Kaytranada

00:00:15 Speaker 1: Pushkin. Hey everyone. If you've been listening to new projects by Drake Er Beyonce or paying attention to the recent conversations around the resurgence of nineties dance music kicked off by their projects, chances are you've heard Ktronada's name or his influence. Suddenly, Ktronada's futuristic, soulful disco sound is everywhere, including on his new hit song to Inflame feature in Anderson Pack. Ktronada is an interesting confluence of culture. Haitian by birth and lineage. He was raised outside of Montreal in French speaking Quebec, Canada. He got a start as a teenager uploading Jay Dilla and Flying Lotus inspired beats to SoundCloud. It was there in twenty twelve that his edit of Janet Jackson's song If first exploded overnight, becoming a massive viral hit. In the ten years since, Ktronada has rema officially and unofficially, hundreds of records and released two studio albums, including the Grammy Award winning Bubba, featuring artists like Caliuchi's gold Link and Masego. On today's episode, Rick Rubin and Catronata sit down to talk about how using technology unconventionally can lead to creating an entirely new sound. Katra also explains the anxiety he felt as an up and coming hip hop producer who can never quite connect with a classic production tool, the MPC. He also talks about what it's like rocking stadiums as the opening DJ on The Weekend's current worldwide tour. This is broken record liner notes for the digital Age. I'm justin mission. Here's Rick Rubin with Ktronada. Great to see you see you man? Where have you been mostly? Have you been on tour or home tour? I've been touring since probably the whole summer and now I'm into tour of it, the Weekend US tour. And how's it going to work? Like? Do you know what the setup for the for the evening? It's going to be in the stadium shows. It's really like my same shows, like I do DJ sets. Cool. It doesn't quite make sense because I'm just like this DJ ACT producer DJ ACT and I don't really do much more than just DJ. But it looks cool, I guess. And the music is gonna be great, like people are coming into good music. Yeah, it's all good. You know, music always been great but absolutely like being an opener, it's not all the way easy. I feel like in some ways though, what's interesting about it is that considering the kind of set you do, it's not like, hey, look at me. It's like, here's this great music. Yeah yeah, And so it's not do you know what I mean? Like, I feel like it could really work in that everyone's just going to be enjoying the music and then the you know, the rock star show happens after and that's fine. Yeah, it's fine. You know, I'm not competition something I signed up, you know, like they put me in the they put me in a lineup for that. So I'm like, it's it's it's cool, you know, Like I I love to just do me and just and people are like people are people already loving it? Like like I just people see on the stands and I see like stories Instagram stories that people are watching, like even from up there, they just like, oh my god, get you now? Are you killing it? Tell me from the beginning. When's the first time you ever played live? So when I played live for the first time, it was in Montreal. It wasn't really a set. It's like this beat thing. It was not even a competition. Were just it was just a lineup of producers for Montreal surprising. There was like a lot of them, and I was one of them. And we were all making like those like Boom Bab kind of like influenced by the low end theory like Flying Lotus like and all the brain Feeder like we were all like inspired by them, and we were making our own community of beat makers and not gonna lie. When I came in, it was like some old shit, like where this motifuer come from? Because I wasn't not I didn't I didn't live in the city at all, so I was in the suburbs. And that's like kind of like the first time. So I was like, okay, I can go out in Montreal and down sound. So most of the other people already knew each other. Yeah, like everybody else knew each other, but I met everybody that the first time I actually played live. So cool. Yeah, it was. It was a good time. I was like nineteen when you were first coming up, you did remixes. Also, before you were asked to do a remixes, you just did them on your own. And tell me about that process, like how would you pick what to do, and then what would you use that source material to build from because you had you know, you had limitations. Yeah, then oh it's like I don't know even like just find acapella, like yeah, that was always fascinating to me. Yeah, it's easier now, I think, but when you were starting, I think it was a little harder. Oh it was harder. Like there's a lot of songs that show like, oh my god, if I had the a cappellat this song. Yeah, but a lot of them were not available, which was like, oh man, you know, but I would find sometimes when I had to remix it, I would find ways to like just add drums over it, or even making my own edit and just stuff like that. Do you want to play this one of your early remixes? That's like you were not hired to do, but you just took it upon yourself. Yeah, I got one. The Janet remix was like one that was really that caught people's attention. I