Kaytranada: “I want to be remembered as one of the greats in terms of producing”
“When I won a Grammy, it really felt like I graduated or something.”
Image: John Phillips / Getty Images
Canadian DJ and record producer Kaytranada has opened up about his career aspirations and the legacy he wishes to leave behind.
In a new chat with Billboard, the Grammy-winning musician explains that while recognition from the Recording Academy was never his goal, being nominated for the award has, in some ways, changed how he approaches his music-making.
“My idols, the people I looked up to, they never really had Grammys, so it was, whatever,” Kaytranada explains. “But being nominated, it’s a whole different thing. It kind of alters what you’re aiming for.”
The musician admits that he’s now “trying to make Grammy-winning albums.”
“When I won a Grammy, it really felt like I graduated or something. Like, I have something that means a lot. “Your name is in history forever.”
Expanding on his career aspirations, Kaytranada says that “I just want to be remembered as one of the greats in terms of producing, not only dance and electronic but also just production in general,” adding that he’d love to produce an entire album for a pop star looking to reinvent his/ her sound.
“It’s a matter of longevity, too – and, you know, just happiness. Like, as long as you’re comfortable and you’re happy with your life, that’s a form of success – but don’t forget the money part.”
Elsewhere, Kaytranada also speaks about his journey to self-acceptance as well as the struggles he’s faced navigating the music industry as a gay producer.
“Like, how are you going to accept a gay producer?” he recalls thinking. “That was not seen at the time. It seemed impossible.”
To make matters worse, mainstream representations of gay men early in his career also proved difficult for Kaytranada to relate to.
“I couldn’t relate to that. I just couldn’t, and I was like, ‘I cannot be gay,’ because I was not into those things,” he says. “That was really a confusing period of my life.”
