DJ/producer Louis Kevin Celestin, better known to the world as Kaytranada, recently dropped his future-soul, disco sound on a new track with Anderson .Paak, "Twin Flame," but fans have been gravitating toward the artist since his early SoundCloud days.
LISTEN NOW: Broken Record Podcast with Kaytranada
The Haitian-Canadian DJ/producer got his start as a teen, uploading J. Dilla and Flying Lotus-inspired beats to his SoundCloud account, with his 2012 edit of Janet Jackson’s “If” exploding him into the mainstream. In the 10 years since, Kaytranada has remixed dozens of records, taken the stage to warm up crowds for worldwide phenom The Weeknd, and released two studio albums of his own -- including the GRAMMY award-winning Bubba.
On today’s episode of the Broken Record podcast, iconic producer Rick Rubin and Kaytranada discuss how using technology unconventionally can lead to creating an entirely new sound, while Kaytra also explains the anxiety he felt as an up-and-coming Hip-Hop producer who could never quite connect with an MPC drum machine.
"Being an opener is not always easy," Kaytra admits, on the road for the past year and now providing opening duties for The Weeknd. Regardless of the difficulties, "People are really loving it," he says. "I see Instagram stories that people are watching... they're just like, 'Oh my God, Kaytranada, you're killin' it!'"
Kaytra's first taste of music, he says, came from his father. "My dad played a lot of music; had this big system. Like amplifiers, CD players. I knew how to use CDs when I was like four, five years old. A lot of Kompa in the house, Haitian Kompa, but also a lot of Michael [Jackson]. Bob Marley was my favorite artist, George Benson, Al Jarreau... a lot of Jazz as well. There was just all types of music my dad was playing, while he was painting too." His sisters also played a major part in his musical upbringing, exposing Kaytra to '90s Hip Hop and R&B, through a video tape they shared. "That's something that I would watch more than cartoons," he admits. "That was my main interest, watching those videos."
Once he decided to start making his own tracks, looping samples on a desktop computer and moving on to applications like Fruity Loopz, he tried and failed with the software until his middle brother showed him the proper way to program. That struggle with technology affected Kaytra's process in his early days. "I was really confident with my music, so I was like, 'how am I not really a musician-musician and I'm making all that music?' That really messed up my head if I was doing the right thing or not. During my teenage years of learning how to make beats -- I would see a lot of people using the MPC or play the keyboard and just come up with stuff that I never understood -- but I always used it my own way."
Listen to the full Broken Record episode featuring Kaytranada -- now playing on Audacy -- and follow along for more conversations with hosts Rick Rubin, Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam, and Justin Richmond as they speak with the musicians you love to discuss their lives, inspiration, and craft.
Follow even more of your favorite music on Audacy's all-new stations like Conscious Hip Hop, Hip Hop Uncut, The Weeknd Radio, Beach Beats, Collabornation, Let's Get Social, K-Bops, and so much more!
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