NEW YORK -- (SPW) --

After a grueling year of isolation and breakdowns, how does an up-and-coming artist break out in a way that not only satisfies their need to connect with fans but also creates a tangible benefit for a worthy cause?

If you’re the alt-pop duo of Ruby Carr and Natalia Panzarella – better known as Epic recording artists Bahari – you team up with VAST, the next gen platform that helps creators build their network and net worth, and lend your emotional song “BIPOLAR” to a new Public Service Announcement for Project Healthy Minds, the national nonprofit confronting one of the defining issues of our generation: the mental health crisis.

The “BIPOLAR” PSA will launch during a special Bahari event that will include a roundtable discussion about mental health issues and a 4 song performance they put together specifically for Project Healthy Minds, to be live streamed exclusively on Stellar on Thursday, July 8. It sends the message that it’s “okay to not be okay,” and that in these difficult-to-navigate times, talking to a mental health professional can make a world of difference. To get an advance look at the PSA, click here.

“When we heard about what Project Healthy Minds is doing, we saw the immediate connection between ‘BIPOLAR’ and the crisis in mental health care that they’re addressing,” said Carr and Panzarella. “As artists, we feel a responsibility to fans everywhere to use our music to help them sort out issues in their lives. If this PSA helps anyone take the steps to getting treatment, it will have been all worthwhile.”

Bahari and VAST’s initiative for Project Healthy Minds includes an auction of AI-fueled NFT’s culled from the “BIPOLAR” music video itself; the auction takes place the day after the livestream launch event, Friday, July 9, on MakersPlace. This marks one of the first integrated music and visual NFT offerings designed to benefit mental health.

MakersPlace will offer four 1/1 “BIPOLAR” NFT’s for auction; included in the drop is a full-length, one-of-a-kind AI music video created just for this initiative. In this version, the portions of the video’s storyline that depict manic mood swings between its pair of on-screen couples has been dramatized with an evocative overlay of effects and graphics generated entirely in AI for VAST by artists and developers at the cutting edge creative production company Seyhan Lee, who worked in close collaboration with leading digital artist Lulu xXX. Twenty percent of the net proceeds from the NFT’s will be donated to Project Healthy Minds.

Driving the Bahari “BIPOLAR” initiative is veteran talent manager William Derella, who’s managed such artists as The Black Eyed Peas, Fergie, John Legend, Sean Paul, Natasha Bedingfield, Prince Royce, The Pretty Reckless, and Michael Jurkovac, the Executive Producer and Director whose company, TheBridge.co, has connected artists like Alicia Keys, Lil Wayne, Charlie Puth, Snoop Dogg, The Black Eyed Peas, Andra Day, and Gwen Stefani with such marketers as Levi’s, Fiat Chrysler, Genesis Motor Company, ESPN, Molson Coors, Western Union, the NFL and many more.

“Working with Bahari and VAST on this project has been a gratifying experience for all of us,” said Derella. “Ruby and Natalia personally understand the challenges that so many have faced, and continue to face, as we emerge from the pandemic. The key to living is giving, and helping people connect to mental health resources for individuals from all walks of life is at the heart of Project Healthy Mind’s mission.”

“Project Healthy Minds is excited by the prospects for sharing our story with Bahari’s many fans and are grateful for the group’s support,” said Phillip Schermer, Founder & CEO of Project Healthy Minds. “Our goal when we work with creative artists is to lower the barrier to getting the kind of treatment that can improve the lives of so many Americans today, and with the help of Ruby, Natalia, William, Mike, and the team at VAST, we’re going to be able to expand our reach and help more people.”

For Tickets: https://www.stellartickets.com/o/vast/events/bahari-livestream-for-a-cause/

About Bahari
Every so often, two separate journeys collide to form the perfect union in just the right place at just the right time. Bahari blossom from a similar confluence of circumstances. Singer and keyboardist Ruby Carr hails from the tiny island of Lamu off the coast of Kenya, while singer and bassist Natalia Panzarella was born in Nashville but grew up in Southern California. Each of their experiences shapes a dynamic, diverse, and dark take on alternative pop. Generating over 650 million streams and receiving acclaim from Ladygunn, Nylon, Billboard, Ones To Watch, and more, the Los Angeles-based duo bring a shared vision to life. After meeting at a songwriting session at 16-years-old, the girls formed a lifelong bond. Shortly after, Bahari initially made waves with “Wild Ones,” which generated over 40 million Spotify streams. They maintained a consistent pace with the Dancing on the Sun EP [2016] and singles “Get Together” and “Fucked Up.” Along the way, they supported Selena Gomez and Birdy on tour and teamed up with Zedd, ILLENIUM and Grey for collaborations. Bahari earned a viral hit with 2018’s “Savage,” which took on a second life in 2020 with an official remix featuring BIA. The song has generated over 100 million total streams and views and is currently being utilized in promos for “American Horror Stories”. Last year, the duo’s hit collaboration with ILLENIUM, “CRASHING” was featured in the To All The Boys: P.S. I Still Love You Original Soundtrack. Now in partnership with Epic Records, the pair are gearing up for even more new music with their new “BIPOLAR”-featuring EP Forget You, which releases on July 9.

Forget You can be pre-saved at Spotify and Apple Music by visiting https://forms.sonymusicfans.com/campaign/bahari-forgetyou/.

About Project Healthy Minds
Project Healthy Minds is a millennial-driven non-profit startup focused on tackling one of the defining issues of our generation: the growing mental health crisis. Project Healthy Minds builds anti-stigma campaigns that change attitudes, technology that makes it easier and faster to discover help, and programs and partnerships that expand access to care. To learn more, please visit www.projecthealthyminds.com. 

About VAST
Years in the planning, VAST (http://www.vast.digital/) is the next-gen platform for Creators, Influencers, and Brands to build deeper engagement with their Networks and launch NFTs from Channels they own.

About Seyhan Lee
Seyhan Lee (www.seyhanlee.com), founded in January 2020, is an artistic development and production company who create and produce leading-edge visually stunning stories through visual AI and other 21st-century image technologies. Whether film, music, fashion, theater, motion graphics, gaming, or beautiful interpretations, our work represents the future of storytelling. Stories that express the human quest for meaning and truth. The way Pixar was founded through the early adopters of CGI, we are founding Seyhan Lee with early adopters of artificial intelligence and the latest visual technologies.

About Epic Records
A Sony Music Entertainment Company, Epic Records has launched the careers of Grammy^® Award-winning multi-platinum artists and influential icons since its foundation back in 1953, building a storied history as home to game-changing superstars, including Michael Jackson, George Michael, Céline Dion, Boston, Pearl Jam, Gloria Estefan, Shakira, and Sly & the Family Stone, to name a few. The 2020 roster encompasses various trend-setting legends like OutKast, Ozzy Osbourne, Sade, Fiona Apple, Rick Ross, Judas Priest, and more as well some of the 21st century’s biggest and most incomparable acts, namely Travis Scott, Camila Cabello, DJ Khaled, Meghan Trainor, Future, French Montana, 21 Savage, Sara Bareilles, Jidenna, Zara Larsson, and many others.

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