Meet Sarah Campano | DJ Artist (soma) | Harm Reductionist | Collectivist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sarah Campano and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sarah, why did you pursue a creative career?
Often I feel like I woke up one day and had 4 projects without really planning on it! While I certainly didn’t anticipate or set out to have my own business, music project, or event series – I can see how I’ve been planning with my intentions all along. I just try to surround myself with people and opportunities that help me amplify support to people no matter the medium. With Somatix and the harm reduction work we do, with playing music myself, with helping to plan events for other people to play – it’s all about meeting people with an intentional perspective and creating shared experience from that. I’m lucky enough to live in one of the few cities where a narrow path to sustainability with those endeavors exists!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Next month will mark one calendar year of the “soma” project – it’s hard to believe so much has been accomplished! My time in the electronic music space here in Denver has been nothing short of rewarding and symbiotic. I’ve been a raver since I was 18 and often attribute my rapid growth to being old in rave years! In that time I’ve always held a deep appreciation for artists, organizers, and networks committed to community staying the focus of the industry. After moving to Denver I’ve watched and supported friends as they grew their creative visions, appeasing their encouragement for me to get involved with reassurance that I would when the drive spoke to me. Toward the end of last year I started learning about mixing and diving deeper into sound design and musicality with the Music Monday collective and put my first mix out in October of last year under “soma” – the root term for the process of the mind impacting the body and a foundational therapy perspective for me personally. I didn’t really plan on playing live shows, but after one of our members (shoutout SCOTTSBRANDNEW) started the Tatt-Tunes event series and collective he asked me to open a show and I don’t think any of us have really looked back from there!

With music, I just want it to connect with people through knowing they hear and feel the same thing I do when I’m playing music – I think being able to create an emotional and physical response from people through the sounds you’re creating it’s the ultimate expression of the concept of soma. One of the most frustrating parts of being in Denver is that you’re surrounded by other talented artists and it can be easy to get discouraged – turning in toward that instead of being afraid of is has been the most rewarding trajectory and brought me in to some of the most creatively generous circles of artists. Starting the incubator this year, we really want to focus on fostering and giving a platform to other artists who inspire us or have been working hard without much recognition. Hopefully larger collectives can see us like a feeder and even send people our way to try a new sound or run their first set – it’s all about community!

Similarly with Shelter in Place we were looking to do something different. There’s a ton of viral videos of wild parties to DJ sets in random places but we wanted to reset it a bit. We challenge artists with bringing a 30 minute set of downtempo or the more “chill” version of whatever bass genre they play. The exercise in creativity and slumber party vibes our guests bring is the most wholesome energy!

I owe everything to all of my creative partners – I really wouldn’t be doing any of this without their trust, support, and encouragement. Thank you to Ant, Brashad, Jake, and Charles – y’all are real ones!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
The city is full of so many interesting places! I usually suggest Jovanina’s for a nicer group night out, or dio mio for something a little more casual. Stanley Marketplace is always a good place to spend the day, there’s local food, shops, and some activities! Denver also has amazing parks – city park and inspiration point are some of my favorites!

You can find live electronic music almost any day of the week, but check out The Black Box on Tuesdays and Cervantes on Thursdays if you can’t wait for the weekend!

I’m usually bopping around the different collectives hanging out or working harm reduction! Check out Maybe Forever, Tatt-Tunes, the incubator, feral creatives, grave, voidince, novation, static proof, so many others!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
This shoutout goes to all the collectives that have pulled me up to where I am now – (especially) Maybe Forever, Tatt-Tunes, Music Monday, Feral Creatives, and more! Everyone in a leadership role of these creative groups has supported me, provided insight and opportunities, and shared knowledge within various industry roles. Putting creative generosity first only grows our collective capacity and my journey has been proof of that.

Jordan and Julia (Maybe Forever) in specific – they’ve supported me in every step I’ve taken since I was working their coat check. They encouraged and fostered me to grow a harm reduction service, they listened and promoted my music, gave me a platform to play, and continue to boost every project I’m a part of. I do not have the words to thank you enough.

Website: https://linktr.ee/soma__sounds

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soma__sounds

Other: other projects:
Shelter in Place (co-creator) – youtube.com/@ShelterinPlaceRadio

The Incubator (co-creator) – www.instagram.com/incubator.denver

Somatix Harm Reduction – www.instagram.com/somatix.hrdx

Image Credits
Anthony Smith (@svfe.ty), Jason Carothers (@jasondoesntreallyshoot)