspired by life

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8) Music Beautiful songs helped Gowe work through some dark times

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9) He’s a proud UW Husky and Kollaboration alum

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Thanks for sharing Gowe, and for the Kollaboration shoutout. Look forward to bright things in your future.

You can find Gowe’s music, including his new album Music Beautiful, at https://gowe.bandcamp.com/ as well as Amazon and iTunes.

Kollaboration Update – 4/30/2015

Congratulations to J.Dep, winner of our first 2015 show at Kollaboration Boston which took place on April 17th at the Royale! It was definitely a night to remember with truly incredible performances from all 6 finalists and special guests. We also wrapped up an epic few weeks in LA at the LA Asian Pacific Film Festival produced by Visual Communications, one of our community partners, where we reunited and caught up with some of our favorite artist friends and family, and we got to experience some of the best in API films and shorts. It was a great lead up to Asian Pacific American Heritage Month which begins in May!

Kollaboration Los Angeles is a proud recipient of the Dream Award presented by the City of Los Angeles for Asian Pacific Heritage Month.

If you’re in Southern California, please feel free to join the ceremony on Friday, May 8th at the LA City Council Chambers.

Kollaboration Blog – CALLING ALL WRITERS!

If you’re interested in writing about music, film, literature, tech, culture, society & more for the Kollaboration blog, please send an email to:blog@kollaboration.org!

Get involved with Kollaboration!

Kollaboration has open staff positions for our Seattle, Atlanta, LA, and Global teams! If you’re interested in contributing to the movement, meeting new friends, & working with amazing artists, apply here: Seattle | Atlanta | LA | Global

Check out the latest from our official Kollaboration Podcast “KollabCast”

Episode 10 featuring Christine Chen & Linda Dong – Hey New Media, Where the Women At?

Episode 11 featuring Paul PK Kim – PK’s Adventures in Parenting

Episode 12 featuring Kollaboration Boston, Seattle, DC, & LA – Boston Double Header

“Dear No One” cover – #Fourty4B

Check out this acapella arranged cover of Tori Kelly’s “Dear No One” by Kollaboration LA 2014 competitors #Fourty4B. »

“All For You, Together Again, Escapade” cover – Jane Lui

Watch the super fun video of Jane Lui’s Janet Jackson medley cover, featuring friends Scott Okamoto, Daniel Blinkoff, Tamlyn Tomita, Phil Yu, Paul Dateh, Sean Miura, Mikey De Lara, Kari Lee, & Joe Tomasini. »

“Suddenly” – Lions Ambition

Watch the music video for Lions Ambitions 2015 original “Suddenly”. »


 

Help keep the Kollaboration movement alive & kicking in 2015! Every little bit helps & we are grateful for your support!

 

Congratulations to Kollaboration Boston IV Winner J.Dep!

On April 17th, 2015, Kollaboration Boston saw a whole new wave of talented artists pour their hearts out on stage. The atmosphere in Royale Nightclub was historic: guests were cheering for each performance and clapping for every high note, every move. During Derek Hsu’s performance, we even had a few guests jump up from their seats out of amazement. Our 4th showcase was a success. Our finalists were EastSide, Esther Chung, Harrison Kim, Juice, JDep, and Elise Go. The amount of talent we saw that night was unbelievable and we’re glad our guests were able to witness the magic on stage. Our guest performers, Unofficial Project, Derek Hsu, and danAKAdan were also important assets to the night.

All our performers made the night memorable. Some artists played original songs and others played original medleys, all the while inspiring the audience to move with their music. The Kollaboration Boston team worked hard for a year and a half to put the show together and it definitely shows. Adlai Grayson was the host this year, and as he did last year, he did an incredible job. After Harrison Kim’s “Chocolate Green” song, Adlai jumped right in and added, “Can I be your chocolate…green?” This is just a small example of how he was so witty and interactive with not just the guests, but the performers as well.

