Sonic Identity and Your Brand with Kaya Pino
Kaya Pino is a Canadian music supervisor working at Twenty Below Music in London, UK. She takes an anthropological approach to music supervision, blending a deeply personal understanding of music’s effect on both audience and art form and with an ability to create relationships between movement, musicality, rhythm and sound. Over her nine year career, Kaya has amassed an impressive portfolio across TV, film and advertising.
Her recent film and tv credits include ‘Down Cemetery Road’ (AppleTV+/60Forty Films), ‘Dreaming Whilst Black’ (BBC/A24) and BIFA award winning films ‘My Father's Shadow’ (Element Pictures/MUBI) and ‘Pillion’ (Element Pictures/A24).
In the advertising space Kaya has worked across a variety of categories and brands including Hennessy, IKEA, Ford, YouTube, Bumble and Habitat to name a few.
Kaya sat down with LBB to look back on her most memorable collaborations, the rise of audio first marketing, and why the role of music and sound in advertising is more important than ever.
LBB> When you’re working on a new brief or project, what’s your typical starting point? How do you break it down and how do you like to generate your ideas or response?
Kaya> Receiving a new brief is exciting, it is the start to a journey that may expand your creativity, work a new muscle, and make you think. Taking physical notes is important to me. I’m tied tightly to my notebook and remember ideas best when I’ve written them down. I’ll take notes as I read through a brief to highlight tone, emotion, visual references and any key words that stand out to me.
From there I get tactical with the brief – What are we going to be creating?! Is the client looking for an original piece of music, or do they want to work with pre-existing music, or are we looking at something completely different? This generates a lot of ideas and questions to take to the client and really get the ball rolling.
LBB> Music and sound are in some ways the most collaborative and interactive forms of creativity - what are your thoughts on this? Do you prefer to work solo or with a gang - and what are some of your most memorable professional collaborations?
Kaya> I love to work with a team; collaboration is where ideas spark and grow. Working with others provides different perspectives allowing us to push each other and our ideas beyond where they could go alone. Interactive is a great way to describe the connection between music and sound. It’s the exchange between them that is a great mirror for creative collaboration. They find their balance or blend together, as well as can inform one another, creating a perfect combination.
A memorable collaboration in my career was with an artist on the first Canadian campaign for the food delivery app DoorDash. The campaign was led by john St. featuring celebrated local restaurants and neighbourhoods in Canada soundtracked by a reimagination of the Motown classic ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’ performed by award-winning Canadian artist Haviah Mighty.
The creative process working with Haviah was both exciting and motivating. The team threw a lot of bold ideas at her and she accepted each challenge putting her talent and unique style into every option. Haviah even created an original song which didn’t make it to air.
Following the success of this collaboration, I worked with Haviah again on a television project, bringing her on as one of the composers for the Peabody award- winning series ‘Sort Of’.
LBB> What’s the most satisfying part of your job and why?
Kaya> The job of a music supervisor is known and recognised as a creative role. However, there is a great deal of administrative work that accompanies the creative. As such, I have two most satisfying parts to my job.
The first is when a song or existing composition drops perfectly into a scene, magically hitting every visual and editing point of inflection as if they were made for each other. That moment can give you chills.
On the administrative side, there is no match for the feeling of getting a final clearance right at the buzzer- beater. It may be that you’re waiting for a rightsholder in a different territory, have a sudden change in term or use details that need to be re-reviewed, or have simply been waiting on a miracle before the clock runs out.
Getting a call or email that the approval has been secured is a burst of euphoria!
LBB> As the advertising industry changes, how do you think the role of music and sound is changing with it?
Kaya> The power of music and sound is strengthening with the continued rise of audio-first marketing.
Media consumption is growing on audio focused platforms like streaming and video- based social media. At home, work or anywhere in -between, you see people with their headphones, AirPods and other sound devices in or on their ears. We are in a new era where we don’t just share music, but we share sounds; and often sounds are trending.
There are more opportunities to meet audiences where they are, but it’s the emotional impact of audio that makes music and sound in advertising memorable. Sounds can trigger emotions and memories whether it be big moments in your life or the everyday.
A sonic identity can make a brand memorable, it may be a well-known jingle from your youth, the sound made when you make a transaction, or the all too familiar sound of an office video call. It is the combination of channel and impact that is making the role of music and sound more important than ever.
LBB> Who are your musical or audio heroes and why?
Kaya> My current musical hero is London – born dance music powerhouse DJ Moxie. Early into my move to London from Toronto, I heard her weekly series on NTS Radio. Since then, I have been a loyal listener and know that I can come to her sets, in person or online, to find inspiration and solace. Moxie has exceptional taste and rides for her community, two things that I admire about her.
One of the amazing parts of my job is being able to support musicians and composers, whether they are just getting into the industry or are veterans of their craft. Moxie’s ethos is the same, helping to uplift artists any chance she gets. ‘Keep it Wednesdays!’
LBB> And when it comes to your particular field, whether sound design or composing, are there any particular ideas or pioneers that you go back to frequently or who really influence your thinking about the work you do?
Kaya> Throughout my career in music supervision I have worked across tv, film and advertising. Working across all three media broadens my creative capacity, exploring different ways of telling stories and encountering new challenges to keep me on my toes. I find that the varying work provides me with different perspectives and renewed curiosity that I can bring from one project to another.