always gonna play this on my shows no matter what. It's psychedelic it's bad. I feel like a lot of my remixes, like my early ones, they were like so like innocent. They were not like I was not trying to blow up. I was really like expressing myself at a point where I don't know I was doing edits, but like my DJ sets and stuff like that, and I want to resent myself like that. It almost that almost feels like two records playing at once that don't really work together, but somehow they just stay glued together and you find this other rhythm going on the way they bounce off each other. Oh yeah, it was well received when it came out and whatever. That that was the one that kind of like put me on them, like on the maps, so cool intellectual world. It's it's it's funny because like when I end up remixed songs, don't I really love the song. I end up loving fall in love with the song, and then and then I'm trying to break up the song. It's like it's funny and I'll end up remixing and I don't feel the same about the original, Like I don't have the same love I used to have with the original respect it as yeah, yeah, no, I understand. But but you've it's almost like you've seen it in a new light. Yeah, and it's hard to see it back the way or you can't. Maybe you can't never go back and see it the way he'sap exactly. It kind of messes up with my head. But it's all It's all good though, because yeah, because man, I end up making like classics that people are just like, whuoa, so cool and I love that. I love that I had that power, you know what I'm saying. So cool? Maybe start only remixing songs you don't like, then it's all good, only better exactly talk about them that the world. So it's interesting the timing you make that you put it up on SoundCloud, I imagine, yeah, and now that I don't think it would do the same, like the world has changed. Oh yeah, tell me a little bit about that moment in time. How was SoundCloud viewed in the world. It was something that was so like you could find original music there just up becoming like DIY artists. There was just this world of like this explosion of bedroom producers that we could finally upload our stuff online. There was not like at the time when there was like bedroom producers, there was no outlet for them to like put their stuff out there. It was discovered a community of people making stuff putting it up to share it with other people. Who were just heads really because it wasn't like really mainstream at all. It was more just for other people who like making cool stuff and checking out what other cool people making. Yeah, yeah, because for me, like I would say that, like I didn't find it right away, but I had my accounts. It's two thousand and nine, maybe that's like ten years plus. But before that, there was like a YouTube like community that I had. A lot of those producers end up making it, you know, like doing their own thing now, which is good, but I was like a teenager at the time. It's one guy, kay kaylin ellis just he's a amazing musician. But I knew him online since I was he since he was twelve. I was like fourteen, and we were all like in this community of be makers, like all enforced by you know, Fly Lotus and you know Jay Diller. You can't really find kids like around us. I was listening to that type of music on top of that, so for us to come together it was like it meant a lot to us. And we were all uploading our beats on YouTube at the time because SoundCloud was not really the thing, but YouTube was like more accessible to YouTube was the first place to be able to make something, put it up and feel like there was a community that would be able to check it out. Yeah, that's how I felt like, because I mean a lot of friends online that still to this day, I'm like, yo, I keep contact with like some of them, you know, to this day, and I think I still think it's amazing because we're all making like tight shit, like, but we were like so young, just trying to be our favorite producer, like trying to be like them, you know, imitating them. And I feel like when you imitate a producer and you're young and you're starting to produce, it's like it's good training. Yeah, you find your way in most people start. The first thing you do is through imitation, just to kind of figure out how to do it. Yeah, and then slowly it just starts becoming more you and less them. Just happens even without trying, Like it just happens, you know, kind of run out of their stuff to copy, and you're still making stuff and now it's new exactly. But yeah, like back to the community thing on YouTube, we slowly move into SoundCloud, like one by one went on SoundCloud. It definitely evolved over the years, you know, in twenty twelve, Like when that remix was uploaded, a lot of people were like getting known to YouTube. So there will be like YouTube channels where they would post like one of the producers on SoundCloud they would like and then they will upload them because they had a lot of subscribers. That's what happened with my remix. So like a tastemaker would repost it. Yeah, and so there were people who were just looking for whatever was cool, and then they would turn on more people to it. Yeah. It's like it's like, you know, just like somebody who has a