Overall, the show went smoothly and the guests were able to go back during actual club hours (10:30pm-2am) to party with Cedric Gervais as the DJ of the night. We would like to thank Amazon and Mint Nightlife as our official sponsors this year. It was a great kick off to the new Kollaboration season, and we’re excited for what’s in store next year for Kollaboration Boston!

Kollaboration Boston IV | Friday April 17 @ Royale

Kollaboration Boston is excited to begin Kollaboration’s 2015 season with our fourth annual showcase!

Kollaboration Boston IV will be held Friday, April 17 at Royale Nightclub in downtown Boston, which features young AAPI artists from around the Greater Boston Area.

Doors open at 6:30PM!

FINALISTS:
EastSide
Elise Go
Esther Chung
Harrison Kim
J. Dep
Juice

These six artists are competing for a chance to perform at Kollaboration Star 2015 in Los Angeles later this year and win $10,000!

GUEST PERFORMERS:
DANakaDAN
Derek Hsu
Unofficial Project

HOST:
Adlai Grayson

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

GENERAL ADMISSION: $15
GA + AFTER PARTY (21+, featuring Cedric Gervais): $25
For groups of 10+, please contact us at: bostonkollab@gmail.com

Tickets can be bought at:
https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/823079?utm_medium=bks

Stay up to date with Kollaboration Boston, the show, and our finalists on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Get excited and we’ll see you there!

Questions?
bostonkollab@gmail.com

Partnering with The Kindred Foundation for Adoption

Kollaboration is happy to announce a partnership with The Kindred Foundation for Adoption! Kindred is an organization dedicated to providing resources to adoptees and their families. Serving both domestic and international adoptees, it provides services such as travel, translation, and support for those looking to reunite, avenues of artistic expression, and programs for orphans living in foster or government care.

Kollaboration has always been deeply rooted in identity, expression, and representation. With a largely Asian American base, our community shares in varying degrees of collective experience with the adoptee community. Questions of belonging, forays into identity, and the balance of seemingly disparate worlds are part and parcel to the AAPI experience.

Better yet – they are our muses.

Yet, as purposeful as that might sound, real life is rarely that neat. Expression is best spontaneous. Things just sort of happen, real-time, and what we do in response defines that moment.

That’s how I felt when I watched the trailer for Twinsters, the Kickstarter documentary by Samantha Futerman, co-founder of The Kindred Foundation for Adoption.

Sam is a Korean-American actress and director pursuing her acting career in Los Angeles. Like many actors, she has some great, hilarious stuff on YouTube and one day, a group of friends in France was watching one of her videos with KevJumba.

They enjoyed it even more because Sam looked just like their friend Anais, a fashion student in Paris. A striking resemblance!

It was just a funny coincidence until they told Anais. She searched Sam to see the similarity, but within a few more clicks, she realized that they had the same birthday, same year. They also happened to be adoptees.

Anais sends Sam an excited Facebook message and the story begins.

I can’t help and think that if Sam hadn’t made that video, Anais could never have recognized their resemblance. Continents apart, they would never have realized the similarities they share and inspire this amazing story. It was all because she took a risk, and put herself out there for the world to see.

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It’s unbelievable how entertainment can bring people together in the most serendipitous of ways.

I think that’s one of the reasons we do what we do here at Kollaboration. If, through the events we organize, the platform we provide, or the people we bring together, we can help set the stage for the next great story, then we’ve made our impact. We’ve fought the good fight.

And so with great pleasure we announce this new partnership and ask for your generous support!

Support the Kindred Foundation for Adoption!

The Kindred Foundation for Adoption hosts their inaugural event next Tuesday, March 3, 2015 at the Sofitel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills. Proceeds will help fund worldwide aid to adoptees and their families.

The evening will include a hosted Svedka bar, light tray pass, silent auction, a sneak peek at Twinsters and special guest performances by cast members of Glee!

