For all the producers out there looking for the motivation to keep going or are in a transition period from being behind the scenes to front and center, Taiko‘s story is one that may interest you. The Chilean reggaetón producer turned artist has recently released his first solo project and is just getting started. We chatted with him about his Latin roots, growing as an artist and much more!
FEATURE INTERVIEW:
What was it like growing up in Chile?
Being Chilean is something that makes me very proud and that I really appreciate, being abroad I always miss our culture and traditions, for example in the afternoons the whole family always sits down to have “once” which is the last meal of the day, it is something very nice and homey.
Chile is also a very fanatic country for music in general and I feel that growing up there was very important for me to be able to develop an interest in it. Every summer when I was a kid I would watch the Viña Festival until the crack of dawn, besides Chile has always been a country where reggaetón is very popular, so all these influences were very important for me to become interested in music and it became a natural part of my life.
What’s your favorite Chilean dish?
My favorite Chilean dishes are two fast food items that are very common in my country. The “Chorrillana” which is meat, egg, caramelized onion and French fries and the “Completo” which is our version of hot dog with avocado, tomato and mayonnaise. At least once a month I get together with my friends to eat “Completos”, they are a must.
In your opinion, what’s unique about your culture that sets it apart from the rest of Latin cultures?
Undoubtedly our way of speaking, the vocabulary and the special accent we have, for me that is a distinctive feature of Chileans compared to other Latin American countries. I have always heard jokes that we are not understood or that we use strange words, but it’s something that marks our culture. Moreover, for me the use of these idioms was key for Chilean reggaetón to be heard in Chile and now around the world.
Let’s talk about your debut EP “Offside”, what was the process and inspiration behind creating this project?
The idea of making an EP started to come to me after some artists invited me to be the main artist in songs I produced for them, these appearances were that boost of confidence, but I always had the desire to work on a project. I grew up listening to reggaetón and when I was a kid I remember knowing all the song lyrics and all of them named the producers, I always had that very present, also many of the most legendary reggaetón projects like Mas Flow, Sangre Nueva or Los Benjamins are by producers, all this was very inspirational to create OFFSIDE.
In 2022 I went to Chile for a few days and rented a studio for a week where I invited several artists to make music without having a very clear idea of what I wanted to do. It ended up being an intense but very productive week, that’s when “CASTI” was born with AK4:20, the first single from OFFSIDE, and “Malibu” with Feid and AK4:20, a song that really opened the door for me to reach more people. The following year, when we released CASTI, I went back to Chile to do the same as last time, inviting different artists to the studio, but this time I had the mission to find the missing songs for the project and that’s how it was.
Thinking about the concept I knew I wanted to take it to something familiar and close to Chilean culture, that’s when I thought of soccer, a sport that I’ve always been passionate about and that represents the neighborhood, the union and teamwork, concepts that are also very present in reggaetón. In Chile when a soccer player is out of place we say that he is “adelantado” and that is OFFSIDE, a project full of advanced artists.
Did you ever imagine you’d have over 6 million streams worldwide? What advice do you have for any artists hoping to one day achieve the same?
The truth is that I did dream about it, but to make it come true, there was a long way to go. As a piece of advice… there is something that I have learned and noticed a lot in this time and that is the importance of being consistent, practicing every day and always wanting to improve yourself.
I see it in friends like Sky Rompiendo who despite being one of the biggest Latin producers and having a very successful career, still goes to the studio every day and making music as if he was just starting out, he has been a great example for me and it has helped me a lot to surround myself with people like him.
For anyone who’s never listened to your music, what’s the first song you’re playing and why?
“DE SERIE” with Judeline, because it’s a song that I really like and I think it displays my work and my tastes well, with dark melodies, well selected sounds, very present drums and Lara who sounds amazing, she killed it as always!
You’ve worked with some pretty big names already but who would you like to collab with in the future?
While one of the things I enjoy the most is working with new artists that are in that emerging stage with a desire to explore musically, there are also a lot of artists that I’m a fan of and would love to work with like Rosalía, Kevin Parker or Don Omar. This wishlist is a bit random.
Was the transition from producer to creating your own career as an artist difficult? What are a few tips you have for producers who’d like to do the same but don’t know where to start?
I am still living that process, learning but above all enjoying everything a lot. A piece of advice for producers who are starting out is to try to find an artist who is at that same stage, looking for them, because at that stage is when you learn the most and when you have to put your heart into it, because you have to record, produce, mix, get involved in the whole creative process of the artist, take a project, develop a special sound for that artist, a lot of things that in the end ends up being the best training.
What do you have planned for the remainder of 2024?
I want to continue producing and collaborating with other artists on their music, I also want to start working on a new project, I hope it will take me less time than it took me to finish OFFSIDE.
Amiga la verdad no se tú pero después del kinder la vida se puso mega complicada y lo último que quiero es que la gente note mi caos en la piel. El estrés, la contaminación, la alimentación… ¡Todo se nota en nuestro rostro! Pero, ¿qué tal si te dijera que hay una manera de darle
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