Tumbler page and they got a lot of followers on their Tumbler, they were like upload. You know, they're got my YouTube channel, this is all the music I listened to and they love that person's taste, so and so they trust them, and my remix would end up being on that page. And then yeah, I was like, what the hell's going on? Like I would get like notification, Like I would go up at noon and get like six hundred notifications on my phone over there on SoundCloud, and I'm like this is not real. Yeah, I'm going back to sleep because like I was sleeping madly, like five am, six am, and that's when like I was making music and work all night and sleep all days, normal normal young young musician hours, yeah, you know yeah, and then you know I was I woke up again like maybe like three pm, like what the hell's going on? So I just see like those like numbers, and I just couldn't believe it. It It was like what is going on? You know, like and I just saw that that person uploaded on their YouTube channel and then that kind of like spread a word about this remix and I just can really can't believe in until posted the second one to be a Girl remix? So cool? When did the SoundCloud change? When did SoundCloud stop meaning what it meant? I have no idea. I think they could sell like when business like you know, need sponsors and need like ads so they can like you know, still float. Business model change to be something Yeah it becomes less cool or I don't know, Like for me, it didn't really bother me, but I could sell like nobody was really uploading stuff there. And did people go back to YouTube or was there another option? I don't think there was another option. So what do people do now? I think right now it's like TikTok could be a good one. There's a lot of news I got discovered. A lot of artists are discovered on TikTok right now, so there's always gonna be a new thing. But there was definitely something special at the time. Yeah, it also was whole tracks, because that's another difference between that and now TikTok. TikTok tends to be super short clips. It's not songs. It's a you know, fifteen twenty seconds. Yeah, like most like most snippets, you know, it would be like, oh my god, like when's this song coming out? And then somebody would blow up from a snippet. It's either like some people can't make it or break it because it's like the snippet turn out to be better than the song. Yeah, sometimes, so that happens a lot. That would say, it's easier to make fifteen seconds interesting than a whole song interesting, and then many whole songs interesting. Baby right Yeah, I'm like, man like, yeah, we have we have come to that time where the key to the highlight of the song would become the snippet, and then people would expect something different, you know, and do you still do DJ sets or do you play your own so tell me what is the current. I'm still doing DJ sets, you know, because yeah, personally, it's like my choice, Like I definitely want to take it to another level, but it's that it's my choice of like playing you know, the front edits yea, and if it's fun, I mean that's the most it's fun. It's is I feel the most confident, Yeah, as an electronic act if I'm not a keyboard player, because I'm not a keyboard player, you know what I'm saying, Like, I don't think it would make sense for me to like play with like keys and stuff like that. Like I love hip hop so much. I like the elements of like ones and twos and keep it like you know, dance music disc driven or you know, hip hop driven. So yeah, I just love doing that and just play like different versions of the songs. Like I would play like the bo Girl remix and just put the not the acopella, but like maybe just the keys, the bass and the vocals until the drop happens. Actually it's like different from the song cloud uploated version, Like every every version I play live is like slightly different. When I think of what the DJ's mission is in a club very specific to get people dancing, very specific energy. Is it any different when you're performing as you you know, you're you're not the DJ there to just rock the crowd. You're there because it's they want to see you what you're going to play. Is it a different mission than just getting up and rocking the club? Because when I do my act, it's like it's I gotta play the hits, I gotta play like songs from the album, and but I still end up DJing. But it's it's like strictly like my hits, you know, and like I have a long discography of like remixes or like even my own songs, albums EPs. But you know, it's like for me, I just love to lose myself in DJ. And it's like it's really like sometimes I just can't help myself to like DJ, you know. So yeah, because it's all fun for me. It's really like it's not really serious. It's not like, oh my god, my big break. You know, we're gonna take a quick break. But we'll be right back with more from k Drenada. We're back with more from Rick Rubin and Kate Nada. Who would you say biggest musical inspiration has been over the course of your life. Oh wow, of course you know Jay did it to me like when he passed away. Yeah, you know, I was listening to a lot of tribe called quests like you know, like when we talk about two thousand and six, you know, like I was