Family Has No Boundary

Hosted by The Kindred Foundation for Adoption
Tuesday, March 3, 2015 from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM (PST)
Sofitel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills
8555 Beverly Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90048

Get your tickets on EventBrite

@kindredadoption #kindredadoption #family #launchparty

A New Chapter and a New Sound for Dia Frampton: Archis

Whether you started following Dia Frampton during her Warped Tour days as the lead singer of alternative rock band Meg & Dia, or from her deep run on the inaugural season of NBC’s The Voice, chances are you’ve been eager to hear more from the talented singer-songwriter. Luckily, your wait is almost over as her new band Archis (pronounced like “arches”) will release their debut EP on Monday, February 23.

A collaboration between Dia and composer/producer Joseph Trapanese (who famously worked with Daft Punk on the score for Disney’s Tron: Legacy and M83 on Oblivion), The Archis EP was recorded in early 2014 and was originally set to be released independently during the 2014 Lindsey Stirling Tour that Dia was a part of. This was when Nettwerk Records, who had just signed Dia, took notice and convinced her that if she wanted to release this record the right way, she should do it with more financial backing.

Kollaboration caught up with Dia to talk about Archis, the value of performing live, and her other side projects.

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What is Archis? How did it come to be and what is unique about it?

The roots of Archis started quite a few years ago when I first worked with my friend Joe [Trapanese]. He’s such a creative person, I just felt like I connected with him right away. We worked together on a few songs just for fun that I would listen to for my own creative intake. It was difficult because the things we worked on wasn’t really resonating with the label I was with at the time.

We didn’t really plan to make a new band, it started as an excuse to get together and have fun. Working with Joe was always effortless and it never felt like I was going into the studio to produce a perfect three and a half minute pop song—it was just a fun and creative release. Organically, the music started sounding so different from my past stuff and Joe was such a big part of it as well, so it made sense to call it something new.

I think for me it’s also a transitional project. The first single, Blood, is mostly about feeling chewed up and spit out by record labels and trying to find my ground again. When you get caught up in Hollywood and you’re on a TV show and this major record wants this and that from you, I feel like I got pulled around a little bit and lost focus on why I enjoyed doing music. I think I’m still recovering from a period where I lost a lot of self-confidence. Thinking back to why I loved music in the first place, I remember going to shows of my favorite band, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and how they inspired and changed me. I hope that in the same way, Archis can inspire our listeners in some way to overcome their fears and start their own adventure.

Do you have any advice for aspiring artists?

It’s definitely a different world for media and I think that technology has helped a lot in making it easier to get your stuff out there. I have a lot of friends who are aspiring actors who just write their own short films and just upload them to show the world what they got and it’s so amazing that you can share your work that way.

I think the one downside about performing through technology like YouTube is that it doesn’t really prepare you for the pressures of a live show. It’s really easy for people to get behind their screens, play a song on guitar, and upload it to their many subscribers, but when they have to go out and play a live show, it’s definitely not the same thing and I think that can catch people off guard. It’s such a difference environment to play for real human bodies sitting right in front of you.

I think it’s really important to perform often and to remember that no show is too small. People think that I’m playing these huge shows, but I can book a show right now in Kansas and there’ll only be like 5 or so people there. I’m still growing myself and my advice to anyone who wants to be a performer is to just play as much as possible

Besides music, what other things are you into right now?

Right now I’m really into cooking and baking. I’ve also been getting into Pilates classes because I’m getting older and it’s like, oh my gosh, everything’s going away! But one thing that I’ve been really getting into lately that most people don’t know about is acting. I’ve been taking acting classes for about 2 years now and have been going to a lot of auditions.

My first acting audition was for the Les Misérables movie with Hugh Jackman, even though I didn’t get the part I really enjoyed preparing for it (Les Mis is one of my favorite books in the world, if I was to get a tattoo it would be 24601, which is Jen Valjean’s serial number). It’s been a fun new pursuit for me, but it’s also been really hard to get so many rejections. I feel like I’ve auditioned for probably 100 parts now and I’ve gotten just as many no’s. Nothing is ever easy in this industry, but things that are hard to get are usually worth it in the end and in the end, performing and taking acting classes has been a lot of fun for me.

You can pre-order Archis now on iTunes and don’t forget to listen to a few of the singles BloodBittersweet, and Let Me Love!

Photo courtesy of Myriam Santos