We were lucky to catch up with Renee Hikari recently and have shared our conversation below.

Renee, appreciate you joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

Thanks for having me. After graduating from college, I played in the New York City music scene as a drummer for many years. Playing live shows was all I wanted to do and I didn’t mind working side jobs as long as I got to play.

In January 2020, I decided to quit my full-time job to fully pursue music as I passed an audition to perform with an artist where we would play arena shows as an opening act. At this point in my life, I was starting to get comfortable with financial stability from my full-time job. It was a relief to not struggle so much financially in one of the most expensive cities in the world. But I knew that this kind of opportunity was truly a once-in-a-lifetime case so I decided to quit my job and jump into the unknown. And it was truly the unknown because after playing our first arena show, the pandemic hit and the whole world shut down before our eyes.

I remember a lot of people feeling bad for me that I quit my job at such a bad time, especially since no one knew how long it would take for live music to come back, or if it ever will. I was scared and I wasn’t sure if I had anything left going for me. But not once did I regret my decision to quit my job. For once in my life, I was allowed to have a lot of ‘time’. A luxury one cannot afford- especially in New York City. I immediately turned to music production, something I’ve always wanted to learn beyond my high school GarageBand recording skills. I’ve always loved it and recall recording a song almost every single night, but too shy to let anyone know or listen.

While I was self-learning music production, I received a call to help out a recording session in Woodstock, NY with acclaimed producers, David Baron and Simone Felice. It was a Shania Twain session and I said yes without hesitation. This was the start of my studio engineering career that I am currently enjoying and what I feel now is my ‘forever job’. I started as just a runner for the studio without knowing anything about professional studio gear. I was fully aware of how lucky that a studio novice like me was working in a studio so I promised myself that I would really put in the work and work my way up from the bottom no matter what. Just being in the studio surrounded by amazing analog gear, talent, eavesdropping on the creative process, and hearing an idea come to life made me happy and dream of engineering one day.

Two years later, I still get to work at Sun Mountain Studio for my amazing mentor, David Baron. Since the Shania Twain session, we’ve worked on many amazing records and artists such as The Lumineers, Wesley Schultz, Arum Rae, Melanie De Biasio, Beth Gibbons, and more. And now I get to enjoy the actual recording process hands-on, such as engineering sessions, mixing, setting up mics, running patch labels, processing audio, and spending quality time with the artists. Every day I learn something new from David and the sessions at Sun Mountain. It continues to expand my world and deepen my love for making music.

From this experience, I learned that by taking risks and being open to changes and opportunities, things tend to align. I realized that when things feel like it’s not working in your favor, it’s not really that they’re working against you. Perhaps there’s another angle you haven’t approached yet or another possibility you haven’t considered. More importantly, I realized that risk isn’t all about yourself. The risk I took involved other people taking risks. It was David and Simone taking a risk on hiring me, it was my partner taking a risk to move with me to upstate, NY. The weight of other people taking a risk on me pushes me to do well. A risk is a collective work that requires other people to believe in you. But in order for that to happen, you have to believe in yourself, even if you’re full of doubts. Because that doubt can be the exact fuel you need to be the greatest version of yourself.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers?

I was born in Tokyo, Japan raised on art my whole life by my grandmother, a ballet dancer, and my grandfather, a theater director. Music was always eclectic in the house because of my father who was a well-known saxophonist in Tokyo’s thriving underground jazz- hip-hop scene in the 90s.

When I was five years old, I moved to Queens, New York. I started playing drums at the age of 14 and have been playing in the New York City music scene for over ten years and tour occasionally for a variety of artists.

I majored in Film Studies at Hunter College of New York and quickly fell in love with the art of film scoring, sound design, and music production. I am currently working on a film score for a short film, as well as programming beats for artists and projects. Music production and beat programming are where I find the most creativity to express myself. I love manipulating found sounds and field recordings and turning them into unique sounds.

I also work as a studio assistant/engineer at Sun Mountain Studio in Woodstock, NY run by acclaimed producer, David Baron. We worked with many artists such as Shania Twain, The Lumineers, Wesley Schultz, Arum Rae, Melanie De Biasio, Beth Gibbons, and more

David and I are gearing up to release our first project together as, “SOLARI”, an electronic record that explores life experiences through cinematic compositions using only vintage analog synthesizers and processing gear. It will come out in January 2023.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being creative?

It’s a bit hard to explain but it’s that moment when you realize that you and everyone you’re in the room with were just moved by a presence that’s beyond the music. This goes for live performances and in the studio. The moments you lock in with your fellow bandmate on stage so perfectly that you exchange a smile or finally listening to what was once just a voice memo turn into a final mix is what makes me feel like the happiest person in the world.. In the studio, when I see artists blown away by their own music brings me one of the greatest joys.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Since we now live in a world of streaming and the music business doesn’t have the money to support artists the way it used to, I think it’s important now more than ever for society to stay interested and connected to the arts and music. Sharing music or art that you like with your friends, posting about them on social media, buying merchandise, and attending live shows are all very important things that will always continue to support artists and creatives. Having real people appreciate or enjoy your music/art is a very rewarding feeling and continues to be a driving factor for many artists.

I have also been lucky to have a mentor in this music field and I realize how rare and important it truly is today. We live in an era where there’s a ton of information online and very little guidance. I think people like myself who strive to be better should always learn in every situation. And if you meet someone that has the knowledge you want, ask questions and observe. Vice versa, I think it’s crucial for experienced creatives to share their experience with someone who is willing to learn because that can be the biggest inspiration to them.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.reneehikari.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/reneeondrums
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Ren%C3%A9eHikari

Image Credits
Drew Bordeaux