[Kaytranada]
A few minutes before Montreal’s beloved Kevin Celestin took to
Igloofest’s
Sapporo stage, I got the opportunity to sit down and ask him a few questions. Kevin entered the small room with a humble demeanor and an anxious smile stretched across his face;
Kaytranada
was eager to get on stage, but more than happy to discuss topics not limited to: the city of Montreal, making music with family members, and trap music’s ever evolving fan-base beforehand.
Low-Life: Kevin, first of all, thank you for your time.
Kaytranada: No problem man.
LL: You were born in Port Au Prince (Haiti), and moved to Montreal shortly thereafter. On your
Bandcamp
, you list the city of Montreal to be one of your main influences… What aspects of this city influence your production most?
K: Well… It’s more about the nightlife in Montreal, It’s really dope, and everyone is open to everybody. There are all kinds of people here, its really nice.
LL: People dress the way they want to and such..
K: Yeah man, it’s dope.
“Supreme Laziness… It’s coming out soon. This year, probably March, maybe later.”
LL: From what I understand, your little brother has played an impactful role in your music career, introducing you to production and whatnot. What is the relationship like between you two?
K: Yo – he’s been my best friend since day one! Ever since he was born we’ve been really close… like really close.
LL: Absolutely man, I’m in the same place with my older brother. We would find new beats and wile out to them all the time.
K: That’s exactly the same shit man.
LL: And you’re working with him on a mix-tape I hear?
K: Yeah. Supreme Laziness… It’s coming out soon. This year, probably March, maybe later.
LL: What’s it like working with a family member?
K: Well, It is kind of like… kind of more direct, more emotional, you know. It’s always negative when we’re recording a track. Right now I’m not really down to record a track, because I don’t have that patience no more… He does a lot of takes when he’s recording his raps.. you know.. So I’m like fuck it. No more time, and now he’s kind of mad that I don’t want to record for him, or with him. I critique him and he’ll scream at me. But you know, at the end of the day, we’re just brothers arguing about a mix-tape and it doesn’t change anything.
LL: It’s all better the next day?
K: Yeah man.
“Its kinda weird for me cause I rarely listen to today’s music at all. I’m more into disco like Diana Ross, Soul music like Marvin Gaye or some rock music shit like Jeff Buckley.”
LL: So, for your forthcoming album, titled Kaytra Thomas, what kind of beats can we expect to groove to?
K: Yo. It’s gonna be everything… you’ve seen lately I’ve been into house… trap… hip-hop beats, its gonna be more complex with more suprises too.
LL: Can’t wait to hear it.
K: Haha thanks-
LL: The name you produce under, it started with Kaytradamus, and you changed it to Kaytranada… Kaytra, where did the ‘Kaytra’ come from?
K: Kaytradamus came from Nastradamus who took it from Nostradamus, and that was just kind of like random, it was a unique name at the time. So that’s where the Kaytra came from, it’s like a smaller name for my stage name.
LL: Correct me if I’m wrong, but you started DJ-ing prior to producing.
K: Yeah.
LL: Has any of the skills that you acquired from DJ-ing transferred over to your production process?
K: Well yeah, it kinda helped for mixing, and more creative stuff with effects. At that time I didn’t even know how production worked so i learned everything from there. The BPMs, mixing acapellas and all of that.
LL: So tell me your ideal setting for working on a track? 4 in the morning.. a sunny afternoon.. Snowfall perhaps? What’s the ideal?
K: Well, back in the day I usually worked early in the morning, like at 4am when I didn’t sleep at all. I had pretty bad insomnia; I was an insomniac for a really long time. I’m kind of recovering from it now, but back then it worked really well to make beats during the night. Now today, it only happens one time a week when im about to go to sleep or when i come back from school.
LL: Do you have any other passions besides music?
K: Yeah sure, i freaking love drawing and i also love filming and directing videos. I have a passion for food too.
LL: Your top 5 artists in the game right now?
K:
TNGHT
…
Kendrick Lamar
…
Sean Price
… umm…
Action Bronson
…
Schoolboy Q
… Its kinda weird for me cause I rarely listen to today’s music at all. I’m more into disco like Diana Ross, Soul music like Marvin Gaye or some rock music shit like Jeff Buckley. So right now, I’m catching on the albums that I’ve missed in the past years whether its from the 90′s, 80′s or the 70′s.
“I don’t hate the musicians who make trap but I think the fans are getting annoying and corny only waiting for a drop or saying “its a trap”. I don’t think its trap, it supposed to be a sub genre for hip hop.”
LL: Where do you look to find new music for your sets?
K: SoundCloud. Just discovering new music, scrolling up and down. I look for new artists; I look for new shit, original stuff. Then when I discover a new artist I dig, I check out his favorites and it links me to other artists that I’ve never heard of, which is amazing.
LL: Last question, what’s your outlook on the trap-music scene looking forward?
K: I don’t know, its getting kind of weird. I don’t hate the musicians who make trap but I think the fans are getting annoying and corny only waiting for a drop or saying “its a trap”. I don’t think its trap, it supposed to be a sub genre for hip hop.
LL: I’m looking forward to your set, thank you very much for your time Kevin.
K: Yo thanks man. That was cool.
See Previously:
Kaytranada | Kaytra Todo EP
Igloofest | Retrospective
words: Adam Rutledge
images: Kane Ocean
