Today we’d like to introduce you to Pedro Kayat.
Hi Pedro, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I started my musical journey when I was a kid. My dad gave my mom an old piano as a gift and since then I started to learn cartoon theme songs, all by ear. Because of that, my grandpa, who played the flute realized that I had some potential, so he gave me my first keyboard and at seven years old I had my first piano lesson. Two years later, I got an electric guitar on Christmas and I fell in love with it. At that time, I realized that II wanted to do music for the rest of my life.
In 2012, my dad, Marcos Kayat, and I wrote a song called “Sozinho”, which we showed to the legendary bass player Arthur Maia, who promptly helped us to produce and record it at his own studio in Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. That was my first experience stepping into a studio, which changed my life forever. All the gear, the instruments, and the environment made me feel so good and realize that I loved every step in the music-making process, from recording a demo to tracking different instruments and hearing the final version of the song. At that time, it really felt like magic, or even a superpower to be able to create something like that from thin air.
By that time, Arthur influenced me by convincing me to study music in the United States so I decided to apply to Berklee College of Music. I had already studied guitar and music production since my first studio experience, and also have already had my first job in a studio (Studio Til ˜), and had the privilege to work with a lot of talented and award-winning artists in Brazil before moving to the US, so I knew that I wanted to pursue that career, and Berklee had the perfect course for me, which was the Music Production and Engineering major.
At Berklee, I met a lot of brilliant and talented artists that had similar goals as me, so I started to produce, record, and mix their music, which was an amazing experience and helped me to develop my musicality and production skills, which lead me to great opportunities. After that, I moved to New York and worked in two notable studios: Electric Lady and Penthouse Studios. I was very fortunate to have engineered for amazing artists such as Jorge Aragão (Latin Grammy nominee and Brazilian samba legend), Beanie Sigel (Grammy-nominated American rapper), and Freeway.
My next step was moving to L.A, where I co-founded a production company “Favorite Song Records” with my two friends Rodrigo Martins (Grammy-nominated producer and engineer) and Manny Moura (Pop Artist and prolific songwriter), in order to work with independent artists to help them shape their vision and build their song from start to finish. We started having sessions in LA with independent artists, and we did the original song for the short movie “The Way You Sea Me”, which got international recognition and got nominated and won many awards including Cannes, which is one of the biggest film festivals in the world, “Best Film awards”, and Sweden film awards”, to name a few.
At the same time, I’m currently working at Interscope Records, which is the label for some of my favorite artists, including Billie Eilish, Tupac, Kendrick Lamar, Tame Impala, and many others. It is really a dream come true to be able to work in this universe and meet and work with so many great people who have inspired me to pursue my dream and keep inspiring me to never give up on it!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Well, it´s been a smooth road in a certain way, If I consider all that I have achieved until now, it´s all great. On the other hand, I’d say I had to face some struggles and challenges along the way because everything comes at a price. The price I’ve been having to pay is to stay away from the people I love the most, my family and friends. Missing important dates and events is always hard, and not being able to see them often really affects me negatively, but at the same time, they all give me the strength I need to keep moving forward and accomplishing my goals. Having them cheer for me is one of the best feelings ever. That could be considered a struggle, but I am totally ok with it since all those risks I’ve taken led me to amazing opportunities and experiences I wouldn’t have even thought about when I was a little kid living in a small town near Rio de Janeiro. When I think about all the things that happened to me like moving to Boston, making music, getting to know amazing and inspiring people, working in two different studios in NYC, and ending up in my current job at Interscope records, working with many Grammy-winning artists, producers, and engineers, I realize that taking those risks and embracing the unknown definitely paid off.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’d say that the best way to summarize my work in a few words is by saying I make records. The most exciting thing for me is meeting an artist and being able to shape their ideas and get them out of their minds to transform them into music, which then can be shared with the world. I like to do everything from co-writing, producing, mixing, and recording, and I think each of those steps has a critical role in how the song will end up sounding. I love collaborating with different artists and musicians because I really believe in combining everyone’s creativity and unique musical backgrounds to create something new and exciting. That was one of the reasons me and my friends created “Favorite Song Records”, a music production company that is self-sufficient through the whole music-making process. We’ve worked with a lot of independent artists and made the original music for the short movie “The Way You Sea Me”. It’s so gratifying seeing this project being internationally acclaimed and winning different film festivals around the globe.
Apart from that project, I’ve had the pleasure of working with amazing artists, such as Jorge Aragão, Beanie Sigel, Sara Diamond, HeartBeats [Nicki Minaj, Jesy Nelson], George Garzone, Rodrigo Martins, Natalia Toache, Manny Moura, João Boiajion, C The Third, Nathan Dies, and many others that crossed my path. I am really grateful to be able to live my dream of creating music and being around talented and brilliant minds.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
Luck has played a very important role in my life and my career. I feel very lucky and fortunate for having the best and most supportive family and friends, I feel lucky for being able to do what I love every day and share that love with brilliant creatives that are all in the same pursuit as I am. I’m also lucky to have been in the right place at the right time and to be able to take all the amazing opportunities as they appeared in my journey. To me, it’s extremely important to be ready when these opportunities come my way. Good luck will come in the most unexpected times, and it’s very important to work hard and be prepared for when it happens. To me, good luck is like someone pushing you into a wave, but you’ll still have to surf it with your dedication, effort, and talent, and I think that that was what got me to where I am today.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pedrokayat/?hl=en
Image Credits
Alexx Nielsen, Ádan Santos