literally discovering them at the time, and then growing up there's a lot of like stuff you produced songs I love. I didn't know Jay Della produced them, you know, so I just like look at this discography and I like, like probably fifty percent of the discography. So I was like, wait, admitted you know. And then you know, I heard Donuts, I heard all the beat tapes, and it was like something that was like that would study like as a producer. Him and mad Lib. I would say, like mad Lib specifically, like like Jayla introduced me to mad Lib and then mad Li was like you know MF Doom like the Mad Villain project. But mad Lip was like literally the one that I was like, Okay, he does jazz, he does house music. He got this house project on a monic different moniker and thought I thought I was so impressive, Like that really inspired me to do different things. Have you read the j. Diller book I I did read. Didn't it great? It's a really good book. It's I hit up the author d Yeah, like I hit him up, and I'm like, man, that was this such a beautiful book, you know. Yeah, And it's like, you know, it reconfirms all the like his true story, Like I don't know, like there's a lot of like myths. They were creating a lot of like stuff about Jay Diller. But now like reading the book, it's kind of like it makes you feel like, Okay, it's a good timeline of like what happened with like his musical career, like what happened with Cute Tip and yeah all that. Do you remember what your first memories of music in childhood? My dad played a lot of music, had this like big system like amplifiers and you know CD players, like I knew how to use CdSe when I was like four or five years old, and a lot of Kompa in the house, Haitian kompa, but also a lot of you know, Michael Bob Marley was my favorite artist who like George Benson al Jarro, like a lot of jazz as well. Man, it was just all types of music, Like my dad was playing while he was painting too, because he's a painter. Do you think hearing the diverse music when you were a kid impacted the stuff that you made sense? I don't really think so, you know. I feel like in some parts, like there's there's influences where like let's say, like when my dad played Michael Jackson, like it definitely like, yeah, there was just something about the up tempo and upbeat stuff where I was like, okay, you know, like Michael is in that circle. So yeah, that was something that was influenced by. But I forgot to tell you, like my sisters also had like this VHS tape of like ninety six ninety seven like hip hop R and B Beastie Boys as well, you know, so it's like a lot of like it's like a video tape of a bunch of music videos, and that's like something that would like watch more than cartoons and watch more than you know, anything else. That was like my main interest, like watching those music videos, and I absorbed that. What was your first experiments with making making beats or making music of any kind? Definitely when I start Djane Well, I didn't had like the tools to DJ at all, Like it was literally like software like online like virtual DJ. I knew all the shortcuts, so it was like I really sounded good, like I had like all the gear. And then it got to a point where I discovered looping, like drum loops and jazz loops, so everything was very like technical, so it felt like a lot of like produced. There's like how they started, you know, like all the legends y'all started with like this tape recorder, like like they just recorded like every loop on tape. So it felt like it was the same way where I would like record a whole three minute loop of like that beat, or I would do like you know, some sort of like automation live and had like five beats under my belt. And and that was on the laptop, and that was like that was not even on laptop. That was like on a desktop like PC computer that was really slow. And then and all that, and then the fruity loops came in the way where I was like trying again and fail to like actually like use the software. And my little bloody was like, yo, like this is how you use it. You gotta like put the kick here. But you know, I was like, oh, really okay, and then I just never stopped making beats from then. It seems like it also if you use technology in a way that's different than the way everyone else uses it, it can lead to some really interesting things. You know. It's like it might not be technically the right way, but there really isn't the right way. When we're making music, We're just looking for these moments, yeah, where it feels good exactly and to me something that I really like, Like I was really confident with my music, so I was like, how am I not really like like a musician musician and I'm making all that music? So that really like messed up with my head, like if I was doing the right thing or not, you know, like during my teenage years of like learning how to make beats, because I would see a lot of people like you know, using the MPC or play the keyboard and just you know, come up with stuff that is like things I never understood, but I always used it my own way, and that really like play with my head, like am I doing something right? Am I doing something wrong? But everything sounded good, it sounded perfect, and until it was like until