I go back to pop culture and film/tv as ongoing reference points. A big part of my process is paying attention to what people are listening to in the real world, what sounds are emerging, what’s trending, and what’s starting to feel over-used. That context really shapes what will feel fresh and emotionally resonant on screen, and it helps me know what to lean into and what to avoid.
I also pull a lot of influence from television and film sound worlds. Commercials borrow from cinema all the time in their treatments, and since I work across TV, film, and advertising, I’m constantly carrying ideas from one space into another. I’ll hear a bold or story-driven use of sound in a series or a film and think about how that emotional logic could translate into a shorter format, or the other way around.
Overall, I’m influenced by the way culture and storytelling feed each other sonically, and I return to that relationship often when I’m developing a music strategy.
LBB> When you’re working on something that isn’t directly sound design or music (lets say going through client briefs or answering emails) - are you the sort of person who needs music and noise in the background or is that completely distracting to you?
Kaya> My relationship with music at work, outside of listening for a project, can vary depending on the tasks I need to complete. If I need to get deep into my administrative work, then I listen to instrumental music and lock-in. If the work is more data entry-based than cerebral, I’ll go for beat-driven music and bop along while I plug in numbers. More soothing instrumental music is my go-to when I need to read through contracts, it gives me a soft space to focus. Administrative work also allows me to catch up on new releases, giving me the opportunity to listen to an album front to back.
LBB> What are your thoughts on ‘background’ sound and music as you work?
Kaya> I enjoy background music in the office, mainly because I don’t have to make the selection. I find it interesting what my colleagues like to play and how they react to the songs that come on. Some of the songs that play may be universally known, and others might resonate with a particular demographic. It’s nice to just observe, and if I don’t like what is playing then I can opt out and put my headphones on.
LBB> I guess the quality of the listening experience and the context that audiences listen to music/sound in has changed over the years. There’s the switch from analogue to digital and now we seem to be divided between bad-ass surround-sound immersive experiences and on-the-go, low quality sound (often the audio is competing with a million other distractions) - how does that factor into how you approach your work?
Kaya> While the range of quality in audiences listening can vary, I strive for the highest quality output of sound and music. I’m also thinking about how it will translate from a surround-sound room to a phone speaker in a noisy setting. That means prioritising clarity and emotional impact so the core idea still lands, even if the finer details get lost on the go.
LBB> On a typical day, what does your ‘listening diet’ look like?
Kaya> I usually start my day with a song. I don’t drink coffee, so my energy often comes from what I’m playing. It may be a new obsession I’ve had on repeat, or something I’ve unearthed randomly while I was sleeping. I can hear music thumping through my flat from the café downstairs or the other tenants, so they can influence my selection sometimes.
The walk to work is accompanied by more music; I choose songs individually or rely on a DJ set for the full journey. The current project I’m working on will dictate what I’m listening to at the office, save for a palette cleanser of whatever song I’m obsessed with at the moment or whatever comes up on shuffle. The end of the day comes with a bit of ear fatigue so I’ll call a friend, listen to a podcast, read, or just take in the sounds of the city.
LBB> Do you have a collection of music/sounds and what shape does it take (are you a vinyl nerd, do you have hard drives full of random bird sounds, are you a hyper-organised spotify-er…)?
Kaya> My music collection sits somewhere between chaotic and organised. I have a hard drive of music that has been with me throughout my career. Amongst the many thousands of songs on the drive, you can find clean versions of explicit tracks, instrumentals, music from around the world, and an unusually large amount of lullaby versions of classic songs.
On streaming platforms, I am more organised, but not meticulously so. I love a bit of random energy and can get behind a wildcard left in a folder I didn’t expect.
The more chaotic side of my collection includes various screenshots, social media saves, random notes (digital and physical), and pictures I’ve taken over the years whenever I hear something interesting or see cool album art.
One day I hope to resurrect my CD collection back home in Toronto. However, that will only happen once I have a six- disc Bang & Olufsen’s Beosound 9000 CD player to give them a proper listen in style.
LBB> Outside of the music and sound world, what sort of art or topics really excite you and do you ever relate that back to music?
Kaya> Dance is an art form that I have admired and that has inspired me since I started dancing at the age of five.
I started my journey learning West African dance traditions before expanding my technique to different styles and gaining performance opportunities up until I graduated from university. It is my dance background that taught me the connection between music and movement and has given me a strong sense of musicality that I bring to my work.
A favourite movement artist of mine is Danah Rosales, whose strength and fluidity are unmatched.
LBB> Let’s talk travel! It’s often cited as one of the most creatively inspiring things you can do - I’d love to know what are the most exciting or inspiring experiences you’ve had when it comes to sound and music on your travels?
Kaya> Travel is definitely a source of inspiration, as well as something that practically touches my work in advertising, TV and film. Knowing what a city or country sounds like can influence how it is represented on screen. When I moved from Toronto to London, I could hear the clear differences between how the cities sound. The sound of sirens, the unique ding right before the doors close on transit, and the music playing from cars or the speaker of someone cycling past. Each type of sound is unique to the cities they are found.
LBB> As we age, our ears change physically and our tastes evolve too, and life changes mean we don’t get to engage in our passions in the same intensity as in our youth - how has your relationship with sound and music changed over the years?
Kaya> Expansion is the best word to describe how my relationship with music has changed over time. I am very open to listening to new things, and if something grabs me, then my obsessive nature is just as strong as it was in my youth. I still need music that moves me, but instead of that only meaning music that gets me physically moving there is a depth that can exist beyond that.
