Taiko Dives into the Making of ‘Casti,’ His Journey with Sky Rompiendo, and More
Emerging artist and producer Taiko, born Nicolas Jaña, offers a glimpse into his remarkable journey from a music-loving child to a sought-after talent in Latin urban music. His passion for music ignited at an early age when, as a schoolboy, he curated a “Top 10” list of his favorite songs and eagerly shared new music with friends. Little did he know that these early musical inklings would pave the way for a dynamic career in the industry.
Taiko’s career changed when he was discovered by Sky Rompiendo, a Latin Grammy-winning producer with Sony Music ties. Sky found Taiko’s beats on YouTube and Instagram, and the two decided to work together. Taiko signed with Sky’s label, Black Koi Entertainment, marking a turning point in his career.
His recollection of the day he signed with Black Koi Entertainment paints a vivid picture of a life-changing moment. After removing his beats from the internet to focus on his collaboration with Sky, Taiko received an invitation to Miami, where he met Sky in person. During this momentous week, they formalized their partnership, secured their first recording session, and that’s when the magic happened.
Since then, Taiko has collaborated with some of the hottest artists in the game such as J. Balvin, Myke Towers, Jhayco, and more. Looking toward the future, Taiko has goals to work with even more artists, including Karol G, Rauw Alejandro, Rosalía, and U.S.-based musicians.
What sets Taiko apart is his enthusiasm for experimentation. He relishes the creative freedom that comes with being both a producer and an artist, allowing him to propose new sounds and concepts. Taiko is drawn to concept-driven albums that tell a story and are artistically cohesive, a trait he’s applying to his own projects.
As Taiko continues to evolve his sound, he is poised to leave a mark on the Latin urban music landscape. Take a look at the full interview below by Contrast News host Gigi Rivera.
When did you first realize you were passionate about music? I have been interested in music since I was a kid. I remember that since I was in school, around 8 or 9 years old, I made a Top 10 of the songs that I liked the most at that time and I was the one who would show music to my friends and the songs that were coming out. I had an MP3 player that I would load the music myself and I would go everywhere with my headphones on and later on a trip we took with my family to the north of Chile, I met a cousin who was a DJ and that’s when I learned about the programs and everything so I discovered the world of starting to mix and begin to make music.
How did Sky Rompiendo discover you? At that time I would upload my beats to YouTube and share an excerpt of the video to Instagram and thanks to the algorithm I showed up on Sky’s feed. From what he told me, for days he would listen to the beat up until he wrote me and asked me who I worked with and I was freaking out and told him I didn’t work with anyone. About 2 days later he asked me for a folder with beats and I sent it to him, he liked it and told me to take down the beats from Instagram and YouTube so that we could start working together.
Tell us about the day you signed to Black Koi Entertainment? After removing all the beats I had on the internet to start working with Sky, he invited me to Miami and that week was amazing. I met him, we closed the signing to Black Koi, I had my first session, and I met a lot of artists and producers that I’ve always been a fan of. It was a week that I will never forget, it marked me.
You’ve worked with artists such as J. Balvin, Myke Towers, Jhayco, and more. Who else would you like to work with? I would really like to work with Karol G, with Rauw Alejandro, as well as Rosalía. I would also like to experiment with a more alternative artist and obviously I would like to work with US artists.
Tell us about Casti? How did it come about? After the release of “Infraganti” with Sael, the idea of starting a project as a producer/artist came up. So I went to Chile for a week and I set up several sessions and when I met AK4:20, the chemistry was instant. That day we recorded “Malibu” and “Casti”, and as I got into “Casti,” I fell in love with the track and we all really loved the track. So we decided that would be the first release and we started working on everything and it was about a year after we did “Casti” that it just came out.
What’s your favorite part about being an artist/producer? What I like most about this new phase as a producer/artist is having the freedom to propose something, to propose a sound or a concept. I’ve always liked concept albums that tell a story, that have something to say, that are cohesive, and I’m applying all of that to my project.
Can we expect more new music on the way? So there are a lot of elements that you can play with, processing things in a different way, bringing in sounds that are not usually in the genre. A lot of rare things to experiment with and that’s what excites me the most about this new step.
Follow TAIKO in Instagram for more updates and stream ‘Casti’ by Taiko and AK420 below!