We’ve been playing out Changes by Juhan Ongbrian and Shane Sato recently here on Phoenix FM – and we caught up with Juhan and Shane to find out more about their musical lives and loves.
Tell us a little bit about your yourself?
Juhan: I am a guitarist, music producer, and audio engineer currently based in Jakarta, Indonesia. I have spent the last 10 years studying and working in the music industry in both Seattle and Los Angeles, United States. I produce and release my own music, as well as work with other artists on their music.
Shane: I’m a Japanese-American drummer, guitarist and producer, born and raised in Southern California and currently living in Los Angeles. I gig around in LA as a hired gun and with my band, Box Dreams, and I produce and write music for myself and other local indie artists.
When did you first start to develop a passion for music?
Juhan: I started playing the violin when I was about ten years old and the piano when I was much younger, but neither of these instruments stuck with me. I began learning the guitar during my high school years in Singapore and fell in love with the instrument.
Since then, my passion for music has grown. I eventually decided to pursue further education in audio production in the US.
Shane: My mom played classical piano and always had hip RnB and alternative music playing in the house and in the car. Her best friend’s husband is a professional drummer so I started taking lessons with him at a young age. I really got into music in my early teenage years, picking up the guitar, piano, and playing trombone in my school marching band.
Which artists did you listen to while growing up?
Juhan: I listened to a lot of classic oldies like The Beatles, Bee Gees, and Queen, basically whatever my parents listened to at the time. During my high school years, I started listening to Rock and Blues music, including Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, B. B. King, and Buddy Guy. It was during this time that I started learning the guitar.
Lately, I have been listening to a lot of Modern Jazz, Indie, and Experimental musicians such as Tom Misch, Alfa Mist, Yussef Dayes, and many other great artists.
Shane: When I was young, it was whatever my mom listened to at the time (Earth, Wind and Fire, Chicago, John Mayer) as well as 60s & 70s top 40 music that played on a well known LA radio station. In middle school it was bands like Green Day, Foo Fighters, Fall Out Boy, and Simple Plan.
High school was my classic rock (Hendrix, Zeppelin, Steely Dan, Van Halen) and straight ahead jazz (Ellington, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker) phase, and college I got into more indie alternative (Tame Impala, Vulfpeck, Tom Misch) and modern jazz music (Pat Metheny, Joshua Redman, Snarky Puppy).
How would you describe your music to someone who hasn’t heard you before?
Juhan: My music could be described as experimental, retro yet fresh, and jazzy in some ways – it could also be considered as nu-jazz. I like to incorporate mainly organic instruments like guitars, percussion, acoustic drum kit, and piano in my productions. “Changes” is a great representation of my sound.
Shane: I would say instrumental, jazzy, and crisp with live elements and thoughtful production. “Changes”, a single between Juhan Ongbrian and myself is a collaboration that we wrote together and is a reflective, jazzy arrangement with a driving energy.
What music have you recorded and released to date?
Juhan: I first released my EP “Mood Swings” in 2019. Since then, I have been working on and releasing mainly single releases, including my most recent project titled “Home Home Home.” In addition to my own personal projects, I have also recorded, produced, or written for other artists such as Allan Rayman, Michael Graff, and WALLA.
Shane: I released my first solo 3-song EP in 2020, as well as musical collaborations with other artists (VHS King, Box Dreams, Coastal, Juhan Ongbrian) throughout 2021 and 2023. I have also released singles over the last year with my band, Box Dreams, in preparation for an album dropping later this year.
In addition, indie artists that I have written songs and produced with also have releases over the past three years.
Which artists do you enjoy listening to at the moment – and do they influence your work?
Juhan: I currently listen to a lot of modern UK jazz artists such as Tom Misch, Alfa Mist, Yussef Dayes, Robohands, Joe Armon-Jones, and many other great artists. I am definitely influenced by all of these artists, and their influence is reflected in my compositions and productions.
Shane: Big artists on my list currently are Parcels, Young Gun Silver Fox, Kiefer, Toro y Moi, White Denim, and Jordan Rakei. I definitely look to these groups for inspiration, but overall I love the songwriting and production. You can definitely hear some of these influences in my songs.
Who would your dream collaboration be with?
Juhan: It would be cool if I could have a sit-down jam session with two of my guitar heroes, Jimi Hendrix and B. B. King – but sadly, it won’t be possible.
Shane: Based on the musical direction I’m going currently and in the near future I would say Tom Misch, or anyone in that UK Jazz circle.
What are your plans for the future?
Juhan: Working with Shane is definitely a fun, productive, and great learning experience! In addition to our newly released single “Changes,” we are working on other interesting tracks that will be released in a couple of months. Stay tuned!
Shane: Definitely release more songs and play live shows at festivals and bigger venues. I’m planning on releasing a solo album end of this year or early 2024, and collaborating with more artists and producers. Juhan and I have a few more songs we worked on together in LA in 2021 that we are planning to release this year, along the same direction as “Changes”.
Working together with him was a lot of fun, and I learned a lot from a production, mixing, and guitar writing/playing aspect. Looking forward to sharing our art with the world!
You can find Juhan on Spotify here and Shane here. Juhan is also on Instagram @juhanonly.
Streaming links for “Changes” can be found here.
