Interview by Isa Simon.
The incredible success story of French music producer Pascal Guyon has taken him from a small village in the quiet French countryside to one of the most vibrant entertainment cities in the world, Los Angeles. His first two weeks in the City of Angels “were like a dream”. Invited by 2000 Grammy winner for producer of the year Walter Afanasieff (Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Barbara Streisand,…) along with music executive Chris Ivery, Pascal worked on two albums that received 3 Grammy Nominations and went Multi Platinum selling over 10 million copies worldwide.
Pascal Guyon is a modern creative thinker. In addition to his musical talents, he is a polymath, interested in research and combining fields to develop creative solutions (disruptive technologies, computer programming, instant monetization proof of concepts, financial trading and blockchain platforms).
Trained and educated as a classical and jazz pianist, he mentored and taught students at 19 years old at two major French music schools, and later on at the prestigious National Superior Conservatory Of Music Of Paris and at University Of Wesminster. His genius creativity and knowledge spans a significant number of subjects, excelling in disruptive technologies, computer science (coding) and finance. He succeeds at every new subject he decides to study and practice. His passion and curiosity led to creating an educational online game (leveraging music blockchain streaming platform Musicoin) and investing and coding softwares for disruptive companies (HyperloopTT).
Keys to his success are a strong dedication for learning, curiosity and becoming the best at one’s craft: “become so good that people hunt you down. Build a strong online presence to be highly visible and stay focused. Master the art of networking, impress and provide value, you will trigger the curiosity of bright people”.
I interviewed Pascal online, with excitement and curiosity, wondering how such a dynamic and smart music producer was able to accomplish so much, so quickly! He is an innovator and creator, but let’s jump right into his inspiring story. Everyone is an entrepreneur in some way, and we can all learn from his amazing path to stardom!
Pascal, when did you decide to become a music producer? With that vision in mind, what were your first challenges and accomplishments?
“As a child I would express my creativity by playing with legos, drawing and drumming to the sound of music that was playing on the radio. Back then, there was no internet, but my parents recognized my interest in music and got instruments I could play with. At the house we also had a large garden, with plenty of fruits and vegetables, and my passion for gastronomy has followed me all the way to L.A.. I become a French Chef for my friends whenever I want to impress by cooking some original recipes!” (check out the cooking section on his blog).
Hip hop star Heavy D says Pascal is: ”Dope! So much Soul!”
As a teenager, Pascal took his first jobs in music, and it is at that time that he decided to make music his living. He took his musical education extremely seriously: “I studied classical, jazz and Latin music with the most influential musicians in Europe and Cuba. I spent months practicing piano ten hours a day and transcribing albums to understand music production. Then, hard work started to pay off”.
“At 21 years old, I was invited to perform on stage with one of the most famous salsa band in Cuba called Bamboleo. I became a music director and pianist for major artists in France. However, it quickly became obvious that I preferred creating and producing music rather than being on stage.” His first collaboration in France was with his dream team ‘Anakroniq’ (Matt Houston and Kayna Samet’s former publisher).
What are the most important attributes that helped you achieve international recognition?
“Expertise and a strong online presence (MySpace at the time). Be uniquely good at what you do. Then, leverage your Social Media platforms and communicate your talents and you will be noticed. Network and build relationships.”
“In addition to being very good at playing the piano, I became an expert, learned everything about music production. You also need to reach people, tons of people, and even more people. Any dose of talent would never help unless people are able to listen to your music.”
“Super-talented. Pascal thinks outside the box!” Justin Timberlake.
Back then, Pascal used MySpace as tool to maximize his visibility and opportunities. He built a visually eye catching MySpace page, even creating five different accounts to accumulate and optimize the number of people his music could reach. He was able to increase his followers and showcase his musical talents directly to music influencers in the US, thus building relationships with the most creative and dynamic music producers. Pascal used a “growth hacking” technique before it was called so!
He got his first international music production contracts while he was still living in France: he landed deals with Timbaland’s artist D.O.E., music that was placed in a Ben Stiller movie (‘The Marc Pease Experience’). He also co-produced and co-wrote another song for Kpop artists TVXQ which album became huge in Asia. “All this happened when I was still living in the french countryside!” “This shows that you can work, internationally, even from your hometown (or home country). Using social media in a strategic manner is an impactful powerful tool. It changed my life.”
“Along the way, many people criticize your choices and tell you that things will not work. You cannot listen to them and on the contrary, you need to prove them wrong. When I became interested in Hip Hop, many in France were saying that I should stick to my traditional classical and jazz piano background. A few years later, I managed to work with some of the most famous name in this style of music (Heavy D, Joe Budden, Rostrum Records…) and we even got Grammy nominations. People react according to their own state of mind. Don’t take anything personally.”
What are your key moments? What are your other passions and hobbies?
“Key moments in my career were the collaboration with one of the world’s top music writer that led to Grammy Nominations and going Multi-Platinum, as well as working on a publishing deal with Michael Jackson’s former publisher Dale Kawashima (HoriPro talent agency).”
