I remember how it felt like to walk into a room full of other innovators for the first time. I felt like I was on Cloud 9. It was an exhilarating feeling to be among people with unique careers, different opinions and who were always willing to try new things. It encouraged me to know that following my own vision and doing something different is not weird but rather, a way to innovate and something to celebrate.
HERE is a song to rejoice in the pleasure of connecting with those who get us and where we can be ourselves. It is a song of celebration to the friends in our lives who give us joy during this journey as innovators and creatives.
Here’s an image I think about often: I walk into a room of like-minded innovators, and I feel a mental jolt of color and exciting possibilities… and I’m no longer scared to attempt anything new because we’re part of this group who has the confidence to experiment and who dare to do something different and go against the wave.
This is an invigorating and encouraging feeling to experience, and I feel braver than I have in the past. And with that vision, we created “here“.
I hope that this song, which we created for you, the innovators, shows how you feel when you enter those spaces and form those relationships on your journey as an innovator. Sometimes we worry where and when we could meet those friends or mentors. However, as we share in the song, they are often found when we first begin focusing on who we are as innovators and why we are here today.
Celebration of today is a milestone in our journey to discover new possibilities. So, I hope this encourages you to appreciate who you are now and the relationships and connections that have helped you get to where you want to be.
Let me take you behind the scenes on how this all came together, as well as how our team at InnovatorsBox Studios around the world collaborated to produce it for you.
Meet the team who worked on this project.
Serin Oh
Singer Songwriter, Producer
Paniz Farokhnia
Producer
Ravi Lad
Singer
Rowanne Chang
Studios Graphic Designer
I shared the idea with my team who made it come to life.
Serin is our lead vocal and songwriter, and you met her in our previous song “Paint My World.” I wanted to know what motivated her to compose the lyrics and rhythm for this song.
Monica: What was your story inspiration for this song?
Serin:
You shared the joy in the duality of being around fellow innovators who are alone on their own individual journeys while also feeling like you’ve found your group of people. We wanted to share that this dichotomy allows people to enjoy and embrace the authenticity of being on their own journey.
Monica: Why is this song meaningful for you?
Serin:
I definitely resonate with the sentiment expressed by Monica. Being an artist, you’re going down a path that isn’t relatable to mainstream society and when meeting other artists, we’re writing songs catering to our own individual audiences, so it’s rare to fully connect with fellow artists either.
Monica: What about you, Paniz? You also worked on “Paint My World”. How was working on n”Here” different or similar for you? And what was your favorite part in developing this piece?
Paniz:
Collaborating is always my favorite part of any project and it felt fitting that the storyline of this song was related to that! As far as the developing process goes, my favorite part was letting the bass and the groove of the beat shine in this project! Luke Helder played bass on this and as soon as I heard his bass line, I knew it had to shine through the song!
Monica: And why is this song meaningful for you?
Paniz:
Collaboration is a huge part of making music and a huge part of why I love making music. To make a song with talented people about the concept of finding your tribe was just golden.
I agree on collaboration. Speaking of which, we have our new vocal in this piece. Meet one of our musicians who is also our audio engineer, Ravi Lad.
Monica: Ravi, tell us a bit more about why you care about music and why is making music, in general, important for you?
Ravi:
I think music has an incredibly unique way of connecting people and connecting with people. I feel invigorated when I spend time creating music and seeing different pieces (whether mine or others’) resonate with people is INCREDIBLY fulfilling.
Monica: And why is this song meaningful to you?
Ravi
In short, it inspires me to show up as my true, authentic self every day. This was something I struggled with growing up, and still sometimes do on occasion.
Love that. Tell us more about how you came up with the beat and melody, Serin and Paniz. It’s extremely catchy.
Monica: Are there music that inspired the development process?
Serin:
We were bumping Butter by BTS, Attention by Charlie Puth, and Bad Liar by Selena Gomez. Since we wanted this song to be groovy, we focused on creating a bass line focused track!
Ok, I’m a bit guilty as well. I did ask if we could get some inspiration from this summer’s wild hit Butter by BTS. I’m an Army here – aka being a BTS fan – and love how they do such a beat that becomes a classic.
Monica: Paniz, what about you? What music or beat inspired you in the development process?
Paniz:
The bass line felt like the key part of the song, which had us immediately think of “Attention” by Charlie Puth. When I heard Serin’s voice on that first verse, the tonality of the song also made me immediately think of “Bad Liar” by Selena Gomez. However, I was really inspired by “Attention” and the minimal production approach in that song.
