Musician, humanitarian and filmmaker

To stay human means to be able to see the humanity in someone - to look at someone and see they are trying to be their own authentic selves.
Michael Franti is a multi-platinum recording and international touring artist, documentary film director and composer, founder of the non profit “Do It For The Love”, and the yoga practitioner that started Soulshine Bali. He is known as an artist whose music inspires optimism amidst the craziness of the world, and courage in the face of personal challenges – all through soulful, joyful music that brings people together.
Performing on sold out tours and international festivals, his song “Say Hey (I Love You)” was an international smash hit with over two million singles sold, along with the No. 1 radio singles, “Sound Of Sunshine” and “I Got You”, and his Grammy winning collaboration with The Blind Boys Of Alabama. He has lent his music and voice to many films, issues and causes including the anti-war movement when he travelled to Iraq in 2004, playing music on the streets for civilians and soldiers alike. He has also been a vocal proponent for families who are the victims of gun violence in America, as well as a committed fundraiser for Bumi Sehat, the natural birthing centre in Ubud.
Tell us your story – how did you get here?
I was born in Oakland and grew up in Davis, CA, one of five children, and was the adopted son of two hard working teachers. Growing up in a large family, meal times weren’t just for nourishment, they were for storytelling, laughter, sharing dreams, ideas, and togetherness even in difficult times – values I have carried throughout life.
My music career started in 1986 and my current band Spearhead was formed in 1994. We have toured all over the world, performing at sold out tours and international festivals.
I have spent five to seven months of each year over the past three decades travelling the world and staying in hundreds of hotels and practising yoga in studios in almost every city I have visited. It is from the wealth of these experiences that Sara and I envisioned creating a warm weather resort that could be a place for people to connect with nature, practise yoga, enjoy music and arts, share in togetherness, have transformative experiences and be of benefit to the community in which it resided. A place where play and fun matter as much as deep soulful moments on a yoga mat. From this concept, Soulshine Bali was born.
I first decided to buy a little piece of land to build a villa and retire on, but realised that I wouldn’t be there a lot of the time, so I built a five-room yoga retreat centre with an open rooftop yoga shala overlooking the rice fields. This ended up being the first hotel in Ubud specifically dedicated to yoga. Since then, we have expanded to now have 33 rooms and luxury suites.
What accomplishment are you most proud of?
The thing I am most proud of is building community, whether it is in music, the work we do with our non-profit “Do it For the Love”, supporting Bumi Sehat, or the life that we create at Soulshine, combining wellness, music and organic farming.
We’ve always made great efforts to include as many people as possible in what we do. It is always a team effort with the people that we care about; the people in our community and in our local neighbourhoods. It makes going to work everyday fun and inspiring and there is not a day that goes by that I don’t learn something from the people that are a part of our extended community.
In turn, our community goes on to inspire each other and are rooted in the common value of making the world a better place in their own individual way.
What impact have you made in Bali?
We have created our own family in Bali at Soulshine. Our staff are all from the local community and at Soulshine we embrace the Balinese culture. Creating Soulshine has had other positive ramifications, from having local artisans make incredible art that is on show to our guests who come from around the world, to committing not to build on more than 50% of our land to protect the natural environment and the 700-year-old rice fields.
The arts are all created by people who live a stone’s throw from the property – they are all our neighbours and because of it, they take great pride in their craftsmanship.
I visited Bumi Sehat on my second trip to Bali and met Robin Lim. Bumi Sehat provides free, safe birthing services for all, no matter what your circumstances are. It is a mission I really believe in, and I initially raised money for the land the clinic is now on. I was given up for adoption at birth so I always felt like the landing place of a child into this world is crucial and every child deserves to be brought into the world in the most gentle and loving way as possible, and this facility provides a calm and safe sanctuary, so we continue to fundraise each year.
What does the future look like for you?
My home is now officially Bali for the last three years. I travel about half of the year, and this year I was away for a summer US tour for my newly released album, “Big Love”. I am always looking to create and write new music.
For me, the future is about family – both my own family and my Soulshine family in Bali which are interwoven. At Soulshine, we have several Soulrocker retreats coming up that Sara and I host. We are planning to expand our fitness area as well as build another retreat area adjacent to the property that is suitable for more intimate retreats – smaller groups who want a quiet space to retreat to, but still able to go out to hear music at night.
We are also building Soulshine villas where people will be able to own villas on the property.
What do you love most about Bali?
When I first went to Bali on vacation in 2006 following an Australian tour, I fell in love with the people, culture, and nature. Bali is a land of creative geniuses and as a musician, I am inspired every time I see people creating great art.
The idea of how people connect with one another and live communally really resonated with me, as did the Balinese philosophy of Tri Hita Karana, which is our mission to embody at Soulshine. Everything we have done has been to satisfy this philosophy.
I have happy moments every day at Soulshine because of our incredible team. One of the mantras we have is ‘Stay Human’ and that’s the one the team embodies the most to me. Each of us come from unique backgrounds, but as a team, we work closely together. To stay human means to be able to see the humanity in someone – to look at someone and see they are trying to be their own authentic selves. It’s what our team do so well; you can see they have a great love and connection to each other that carries over to how they look after our guests.
Who or what do you listen to when you're looking for inspiration?
I have a very extensive playlist, but at the moment these are on my top five most played tracks:
“Last Last” by Burna Boy
“Essence” by Wizz Kid with Justin Bieber and Tems
“Good Time” by Niko Moon
“Everybody Wants to Rule The World” by Tears for Fears
“Big Big Love” by Michael Franti and Spearhead
Who is your Local Legend and why?
Arief Rabik, who is an environmentalist and entrepreneur who runs the Bamboo Foundation – his mother and father have been people that have always worked to bring together design, architecture and traditional culture while making sure the environment is taken care of, and he is carrying on their legacy.
Robin Lim, Founder of Bumi Sehat. She has dedicated the last 30 years to making sure anybody who needs birthing services in countries around the world, such as the Philippines and Indonesia.
Pak Genijaya, who is an architect and builder and restaurateur. He owns an athletic club, but more than that, he is someone who is a true keeper of the Balinese way of life – culture, storytelling and religion – and he is also able to adapt it to modern experience and design. I really look to him when thinking about designing anything as he first takes into consideration the Balinese way of doing things. His designs are beautiful.