Get to Know the Kits AI Community Voices: LANDAO

Kits AI recently launched our new Kits Earn program, an opportunity for vocalists and artists to make passive income by adding an AI model of their voice to our “Community Voices” library. In our series of interviews to get to know the artists behind the models, we caught up with Dany Oghia (LANDAO) to learn about his project and what excites him as an artist.

If you haven’t already checked his music out, give it a listen here.

An Interview with LANDAO

What kind of music do you make?

Generally speaking, I enjoy producing, composing, and arranging all kinds of music, from Classical movie scores to Dance music club hits. I love producing electronic music, specifically IDM (Intelligent Dance Music), which is the sub-genre that my artist alter ego, LANDAO, caters to and defines the music I represent.

What are your musical inspirations, and how have you crafted your style over the years?

Having dabbled in electronic music production since the 80s from the age of 7, I have always been attracted to electronic music from the 80s and 70s. British pop bands and New wave type bands would shape my musical preferences, and with time, helped me develop an interest in creating melodic synthesizer riffs, stemming from arpeggios to more complex musical phrases.

For me, in terms of melody composition, Jean-Michel Jarre is the first prophet of electronic music, and spawning from there, the 'musique concrète' movement—with old-school bands like Kraftwerk—made what I do possible.

Since then, I find myself on the inspirational band-wagon. Bands from the 90s such as Massive Attack, Aphex Twin, 808 State, The Chemical Brothers, and Orbital—to name key bands who still produce to this day—have made my professional production career a reality, as a very active contributor to the IDM movement.

Today, artists such as Deadmau5, Eric Prydz, Boards Of Canada, and Delerium have been constantly providing ear-candy inspiration in the last 10 years. My first release was in 2009 and since then, I have released many singles in the Trance and Techno sub-genres of EDM. Since 2021, I have released an album every year, each sharing an ominous tone conveying a sense of warning.

Have you noticed that your voice works really well in certain contexts? Are there areas that you haven’t explored yourself that you’d be excited to see music-makers explore with your voice?

I believe there is plenty of room for my voice to be used in certain contexts. I am told I have a very unique tone and accent. Born in Dubai and having lived in France for the first 10 years of my life, I had to learn how to speak English in the primarily English-speaking city of Toronto in order to become fully bilingual (English and French speaker).

I personally love to narrate and tell stories as I have narrated tales and fictional stories during my teen years. Having a major in French literature, having written 6181 pages of personal journals from 1997 to 2012 and having published my first book in 2018, you can say I am passionate about languages and composition. I would be very honored to have music-makers of all proficiency levels use my voice to its fullest potential.

Do you have any tips for other artists, both for improving your skills and navigating music as a career?

These days, with technology advancements at the forefront of artificial and computational evolution, making and arranging music is a lot easier than it was 40 years ago. Users can now use comprehensive software (DAWs) such as Cubase, FL Studio, and Ableton Live to turn the composition that's nestled in your mind to something tangible coming out of your speakers.

The only sure-fire way to improve your skills in music composition is very much like any other skill you learn in life—practice, practice, practice! The results of your first-ever music production years ago will not sound the same way as your latest music production. There is always a learning curve, whether you have a sound musical theory background, graduated as an audio engineer from a distinguished music school, or are self-taught. Some individuals are more talented than others but virtually everyone must go through a learning process to get to the next level.

The good news is, much like sports or even other art forms, there is never a limit for skill development, and as long as you are passionate about creating music, navigating music as a career always becomes a reality for you, whether you have certain career goals in mind or not.  Share your music. Listen to the more-experienced. Take advice from your peers objectively and have fun doing it!

What’s exciting to you about getting involved in Kits Earn?

Easy. It's a brand-new experience for me and also the next logical step in taking my work to the next level. Before getting involved in Kits Earn, like many, I got involved with Kits, as a tool that I can use to complement my musical experiences. Having used several AI voice tools such as Kits before, I am comfortable saying that Kits contends very well with the best out there. For me, the Kits software compliments my needs the most of all other software.

Today, as I actively participate in the Kits Earn program, I reflect on how exciting the experience is in terms of growth as an artist. This allows me to get involved with companies that work with sound development technologies, something that I am very passionate about. Partnering up with Kits Earn allows me to make passive income and I do not think there is any individual out there who would be opposed to earning income this way. Finally, as I join forces with the Kits Earn programI feel a sense of pride, responsibility, and adventure I have never felt from any AI voice, sound, or music modeling software available on the market.

I look forward to seeing what levels of sound disruptive technology the Kits family will reach in the near future.