For those who don’t know this music, I’ve hyperlinked them in this blog so that you could listen to them while enjoying “Here” as well.
Pretty catchy and fun, right?
This is why, Serin says her favorite part was developing the bass line.
Serin:
My favorite part in developing this piece was writing to just a bass line. It was my first time ever doing that as a songwriter!
And we know this won’t be your last! We’ll be wanting more of this from you, Serin!
Monica: Ravi, what about you? What are your favorite moments?
Ravi:
My favorite part in creating this piece was assembling the vocals! We played with different vocal ranges and styles of music- I really like where we landed with it!
That means a lot. For those who didn’t realize, our team is entirely remote. And for this piece, we were all in different time zones and cities – LA, Texas, London, Spain, and Washington DC! I mean, I’m kind of a bonus, really. My team did all the work, but you get the point! This is why, the goal of what we want to convey through the song is so crucial.
Monica: Rowanne, this is where your magic comes in. I’m always inspired by how you find these cool ways to visualize our music and give them an identity. How do you do it?
Rowanne:
It might sound cheesy, but literally everywhere. I pay attention to any details that happen on the street: people sitting outside of the bar chatting, their facial expressions, the bubbles coming out of the cocld beer and that golden light color. I especially love to observe human interaction, no matter its with other people or with nature.
Monica: What inspiration helped you create the visual for this album that was different from the other ones?
Rowanne:
I see colors when I hear the melody, I see vivid pictures when I hear the lyrics. When I played this album again and again, I could picture a whole visual concept for it.
Monica: Love that, do you have any favorite line in the song?
Rowanne:
Yes!
"I don't always gotta walk solo
Out here making our own flow
Together
We are better than we know"
I love that line too. I was so happy we had the word flow there to promote the importance of creative flow!
Monica: What about you, Ravi? What do you hope others feel when they listen to “Here”?
Ravi:
My favorite part in creating this piece was assembling the vocals! We played with different vocal ranges and styles of music- I really like where we landed with it!
Agreed, and we aim to tell the tale in every piece we create. It’s the narrative we wish to convey in every creation.
Monica:Paniz, back to you. As someone who produces a lot of music with different studios, could you share how our work may feel different?
Paniz:
Definitely, the storytelling makes making music at InnovatorsBox unique from other places. Oftentimes, it’s easy to get caught up in the world of what will get the most streams, or what is trending in music, but to sit down and really tell a story the way Monica inspires us to do is incredibly special. At the end of the day, music is about self-expression -- and what better way to do that than to tell a story!
I’m so happy to hear this! And yes, storytelling is something we love doing and we hope it hear that through this song.
Monica: Rowanne, what about you? You also do a lot of graphic work outside of InnovatorsBox. I’d assume a lot of your artwork inspiration came from where you found meaning in this piece. Why is this song meaningful to you?
Rowanne:
I feel like this song is for everyone. When you feel alone or when you feel others don’t understand you, it's okay -- because "here" is a song for you.
A song for everyone! Yes, that’s what I hope too! A song that captures the essence of a moment. A song that inspires you, motivates you and reminds you of how amazing you are – just the way you are.
Thank you, Serin, Paniz, and Ravi for taking the time to share with me about how you collaborated on “Here” and how you would like others to feel about the song!
Shoutout and special thanks to also all the other team members who were part of this project! Giorgio Schipani for Mastering, Luke Helder for Bass, Jamie Blake for Mixing, Isaiah Weatherspoon for Co-Producing, and many more. We had a lot of thought going into this and we hope you enjoy the love and fun we had creating it!
Please take a moment to enjoy the music and add it to your playlist.
Oh, and we’ve got this fantastic music video we made that serves as an excellent complement to the music. To all innovators, thank you for being who you are and walking in your own shoes and inspiring others as well.
About the Author
Monica H. Kang
Monica H. Kang, Founder, and CEO of InnovatorsBox® and Author of Rethink Creativity is transforming today’s workforce through the power of creativity. She helps companies rethink culture, leadership, and team development by making creativity practical and relatable regardless of industry or job title. She has worked with clients worldwide including Fortune 500 companies, higher education, government, and nonprofits. Monica’s work has been recognized by The White House, Ashoka Changemakers, National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC), and Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). Prior to InnovatorsBox®, Monica was a nuclear nonproliferation policy expert. She holds an M.A. from SAIS Johns Hopkins University in Strategic Studies and International Economics and a B.A. from Boston University.
At InnovatorsBox®, Kree's main focus is augmenting its digital presences, the SEO, and some content strategy.
