An Interview With The Canadian DJ and Music Producer, KAPRE!

Photo Credit- Mason Hope (@mason_hope)

Meet the Canadian DJ/music producer KAPRE! His newest song, “Lights Off” is all about his signature blend of live instrumentation and electronic dance beats. KAPRE utilizes not just piano and guitar, but also saxophone, ukelele, harmonica, flute, and several others to add flavor to his electronic music. His unique style led him to a sponsorship with G Fuel Energy, allowing to produce music for video games, commercials, and events. He has also donated proceeds from his royalties to charities like Relay For Life, Safe House Movement and others.

Aboudi Lahib, better known by his stage name Kapre is a music producer and DJ from London, Canada. He initially started making music at the age of 13 as an escape from the real world, but as time went on he found his true love for creativity and claimed his name as one of North America’s top rising artists with a new and unique style.

Kapre has progressed his style of music over the years in order to find what he felt best suited him. The incorporation of live instruments in dance music is something that he has been known for doing for quite sometime. The types of instruments he uses passes the standard piano and guitar, and goes into saxophone, harmonica, ukulele, flute, clarinet, and many more.  His unique style eventually led him to his sponsorship with G Fuel Energy, which is the official energy drink of esports and gaming. This brought Kapre’s love for video games into his career as well and allowed him to work with large gaming organizations producing music for commercials and videos.

The love of giving back is what makes Kapre so beloved. He has worked with several charities such as Relay For Life, Safe House Movement, and more. Providing 100% of royalties from different releases as donations for special events and charitable causes.

Learn more about KAPRE in the following All Access interview:

Thanks for your time today! Where does this interview find you?

Just relaxing after a long day. I went to see Thomas Rhett last night (I’m a huge country fan) and I decided to relax a bit before heading into the studio

Now that we are into the 4th month of the new year, how has 2019 been treating you so far? What are some goals that you have for yourself this year? How are those New Years Resolutions going?

It’s been good so far, my main goals for this year have been working on perfecting different styles so that hopefully in 2020 I can work on an album. Step by step I’m getting there but I only want to release an album when I think I  can get to the top charts with it (hopefully), haha.

Growing up, how important was music in your life? Can you recall the moment when you decided that you wanted to be a musician? Was it an easy or difficult choice to make?

Music was always around me, I remember at a young age my grandpa would always sing songs to me and I think I get some of my inspiration from that. The choice to be a musician came to me randomly, I didn’t expect to make it to where I am. I did it more as a hobby and then when one thing led to another I ended up where I am now and get to do my hobby as a job which is awesome.

Was there ever a time when you thought about doing something else? If you weren’t a musician today, what else could you see yourself doing? Would you be as fulfilled in life?

I always wanted to be a police officer, I still really do but I have permanent damage in my right knee from 6 years of mixed martial arts, so it’s something I’ve decided not to pursue.

What has been the biggest surprise so far about making music your career? What has been an unexpected or welcome challenge to it all?

Something I’ve always loved is giving to different charities, and over the years I’ve found how supportive others in the music community are of that. I’ve had collaborations where 100% of royalties go to charities like Safe House Movement or Relay For Life, and other artists are usually into work for free to help others which is amazing.

Why did you decide to go by something other than your own real name?

I found “Aboudi Lahib” doesn’t really have the marketing potential that Kapre has, I would have loved to go by my name but I just didn’t think it’d work out.

What was the inspiration for your newest song, “Lights Off”?

When I was doing “Lights Off” it started as a practice song so I could work on my production skills and lyric writing, it has about 10 different versions and different sets of lyrics but it eventually just got stuck in my mind and I decided to finish it and release it.

When do you hope to release more new music and a full collection of new songs?

I want to release another new single I have coming called “Guardian Angel” in a few months and then if possible an album in 2020.

What was like getting the sponsorship deal with G Fuel Energy? How did that expand your producing world exactly?

It was such an amazing experience, they’re great sponsors and always help me with things when I need it. It definitely expanded my production a lot from working with different gamers and having to do so many different styles for commercials. I love my team gamma fam

I would love to know more about the charities that you have been able to get involved with over the years? Why do these ones, in particular, mean so much to you?

My favourite was Safe House Movement, they’re a charity that helps build hospitals and shelters in countries that might not have the resources to do it themselves. We’ve done a lot from supplying funds for a shelter to feeding families on Thanksgiving. I’ve also done Relay For Life which raises money for charity and I got into them through my university and decided to do a song to raise the money, as well as making songs for other charities around my campus as well.

How do you think you have grown as a musician since you first started producing and writing songs?

I’ve developed a lot, I started out just mixing loops here and there and doing slight original material, now my music is all original material and original vocals. I always love looking back at my old stuff from like 2012 and just hearing how much I’ve changed.

What has it been like keeping up with your social media accounts and all of the different platforms? Is it hard to stay up to date on it all? What would you say is your favorite way to connect with your fans now?

It’s definitely a challenge to do that, I used to be really good at it but after everything, I usually just use Instagram the most to reply to fan messages and post things on (@officialkapre if you want to come say hi)

Who are some of your favorite artists or rather, what musicians have continued to inspire you and your music? Who would you absolutely still love to work with in the future?

3LAU has always been my biggest dance music inspiration, he’s such a talented guy and such an amazing human. Outside of dance, Lin-Manuel Miranda is a massive inspiration for me, as well as country and Broadway music in general.

Where can people see you perform live next?

As of right now, I haven’t booked anything so I can try and focus on my productions, but hopefully, at the end of this year, we’ll do a small tour.

If you had an unlimited budget and your schedule was free, what would your dream music video look like?

I’ve always loved animated videos, I’d want myself turned into animation and then travel the world and doing things related to whatever the song was about. I like the animation because it helps to add some humour to the video.

If your music was going to be featured on any TV show that is currently on right now, which would you love it to be on? Or if you prefer, what is a movie that you love that you wish your music was featured in?

I’d say Game of Thrones but I don’t think my music would fit that, so another show I’m obsessed about is The Umbrella Academy, so that would definitely be it for me.

At the end of the day, what do you hope people take away from your music?

Life happens, but tomorrow will always be a new day.  Don’t let things get you down, or others push you away, be true to who you are. As well as don’t treat the people in your life you care about poorly, stand by them when they stand by you.

Would you like to share anything else with our readers about your music?

I hope any of my songs have touched you in some way, and if you have a dream don’t give up, I started this as something I never thought would be possible but I worked hard and made it to where I am. If I can do it you can too.