With Victoria Monét, Becky G, Masego And More Among Recent Collabs, Michaël Brun Is Music’s Go-To Producer

Michaël Brun is quickly becoming the go-to producer for the hottest acts in the industry, and he has no plans of letting up anytime soon.

Born and raised in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Brun split his upbringing between his birthplace and Guyana, the country that is home to his mother. In an interview with Blavity, Brun said his Caribbean roots are everything to him, which is why he uses the art form of music to share those roots with the rest of the world.

“It’s massive,” Brun told Blavity while discussing how his culture shines through the music that he makes. “I’m Haitian and Guyanese, so all of my influence base is from where I’m from, and the way that I even learned how to produce was through people who were making all kinds of different music in the Caribbean — but also stuff from the internet that I was learning, including electronic music.”

“I think the way that I make music is a fusion; it’s like a global fusion,” he continued. “But the core is Haiti, Guyana and the Caribbean as a whole, so I’m really grateful because I think everything I approach is based on a vibe and it’s based on making you feel good. So, whether that’s to dance or to listen or when it’s more chill, it makes you feel good. It makes you feel like you’re transported somewhere. That’s the baseline of how I work on stuff and I’m grateful because it’s made by us, but I think the Caribbean has a lot of amazing music and it’s a journey of mine to explore it, learn all about it, and also share it with the world.”

Working alongside artists like Masego, Jozzy and even Victoria Monét for her “Party Girls Remix,” Brun said there’s a lot more where that came from, as he has a lot of exciting things in the vault.

Photo: Neil Favila

“I love working with Victoria Monét, she’s like one of the sweetest people. [She’s] so talented and we’ve actually worked on a lot of stuff recently,” Brun said. “So that was just that remix, but it’s the first of more to come. And I think anytime that I get to work with really brilliant artists, they inspire me in different ways. For her, when I met her a few years ago, she had a vision of what she wanted to do, and now to see her selling out shows on her tour and really getting the attention she deserves, I feel so proud of her. I’m really happy that we’re friends and that we’ve collaborated.”

Initially, Brun had dreams of becoming a doctor because of his strong passion for building community and helping others. While he took a different route, the producer said that his impact through music is very similar to the work that attracted him to the medical field.

“It goes back to why I wanted to become a doctor,” he said of his ability to remain grounded within a sometimes cutthroat industry. “I wanted to help my community, and I feel like it’s really important to pass on any blessings that you receive in your life and to use that opportunity to not just better your own life, but to better the lives of everybody around you. And so I think I really have done so much work on developing community as much as possible and making people feel welcome and respected by creating those kinds of spaces.”

Brun said he is appreciative of renowned singer Maxwell for taking him under his wing since the very beginning.

“Maxwell has been such a great friend, and one of my first big remixes was for him and Alicia Keys,” Brun said. “He brought me on to do this one event we did for Versace very early on in my career, and he didn’t have to do that, but he did it to support me and I’m really grateful for that.”

Although he already has collaborations with some of the biggest names in music under his belt, Brun still has dreams of working alongside one of his personal favorites, Bruno Mars.

“I’m a big fan of Bruno. I think what he’s been able to do as an artist is so interesting because there are very few multi-talented people who started when they were kids,” Brun said. “There are so many different approaches to creativity and to do it from so young, the mastery level is so high, and I feel like I’d learn a lot and I’m just a fan of the music so it’d be an honor to work with him one day.”

Outside of music, however, Brun said he aims to continue advocating for people from the Caribbean, specifically for his fellow Haitian and Guyanese people.

“There’s a lot that I hope — that through music, I can accomplish for community building and opportunities, not just in music, but across the entire country to be able to thrive,” he said. “I think the big picture, why I’m even doing this, is because I felt like, aside from the Fujees, there was basically no representation of Haiti on the global stage. And even that one bit of representation gave me the hope that I could do it one day, and I was grateful for that. I would love to see more representation across every medium.”