I saw a lot of people doing it, you know the same, and why I did, like not really using you know, a media controller to make a beat. So I was like, okay, I guess I got that right. Yeah, and it was. I mean it's again, I don't even know if it's right or wrong. You did it your way, you know, And I feel like you've managed to do that both as a producer and as an artist. Like we normally think of artists as these sort of outgoing, loud you know, everybody look at me person, and you've managed to stay your shy self, yea, true to yourself and still make this incredible music and still rock the party and be true to you. I think it's inspiring for people to know there's not one way. And I imagine over the years there have been people who tried to get you to be more like other people. Oh yeah, and it seems like you've been good like doing your thing. Yeah it's been good. Now I'm like I can confirm it, you know, Like it's like there's not one way. There's not like two ways. You know, there's definitely like a million ways, but you need to just make music. Like even like somebody like Steve Lacey like that was that's using is like iPhone to make demos. So it's like that's that's already impressive, and that's like something I kind of like when I saw that for the first time, I was like, oh, well, like I thought it was really cool because it shows that there's more than ways to make music. It's not really about you know, what you got, it's really how we use it, you know. Absolutely, it's more of the idea and your ear and your taste, yeah, and everything else. You can't do it any different way. Really. Yeah. When I was growing up, like I had a job, and like I had like my first job and saved up to like buy an NPC. You know, there's things like that that I was like, okay, like I'm I'm trying to be a real producer. I'm gonna buy all those gears, you know, And it's like, I don't know, it didn't really I didn't reconnect with like an NPC really, Like there's a lot of techniques and I didn't know how to upload like put samples in there. So I just like stick to what I know from the early days of technology till now. Has the way you've worked on music evolved or do you still do it the way you did right from the beginning. It definitely evolved in a way that you know, I'm learning, like learning different softwares and get real musicians, you know, like all that. Like this is something that you know, I never really did until I had like my until the career start popping off. So there are things like that where it evolved in terms of like my taste and like my ideas, and then it returned my music to something else instead of just being like just a hip hop eat. And then you're like somebody like like let's say Kanye that would like he'll do a beat, but he'll make turning to like a whole masterpiece like with strings and all that. You know, this is something I picked up when I was like young, like having strings in my music, having like horns, range arrangements, and now I can actually do it. But then it was like, hey, am I gonna do that? Like you know, I'm trying to like find one liners you know that been recorded and example one part and use it as a new element in your piece. Yeah, that was a lone original too, Like that sounded also like different than I would have think, so that was also cool to experiment with that. But now it has come to the point where I'm like, Okay, I can finally do like have real like instrumentalists like over my music. That's what I did with the last album. So yeah, yeah, the last one, the last one, but that's when I came out, Yeah, the two thousand nineteen. Like you, you're deep into a new one now, I guess I am. Well, you made a lot of stuff. We don't know if it's an album yet, right exactly. It's just it's just a lot of demos. I'm just confused with a direction I want to go. You know, there is a sound kind of like how twin Flames sounds, you know, like very late bisco strings, very influenced by that, and you know, heavy drums and heavy bass. But I feel like I've been influenced a lot with what's happening lately with you know, everybody doing the house music and my name being mentioned. But I feel like you were doing it before everybody. Hey, you know, I mean I wouldn't say I was doing for everybody, because I gotta pay respects to like all the people that that influence me. You know, like I would say you did you were part of the like new like bringing back a style of dance music that was not in vogue or not popular. Yeah, I feel like you were one of the people who really brought it back and made it popular again and found a way to put a new slant on it. Like I always when I listen to your music, there's a familiarness to the grooves that feels good to me, and there's also a newness either in the instrumentation or the way it's put together where it's like, well, it's not an old you know, it doesn't sound like an old record, sounds like a new record, but it hits your soul in the way that an old record night, which is good. Yeah, I'm trying to it's it's like something I always trying to do, like, you know, to keep it so full, like that's like the number one thing because I don't know, like where there's like beast that that's not so ful to me. It's like I don't know if I'm