SoundGym Hero: Anji Kaizen

A vocalist, songwriter, and wellness warrior, Anji Kaizen blends pop-punk energy with heartfelt storytelling. From campfire harmonies to running her own studio, she’s building anthems with soul. Anji is this month’s SoundGym Hero!

How did you first find your way into making music?

My mom used to be a music teacher, so I grew up learning to play guitar and we were always singing together in harmony around the campfire or on the holidays. It seemed like music was such an awesome, magical ability! My life became a musical throughout middle school and high school doing lots of plays and shows because my friends were all very musical too, which made it easy to stay motivated and keep making more music. I was always involved in choirs, cover bands, open mic nights, musical theater productions, acapella ensembles, and eventually even got a scholarship for college.

After graduating with a Music Degree in Composition with High Honors in 2015, I started releasing my own music and never stopped! Now I own my own online Studio “Kaizen Music Studio” where I record myself from home and also offer vocal coaching, artist coaching and mixing services to other artists. It’s an awesome job and I love making music every day with some of the coolest people that I’ve ever met and sending vocals out to producers around the world for their tracks.

Aside from music, what hobbies or activities do you enjoy?

Well, I am a huge book nerd - scifi novels, poetry, historical fiction and epic fantasy are my favorite genres! One day I’d love to publish a book of poetry and I’m also working on a fiction novel about space pirates.

But I’m trying to stay focused on music for once in my life until I get a new album done ( being ADHD and neurodivergent means I always have lots of creative projects going on all the time). I also really enjoy nature, doing yoga, karaoke with friends, DnD campaigns, Renaissance Festivals, board game nights, and hanging out with my cat River :)

What’s something you're surprisingly good at that has nothing to do with music?

I recently went through a huge health crisis with long covid - so now I’ve gotten really good at healthy living and can tell you all about different types of supplements, treatment options, etc.

The experience has turned me into something of a “wellness warrior” as I take my health very seriously these days, drinking kale smoothies daily, tracking my heart rate and HRV, and constantly trying new alternative therapies to improve my health and stay energized.

If you could play or create with any artist, who would it be and why?

LIGHTS. She’s a Canadian artist that I absolutely adore! She’s the most badass creative and so much more than just a singer. She’s a multi-instrumentalist, comic book artist, producer, knife throwing legend and DJ. It would be a dream to make music together!

What piece of music gear do you love the most, and what makes it irreplaceable in your creative process?

My Shure SM7DB microphone. Can’t live without her. She captures all of my shouts, songs and harmonies and makes them sound absolutely stellar even though I don’t have a very highly treated acoustic space. Right now I’m still in the process of adding acoustic panels and sound treatment to my Studio - so I love this microphone for its versatility and dynamic abilities. It’s been great so far for podcasts, filming, recording and everything else, too.

What daily or weekly habits do you have in place to keep you creating?

Setting self-imposed “deadlines” and daily rituals are important to staying on track. Like making a weekly post on my patreon, posting daily tiktoks, and sharing monthly song downloads for my patrons. I also have an epic mentor - shoutout to Berlin Redluxe - who I check in with monthly.

Sometimes I miss some days, or I get behind, but I’ve got a great community cheering me on so that’s really what keeps me going is having that kind of accountability from people who love me and are genuinely supportive of this creative life that I’ve chosen.

What keeps you motivated to continue making music?

Every time I try to quit or do something else, music always hunts me down again and catches back up to me again. I’ve tried doing other things and working other jobs... but there’s a voice inside of me that absolutely HAS to sing and doing anything else feels incredibly boring.

Music is my catharsis, my muse, my favorite thing to do and my way of connecting with others. It’s a complicated relationship, but it makes me feel truly alive and that’s why I just keep coming back.

What song would you choose as the soundtrack of your life?

Wow, what a question. Probably “Last Hope” by Paramore. I love the passion, the emotional depth and the beauty of that track. The first time I saw the band play it live, I had tears running down my face - it was so well performed and produced. Such an absolutely iconic song.

What's your favorite feature on SoundGym, and how has it helped you in your musical journey?

It’s cool after the daily “workouts” to check stats and see where I’m excelling the most - and also to see where my weaknesses lie. Truth be told I only started really doing the daily workouts the last two months so there’s still a long way to go! But it’s cool to see the progress and daily updates stacking up against other users on the platform. You guys did a great job with that!

What’s something exciting you're working on or looking forward to?

Currently this month is “Album Month” - so I’m in the midst of finalizing song demos, scheduling recording sessions and more in preparation to release my upcoming album! It’s going to be a very upbeat pop punk and alt rock kind of project with lots of cheeky songwriting and anthemic singalong moments.

Very excited to get this album and all of these songs out in the world to share with you all. And I’d also like to officially invite everyone reading this to join me on the journey @anjikaizen across all socials, I’d love to connect, be friends and follow you back!

You can follow Anji on their Instagram, Patreon, and on her Website; and listen to their music on Spotify, and YouTube

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