Pascal came to LA at the invitation of world renowned songwriter Walter Asanasieff (he produced the famous Titanic song “My Heart Will Go On” sang by Celine Dion and worked with many other artists such as Whitney Houston, Andrea Bocelli, Barbra Streisand, …). Pascal collaborated on the albums of Anthony Hamilton “The Point Of It All” and Leona Lewis “Spirit”, which became Multi-Platinum, selling over 10 million albums, and earning three Grammy Nominations!
“As I am always curious about things, I started developing a passion for the finance industry and computer science.”
“I also had the opportunity to create music with hip hop star Heavy D (Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Mary J. Blige,…). I went on to work with lots of artists, and I got shortlisted for a Latin Grammy with legendary Cuban musician Alfredo De La Fe for his album “Sin Limites.”
A dream come true! Behind those multiple awards is a tremendous amount of hard work, and also lot of failures along the way. “The secret to it is to embrace the failure and make it part of the work, learning from it and using the newly acquired lessons to do even better in the future.”
With Los Angeles as his new hometown, Pascal embarked on new adventures.
“As I am always curious about things, I started developing a passion for the finance industry (trading) and computer science (coding). I learned from the best and studied as a short-term equity trader with elite New York firm SMB Capital. That let to my education in coding and computer programming. Creating something that can perform thousands of daily tasks for you is priceless. Programming is embracing the idea of being a problem solver. It takes constant research.”
“ I started networking with circles of entrepreneurs, and developed an interest in disruptive technology companies, such as HyperloopTT (new transportation system) and Musicoin (blockchain music project). These companies use technologies that have groundbreaking ideas and ambitious market implementation.”
Given his amazing success, Pascal is also highly solicitated to speak at conferences and to mentor students for top schools all over the world. “As a speaker and mentor, I educate people about creativity. I love to make people realize that anything is possible! What sets me apart is my ability to combine the knowledge I accumulated in different fields to find creative solutions.”
What are your top 3 creative accomplishments?
Playing piano on stage with one of the most famous Cuban band Bamboleo
Creating my instant monetization proof of concept video game, by leveraging blockchain technology
The management software that I recently built for HyperloopTT
What are your top 3 creative accomplishments?
Playing piano on stage with one of the most famous Cuban band Bamboleo
Creating my instant monetization proof of concept video game, by leveraging blockchain technology
The management software that I recently built for HyperloopTT
Can you expand on the awesome video game you created and your involvement with disruptive technologies?
Building on his music, coding and financial expertise (Pascal is also versed in cryptocurrency), Pascal created an instant monetization educational proof of concept video game. The video game pays him instantly each time the game is played at no cost to the player, while his music plays in the background.
“Musicoin is a music streaming platform built on the blockchain that supports the creation and consumption of music for the listeners to stream songs for free, there are no ads, and the musicians are compensated directly. Each time the music plays, it generates cryptocurrency payments”
“This game is a perfect example of my life, where I combine music, coding, gaming, education, and social media (there was 2 million hits to the game from my twitter feed)”.
HyperloopTT has a super edgy technology: it makes the vision of high speed rail (levitating rail technology) a reality. The company has offices around the world, including LA and Toulouse! (the European Hyperloop R&D center location).
“I collaborate with the company as a software developer. I have coded different tools for the company, including a key management software they use daily. I actually started working with the company as a music producer and I’m also an investor. I connected with the people at the time the company started.”
What guidance and advice can you give musicians starting in the business?
“Study your craft, work very hard and become the best you can be! Study until it becomes second nature, and magic will happen. Also, be curious, spend time researching and learn the new technologies used in your field.”
“Network with brilliant people. In order to connect with powerful people, who have very limited time, you need to bring them value. You bring them value when you develop your expertise. They will ask you to work with them. You need to develop your edge and work hard at it.”
“ Use Proof of Concept. Demonstrate your product, build the proof of concept, and then advertise it very aggressively. Marketing is very important. People need to know about your product. Utilize strategically social media platforms and opportunities will come.”
“Monetize your webpage with the Musicoin music player. It allowed me to create a video game paying me instantly each time the game is played at no cost to the player. Keep an eye on all other new music blockchain platforms and try them!”
With his Twitter (over 400k followers), and LinkedIn platforms (over 14k contacts), Pascal has developed proven methods of building a community of several hundreds of thousands of followers. He helps entrepreneurs to develop their online presence. He is often invited as a guest Speaker at top organizations in the country to talk about how to achieve such success.
“Also it is very important to keep the physical health at our best level of performance, so the mind can work the best. Hence my strong interest in biohacking that can help optimize productivity”.
To end on a musical note, what past classical and jazz musicians would you like to have played with, and which contemporary jazz artist?
“In Classical, the French composer and pianist Maurice Ravel (1875-1937), wrote the most beautiful piece Daphnis and Chloe (1907). In Jazz, I would have loved to play with the giant pianist Thelonious Monk (1917–1982), and as a contemporary jazz player, the genius and super charismatic Herbie Hancock (1940-present).”
Written by Isa Simon, Los Angeles.
More about Pascal Guyon:
Website: https://pascalguyon.org/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/pascalguyon
Video Game: https://educationalgaming.org/