gonna like it like personally for me, but I'm really happy that I found like a link to like electronic and then soul music. So you know, a lot of people did it, but it's not never been in the forefront, you know, Like you hear like people like like you know, Jay Delve was doing it a lot, and then it's just something I picked up where I studied Jay Dillis swing and you know, like those cats that are like from like you know, in the same circle, like Black Milk and mad Lib and you know, just blazed us that too, and I'm just like did it on in terms of like, oh, how would if I put like a filter on a how speed? Like how would that sound like? So you know, I just like went full all my ideas at the time and then and that really like popped off cool and it doesn't sound like anything that came before it, but it does have a familiarity that feels good. It doesn't feel foreign. It feels more like different and comfortable at the same time. It's great feeling. Yeah, yeah, definitely. You know it's great that you know, like the idea really executed well and then people are like paying attention to it. You know. I remember you came to visit me and why maybe three or four years ago a while ago, pre pandemic, and we were listening to the music you were making then, and it was already like felt like future disco. You know, it was already you were already there, So I mean from my point of view, I know you were there before everybody because I heard it. Yeah, and at the time that you were playing it for me, it sounds felt really fresh to me, but also unlike what anything else was going on. So that's why I'm talking about It's like I heard it. I heard the sounds then, so yeah, it's good to have a witness, you know. Like yeah, in terms of like like you know, all the beats I was making, it was like something you know, just experiments, you know, and you know, a lot of people didn't really get it. Like I always send those beats a lot of artists, and it's like they don't really get it in the first time. Like I don't know. Some people are really like okay, like they're gonna do it, but sometimes most of the time it's like they don't really understand or day they want to hit, so it's not gonna work for their albums. A lot of a lot of my albums are like people who passed on, you know, the production, like they did the song and they didn't put on their albums. So and then I'm like asking them, can I use that for my album? And it's like okay, sure. So a lot of those out of my wombs are made up like compilation of just missus. You know, like I would understand why it doesn't fit their album because this sound is so distinct from the other stuff. Yeah, something I would honest, I wouldn't really understand then. But now it's like, okay, I get it now, you know, And now everybody's doing it, you know, so I guess you know, the first one that's that is trying something sort of new. It's like it's always gonna beat them. Who's gonna like not get the cake? Yeah, you know, so, but you never know, you never know how it comes around and who knows. Also, the fact that you were onto that sound first also means you'll probably develop that into a new sound first maybe and and well you know, you'll see, you'll see how it works. Yeah, you know, I might. The movie's not over, Yeah exactly. I know. It's like I feel like my like my career, like it has just started as at the same time. So like like you said, you never know, and like I might be surprised of like so many things. You know. It seems like, I mean, it seems like that from when I first met you. It was already things that were really popping off on like a club level, and it feels like it's only grown since, like continually just keeps growing. Yeah, it feels good. It's good to know because sometimes like I'm like, am I doing it right? You know? Like? Or am I like being too different? Or there are times where like people sound exactly like me, like it really like sometimes messes with me. Its messes my head. So I just want to try new things. And I feel like I'm back to zero in terms of like Okay, let me try something new, Like in terms of like okay, like nobody really did that, you know, that funk that they were doing Dan, They're not doing it today. Like there's like a lot of stuff that pick up from stuff that I listened to and then get inspiration from that and then create. We're gonna take a quick break and then we'll be back with more from Kate Vernada. We're back with the rest of Rick Rubin's conversation with Kaye Nada. I'd love to hear you produce an artist where you do the whole album, because I feel like that it would make sense because you have such a specific sound. I'm looking forward to when that happens the right artist, the right combination. Yeah, I feel like it's going to be a special thing when it happens. Yeah, it's something I always want to do, Like I always want to produce a whole project, and a lot of that has been happening, like in twenty twenty one, like three artists I've been working with and turn out to be a full on project. Things are coming together and I like that too because it's like finally like my range as a producer, like not only me being the main artist, Like I want every want to be in the background, you know, as a true producer, Like