Sara Brown
School of Music, BFA2
Recording Studio for Women & LGBTQ+ Community
During the pandemic friends and I built a recording studio called Kahina Studios in Zurich, Switzerland, from scratch that should serve as a safe space for women and the LGBTQ+ Community.
Motivated by my experience and the discrimination towards marginalized groups I faced in the Swiss music industry, I no longer wanted to remain in the position I feel I was pushed into. Therefore, after lengthy negotiations on how to finance such a large project, friends and I started to lay out plans on how to build a recording studio with just the bare materials. In May 2020, we began building starting with laying down the floor and so on. We watched numerous tutorials on Youtube and asked people with experience in their respective fields for advice and help. In January 2021, we finished major constructions and moved on to organise gear and instruments, which were mostly donated by friends and allies. Currently, we are setting up our website, establishing partnerships and preparing everything around it to open up in summer when it's safe to do so. This place should be a part of a change that is long overdue. A working place for creatives to feel safe to work at. A place for artists to feel comfortable to be who they are.
For more info visit our website or feel free to reach out to us: www.bandtentertainment.com , bandtpublishing@gmail.com
Collaborators: Johanna Hüsgen, René Trüstedt
Brave New Persona
My EP called Brave New Persona will be released song by song over the course of the next couple of months. The first song It's Okay got released March 26. At the center of this concept EP is a determined, successful woman who is in the middle of life and who enjoys her popularity and beauty. The higher the reputation and the financial means, the more desirable the lifestyle seems. The protagonist soon finds out that this shiny world is in reality very empty and lonely, but she comes to the conclusion that quitting would lead to more struggle, so she tries to connect with people on the level of basic needs. Short-term love affairs appear to be a suitable solution.
The title is a cross-reference to Aldous Huxley's work "Brave New World" to denounce the fact that this ideal, which is not limited to female-identifying individuals, goes hand in hand with the idea that more consumption = more happiness. While the EP is written and produced in a light, joyful & self-contained way, it holds the undercurrent of feeling isolated and lonely.
Collaborators: Federico Ferrandina, Daniela Rivera, John Horesco, Asher