Komie’s latest single, Aurora Dawning (feat. Idrise), is a sweeping, melodic and inspiring pop song featuring the talented up-and-coming vocalist, Idrise. The single, available at all digital and streaming outlets now, follows Komie’s well-received instrumental album, Afterglow. Komie is a two-time Emmy award-winning guitarist, composer and producer who has created music for hit television shows like Ozzy Osbourne’s World Detour and The Amazing Race.

In this interview spotlight, I chat with Komie about the latest project, challenges, technology and more.

Full Q&A along with links and music below.

Where are you from and what style of music do you create?

Born in Scottsdale/Phoenix. I braved the Arizona heat for 11 years before moving to Chicago, endured icy cold winters for 7 years (does it sound like I’m complaining? lol) I finally escaped to UNT Texas for music school (which was awesome!) and then to L.A., where I’ve lived ever since. No more crazy heat or icy winters…don’t get me wrong, Phoenix and Chicago are really great cities, but you can’t beat Southern California weather.

Musically, first and foremost I’m a guitarist, and I think I’m at my best when I’m creating inspiring, uplifting music that features lots of cool guitar work combined with great vocal performances. It can be a challenge, because I don’t think my music fits neatly into one genre, it’s more of a hybrid between several different styles. Kind of a pop, rock, prog, post-rock, slightly-jazzy-at-times mashup if you will.

What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?

Guitar saved my life. Not literally (but maybe a little?) Emotionally, as a kid and later a teen, music and playing the guitar gave me an important outlet for my angst and frustrations. It was a self-discovered personal therapy, and it still works for me today. When I’m creating music or just playing my guitar I feel very much “in the moment” if you know what I mean. It’s really healthy for me and makes me feel good. So for me the biggest motivation is the process of creating, it’s fun, satisfying and helps me live in the moment.

 How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?

My last album, Afterglow, was all instrumental and very much a “guitar” album where guitar colors, textures, melodies and solos were the centerpiece of the whole project. It was an amazing experience creating it, but this time around I wanted to create something a little different, but still retain some of the qualities that Afterglow had. This new project is vocal oriented, yet still have lots of cool guitar, and hopefully it’s a little more accessible to more people. The goal here is to explore my songwriting and vocal production skills more than ever before.

 Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this oversaturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?

One or two!?!? lol…It’s really hard to know how best to promote your music, that’s the biggest challenge for me. Also I’ve never been a big social media person so it’s been a bit of a learning curve getting up to speed on all this social media stuff. I’m getting there though and starting to enjoy it more.

What was the last song you listened to?

Hmm, well I’m currently scoring a video for IMAX (my day job is composing music for film and TV) and I listened to a bunch of world music songs on YouTube to get in the vibe.

 Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?

I like them all, and there’s no doubt vinyl has a different sound that’s really cool. I guess they all have their advantages/disadvantages. Mp3s are a breeze to email and sound good. I’d probably pick a CD cause the sound quality is best, but vinyl is equally as good just a different sound.

 How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?

They’re all fine, but I’d say my least favorite is Apple Music because that company tends to make their stuff proprietary, and I prefer companies that have more of an “open source” approach to their technology. Bandcamp has so much flexibility for artists I do like that one. Spotify is improving, I like the new feature of being able to submit unreleased music to their editorial staff.

Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music? 

Any of the digital stores/streaming:

• iTunes: https://apple.co/2WUcX48
• Apple: https://apple.co/2Zb2jU2
• Spotify: spotify:album:4cKA2mf8SdxyE4jS8ov8p5
• Bandcamp: https://komie.bandcamp.com/
• Pandora: https://pdora.co/2Wth0A2
• Google Play: https://bit.ly/2WUUKDd
• Amazon: https://amzn.to/2EXDYte
• Plus my website: https://komie.rocks/ and social media:
• FB: https://www.facebook.com/KomieRocks/
• IG: https://www.instagram.com/komierocks/
• YouTube: https://bit.ly/2MOFz6N
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/KomieRocks

Anything else before we sign off?

Thanks so much for your support, really appreciate it! Look for the new music video for Aurora Dawning coming very soon!