this has always been my real dream. But because like even me being a forefront, it's not something I always like. But yeah, eventually, like you know, soon you'all gonna hear like kids, you not how to produce albums, you know, Sure it makes sense for you to simultaneously be an artist as well. Also because the sound is so specific to you, Yeah that when it's all together, it makes sense, like it's it it makes sense that it's coming from you because it's your sound. Yeah it's yeah, it's great, you know, but you know, I wish, I wish people would let me, you know, if I'm the feature artist, Like I wish they would let me, you know, like you know, arrange or mix. You know. Sometimes it's like they don't want to let me do that, and I'm like, oh my god, this could be so much better, you know. But yeah, I feel like I got this ear where people like a lot of people should trust me. But it is what it is. I understand. How do you know, Like, um, what's the feeling when it's good? Like, how do you how do you know when it's good? Oh? Man, it's it's it's it's hard to explain, like you know, you get it, like you know deep in your heart, like in your soul, like you just know, like it's like it's like all right, and then you listen over and over and even if it's like in five years that stuff is coming out, you just know that it's like, man, this is the wildest, like this is the craziest stuff, Like nobody heard it. It gets old to you as well, because like nobody. Yeah, I'm like personally, like I would get used to a lot of beats that I listened to and I'm like this is so amazing, Like this is so good. It's like it's been like three years that those songs are not those beets are not even out, are not even used, and then it'll be used and it's like it's new again. Like it's like it's like it's been reborn, just like twin Flame from example. You know, So is that a track that's been around for a minute? Oh yeah, cool? Well, you know, I was in Hawaii with you, like playing that song and they are so and that's like twenty eighteen. Wow. Yeah. What's interesting about that also is that normally when I think about dance music, dance music often has a short fuse, like if there's a hot sound, it's not hot long, you know, like it changes fast. So the fact that you can make a beat four years ago and have it feel fresh today, it's a good sign for its timelessness. You know, it's not it's not just a trend, because the trends don't last that long. Yeah, exactly, Like this is something I taught thought about it as well. It's like, how come I have to five years like I'm listening to the same demo, didn't change anything and it's still as perfect as it sounds. You know, there's a lot of songs on that I'm like, that's been unreleased and I'm like, yeah, this is gonna be so good when it comes out. But it's been a long time. You know. There's like and there's stuff on people's album too that people that wouldn't I work with that they were going to use it for the album, and I'm like, man I pick that one up, man Like it would have been like so good for them. You know, it eyes as it's supposed to arrive, and there's a story going on that's beyond us. You know, it's exactly always interesting when when it comes up, it's like surprised by what happens. Yeah, but it's crazy because deep down your soul, you know, like you said, like knew something is right, and it's like wow, it's like now I can listen to disco records from the seventies and they sound as exciting as anything I've ever heard. Yeah, you know, like it's it's amazing the power of some of these things. And then you can listen to some stuff that you love, you know, five years ago, ten years ago, and you listen to it now it sounds old. You know, it feels like temporary. That's what I'm saying. There's a lot of like songs that I used to love and then have an aged well yeah, and it's like, oh, it's not this is not my favorite album anymore, Like I changed my mind. You know. There's a lot of like stuff that revisit and I'm like, man, maybe maybe not tell me what you mostly listen to. Slot of new wave, it's a lot of new wave records. New wave like eighties New Way, like eight New Way. There's just something about how they use like like how unquantized their stuff are and it's like it's all sense and it's all like bad singing, but it's it has this vibe too, like that's I don't know, it's just something. It just does something to me. New wave was like an outgrowth of punk rock. Sounded different the spirit of it. It was called post punk yeah, and post punk kind of turned into new wave. Yeah, and post punk was like the same people who might have been making punk rock, but now they're making dance music where they're making like a do it yourself attempt at pop music. Yeah, and I love that you can sell they were experimenting and it's like by the years. You know, if you listen to one song from eighty three, it's like more like rage drums, and then like you go to eighty seven, like when stuff is more clean and quintized. You know, it's like I just love like saying like the year, and it's like you just know it's gonna be like a raw new wave record. When you you'll see like something from eighty six, you know it'll be like more clean, more crystallized, you know, sonically. So