Singer/songwriter Kailee Spark‘s music is influenced by the luscious beauty that surrounds her in the Big Island of Hawaii, Hilo, and her music is a strong reflection of it. Her music is pensive and tranquil, and her latest single “Passageways” is no exception, with sounds from a “strummed guitar, subtle brush drumming, and breezy vibes,” all the perfect concoction for a warm, sunny day by the beach. “Passageways” is from her debut album, Savor This, out on June 26, produced by folk/jazz musician, and Hawaii local, Bub Pratt, and is the first single from the forthcoming album. “Passageways” is about a lover returning from being away for a while. Spark’s music tells stories of pain, connection, letting go, and escape.
The music video for “Passageways” was directed by Pratt, and features Spark in a white dress walking through a tropical rainforest, and was shot in the ancient Na Ala Hele Trail and Ha’ena Beach, the perfect setting for someone who’s “lost” trying to find their way home or some other destination altogether. Check out the beautiful video for “Passageways” in our interview with Spark below, where she discusses intimately being inspired by her surroundings in Hawaii, the writing and recording process of Savor This, collaboration with Bub Pratt, filming the video for “Passageways,” and much more.
How long have you lived in Hawaii & how do you think living there inspired or influenced your songwriting?
Kailee Spark: I’ve lived on the Big Island of Hawaii for 11 years. I originally came out here to do an internship at a small hippie-ish community but I fell in love with the island. I feel more at home here than anywhere else in the world. A lot of my music is inspired by the beauty of Hawaii, and lots of little tidbits are thrown into my songs that relate to Hawaii like the ocean, stars, birds, flowers.
You’re gearing up for your debut album, Savor This, coming out on June 26th. What was the writing and recording process like for it?
Kailee: It has been an amazing experience! Some of the songs are pretty old and some are brand new. I have dozens of songs so I had to pick ones that I thought would flow well with the other songs in the album. Some of my songs got a major rehaul and some, like Universe at your Fingertips, are exactly how I wrote them years ago. We’d always start the recording process by laying down acoustic guitar tracks (or in a couple cases, piano) and main vocals. Bub (the producer on my album) would spend some time adding other elements to the mix, and in some cases, he brought in other musicians to record drums or whatever for the songs. I’d come back in and lay more vocal harmony tracks and anything else fun I could think of. One of my favorite random things we added was “mouth trumpets” (just like it sounds, making a trumpet noise with your mouth) to the bridge in the song Savor This. It seemed like a cheesy idea at first but it actually sounds really great in the mix. There was lots of collaboration and working together to find the best style/sound. I’m very happy with what we’ve created.
You teamed up with local folk musician, Bub Pratt; how did that connection come about, and what was collaboration like with him?
Kailee: A friend introduced me to Bub Pratt and Kukuau Studio after I asked for local recording studio recommendations. I felt at home right away! You walk into the studio and there is this whimsical mural on the wall with mushrooms and flying whales and stuff. Bub is great to work with, he is incredibly positive, upbeat, and talented. We’ve also worked on co-writing a couple songs together, and it’s pretty fun to go back and forth with our ideas.
What was the inspiration behind your latest single, “Passageways”?
Kailee: Falling in love with someone. The song has several layers to it, there’s the nice layer where it’s all about just falling in love and wanting to know everything about them and give them a kind of love they’ve never experienced. But then on a deeper level, it’s about the idealistic yet unrealistic notion of wanting to “rescue” someone from their own pains/depression through your love.
What was the teamwork like filming the music video for “Passageways”?
Kailee: It was just me, Bub Pratt, and the videographer Chris Roberts. We had a great time filming it, everything just seemed totally in the flow- the weather, the ideas we had, the sunlight pouring down through the trees like spotlights, the huge mud puddle we came across. Couldn’t have asked for a better team. The mud part was pretty disgusting, but hey- it definitely leaves an impression on people when they watch the video!
Fun Questions
Who was your first concert, and do you have a favorite so far?
Kailee: My first concert was Nsync!!! But my favorite concert was a Vans Warped Tour in San Francisco where I saw a bunch of my favorite bands: Saves the Day, Yellowcard, Blink182.
What was your first album on CD and/or vinyl?
Kailee: My very first album on CD was the country artist Deanna Carter’s Did I Shave My Legs For This. I love her song “Strawberry Wine.” My second CD was Savage Garden- “To the Moon and Back” is such a great song.
Which five albums and/or artists would you not want to live without?
Kailee:
Lifted by Bright Eyes
Saltbreakers by Laura Veirs
Conor Oberst by Conor Oberst
Soon it Will be Cold Enough by Emancipator
Oceans & Bridges by Bub Pratt
Do you have a guilty music and/or entertainment pleasure?
Kailee: Guilty entertainment pleasure…I don’t watch much TV but one show I like to binge-watch sometimes is “Alone”, where people compete to see how long they can live off the land in places like Alaska. I find it to be really calming and inspiring. There is something so appealing about living a simple life and just working with the land to survive. Although I’m sure if I went on that show I’d last about three days, since I get cold so easily and don’t have much body fat to keep me going. Maybe if I gained like 50 lbs beforehand, I’d last a couple of weeks.
What are you currently listening to, reading, and/or watching?
Kailee:
I’m currently reading this book “A Fortune Teller Told Me”, a true travel memoir written by this Italian journalist. He visited a fortune teller in China in the 60’s who warned him not to travel by plane or helicopter in the year 1993 or he would die in a crash. He followed the fortune teller’s warning, and crazily enough a helicopter he would have been on for work crashed that March. Pretty wild. The rest of the book he travels around SE Asia and visits different fortune tellers and psychics.
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