would you say that your relationship to music has changed since you were a child? No? Same, not at all. That's a good question. Not at all. It's like the level for music has always been the same. I always got a song in my head since I was like five, Like not I'm not a DHD like diagnosed, but like I just know that's what I had. Like when I was like struggling with school, it was really like the music in my head or music videos in my head. So it's like or even percussions with pencils like I was doing all that. Yeah, it didn't change. I don't think I ever asked you this, But how did you get your artist's name? How do you become Katronada? How'd I become Katronada? Oh? Like I said, like my name was katrd like Nore Domas, so that name really stood by me. And that that's when like I started to get my name out there in Montreal. And then there was another artist named Filostra Damash yeah, like well a group like a duel, yeah, and I got myself to make a trap like the trap stuff. Well it was like actually like big at the time. That was like a trend that that was following then. And people were like, you got Katra Doma's name, like you know, like you sound like Flostro Damas. But I always had that name, which is funny. So before like things started to go crazy, I just said, oh, I'm just like people call me Katra anyways, so I just took out the dominic but Nada and I don't know why it sounded nice and I was like Katra and I was like from cant and then Nada, you know, like it's like it's kind of like a fun like ways say Katra from Canada. But I don't know why I was not a Canada. I never made that connection. Yeah, like interesting, It's like I don't know, it's it really love No, I love the sound of it sound nice. It looks nice to the way it's Britain. Yeah, was it obvious that you wanted a artist's name instead of calling yourself by your given name. No, but it's a decision you made. It's interest just interesting decision. Yeah. At the time, like you know, like I was like really, I was like nineteen toy yea. So I was like, yeah, I'll go I'll stick by that name. And it was like it was fine. But now I'm like, man, I wish I love you like I love Katnada. I think it's a beautiful name. Thank you, thank you. But you know, I wish I had my Sometimes I wish I had my first name, like my my full name as an artist. I mean, I feel like a lot of people go through that Eve had like the weekend, like Abel was telling that he wanted to like have his name Abel estimate artist. But you can't reallydo that because it's like like you could go on and decline it. Also, is there's something about a name that takes on like a mythology, you know, like Katron is not really a person who's sitting here talking to me, do you know what I'm saying. It's like it's something else. It's like Katron is an idea. You know. It's like it's not just a person, it's like a point of view. It's a way of seeing the world. And that's what the name is. Yeah, represents something. It's true because like you gotta think that's it's not really You're like you're more than just like a person or just the artists. You're like, your music is out there, you know, buy your name. So it's like when I when I wanted to change my name, I was like, I should probably not because it'll mix people's head as heads up a little bit. You know. It's like, yeah, I was like thinking about how you know, Puffy changed his name to Diddy. But at the same time, Puffy like is also more than just the musician. You know, got a career, he got a business career, all this stuff going on to bad boys stuff. So it's like, you know, I wish I had that power in terms of like changing my name, but it's not a big deal at the same time, you know what I mean, like I can just embrace it and be like, Okay, this is who I birth did. I think it's beautiful. I really do. I like it. I like that name. I like I like your personal name. Too, but something about it as an artist's name. It's just cool. Yeah, it's pretty cool. You selected well. Thank you, thank you, thank you so much for coming to visit. Oh Ma, thank you for having me. I love seeing you man. I've seen you too. Man. It's so good to read. Reunite. Yeah, all this time man, and we will again. Yeah. Thanks to Ktronata for chatting through his career and approach to making beats with Rick. You hear our favorite Kjrenata produced songs. Check out the playlist at Broken Record podcast Come Off. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel at YouTube dot com slash Broken Record Podcast, where you can find all of our new episodes. You can follow something at Broken Record. Broken Record is producing help from Lea Rose, Jason Gambrel, Ventaliday, Eric Sandler, and Jennifer Sanchez, with engineering help from Nick Chafer. Our executive producer is Mia Lobell. Broken Record is a production of Pushkin Industries. If you like this show and others from Pushkin, consider subscribing to Pushkin Plus. Pushkin Plus is a podcast subscription that offers bonus content an uninterrupted ad free listening for four ninety nine a month. Look for Pushkin plus on Apple Podcasts, subscriptions, and if you like the show, please remember to share, rate, and review us on your podcast app Our theme musics by Kenny Beats. I'm justin Richmond.