Tainy Discusses the New Instrumental Version of ‘Data’

Data was named one of the best albums of 2023 — but the brilliant compendium of futuristic, boundary-pushing songs took a massive amount of work from super-producer Tainy. The Puerto Rican innovator started masterminding the LP about three years ago, pouring his most avant-garde ideas and interests into the project. He finally ended up with an intricate maze of electronic, reggaeton, and ambient sounds that crisscross multiple styles and eras, all while yanking major acts like Bad Bunny, Four Tet, Feid, and Julieta Venegas into the album’s unexpected orbit.

Fans have profoundly understood what Tainy set out to do and 2023 has launched the long-time producer from the studio and directly into the spotlight. He recently appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone en Español, celebrated as a pioneer, a superstar, and a genius. And now, to close out his biggest year ever, he’s doing a final victory lap by releasing an instrumental version of Data. The project is another cerebral, unexpected release from Tainy, and one that lets fans analyze and anatomize the producer’s creative process up-close. Rolling Stone caught up with Tainy and discussed his latest effort, all the success he’s had, and how artists like Arcangel, Alvaro Diaz, and pushed him to new extremes.

Data was named number one on Rolling Stone and Rolling Stone en Español’s lists of best Spanish-language albums. How does it feel to see the album generate so much success and positive feedback?
To me, it’s a complete joy, first and foremost. This is an album I worked on so much, and I gave everything I have to make it the best production I could. I’ve spent years thinking about this album and figuring out how to make it and trying to release it when I could. That ended up being this year, and I’m happy about that — first to even release it and for it to exist in the world, but also to see how people everywhere are listening to it and how they have connected with the different songs on the album. That’s the coolest part.

There are so many different artists, so many different sounds on here that anyone can really connect at least with one song. So, it’s incredible that it’s now going farther and being named as one of the best records of the year — and that a project I created could add something to the musical landscape.

Now the instrumental version of Data is out. Tell me why you wanted to release this version of the project.
A lot of people, after finally listening to the album, were interested in the production. At the end of the day, this is a producer’s album and there are so many details that go into that. The sounds we picked, what the artist brought to the table all adds to the music, but this was my way of letting people see what part fell on me and what I did to connect these elements so that it all felt like the same universe. That’s where the idea for an instrumental album started. Being a producer, it’s a chance to let people hear all those details that maybe you don’t notice 100 percent with the combination of vocals on top.

It’s also an opportunity to let people feel free to use the music as they’d like, and maybe it can even serve as inspiration for them to write their own songs and to imagine different versions or to look at the music differently. Having the control and ability to release an instrumental album is something our team felt was really cool — it’s something I can give people to celebrate all the love and support the project.

With some songs, like “Pasiempre,” you get a totally different perspective hearing just the instrumentals. How does this version of the album give each track new life?
Yeah, it’s seeing something you know from a new point of view. Maybe there are certain things you’re attracted to in this version or things that connect with you differently. To me, it’s so fun to see what comes to mind for people and for them to have the full tracks in their hands.  I’ve heard these instrumental versions like a million times, so I’m happy to pass them on. [Laughs.]

Are there particular songs you think are enhanced by the instrumental version?
Wow, that’s tough, but I think I’d have to say the one you mentioned, “Pasiempre.” That one has so many details, so many artists, and so many vocals that it isn’t easy to pick up on all of those special moments in the production and you get to see it in a new way. It wakes up a new feeling. “Fantasma/AVC” is another cool one that has a lot of surprises in it. I’d say “Paranormal” with Alvaro Diaz, too. A lot of these are totally different.

You also really get to hear the different genres you use here. And though this isn’t an ambient album, you’ve talked a lot about being inspired by ambient music. I think you even said you found the Four Tet sample on “Volver” by listening to an ambient playlist.
I wanted to explore that so much in this project and I felt I could achieve it at some point. I love that feeling of listening to music and hearing a detail, a chord, a progression that can transport you somewhere else. The power of transporting people to different places or making them feel closer to where you are and what you feel as an artist is something special. I wanted to achieve depth and substance, and I think it’s something I did by taking risks — there’s stuff that’s dance-y and update, but I tried to introduce a clash of energy and something unpredictable. I wanted the songs to make you move, but also to touch on different feelings and emotions that connect with your memories and inner psyche. I think in that sense, it’s really connected to ambient music and what ambient music does.

“Colmillo” was a song that came out when the album was out already, and it also felt like a bit of a surprise for fans. How did that song evolve?
“Colmillo” was super fun to work on. I think it represents the fundamental idea that I had on the album of combining different genres, different era, and different sounds, so that you have these old-school feelings that take you back mixed with a futuristic touch no one has heard before. The reggaeton that represents me, from the place I come from, can be mixed in with this other world. It’s one of the reasons you can see the introduction is a little more of an Eighties, Nineties-type of vibe, but within an atmosphere that’s a little dark and techno, situated in like a sci-fi movie. Then you see how that transforms into the reggaeton world by turning the tempo down and keeping things aggressive, so that was fun. It gave me the liberty to take all these ideas and combine them, and to be able to find that energy between Jose [J Balvin], [Young] Miko, and Jowell and Randy was really cool.

“Colmillo” was probably the most challenging, too, because it was so many ideas that maybe don’t combine easily at first. It wasn’t like I had an idea of what was going to happen from the start. Instead, it was like I kept finding my way along the song and figuring out how to make sure no part outshone the other. “Paranormal” was similar too — I had two ideas, and I knew I had a few days with Alvaro. I got to see his versatility and it helped show me that I could make these separate beats into one song. Before, I had showed it to him as two beats and then we figured out that it could all be the same thing. He helped me a lot with the theme and figuring out what felt natural and special. Each song had moments of figuring things out: “Volver” with Rauw, “Si Preguntas Por Mi,” with Kris Floyd and Judeline. It was the songs that had those drastic changes where we had to figure out how to make it whole.

There are so many other surprises: You see Arcangel doing a softer, pop-oriented sound on “Me Jodi…,” and Sech on a much more explosive kind of rock song on “11 Y Once.” As a producer, how did you connect these artists to what you were doing on the production side?
From the time I started the instrumentals for those songs, I had it really clear in my mind that I wanted those two artists in particular. I had an idea of what I wanted to achieve, and I already knew their voices so well. With Sech, it was about taking him somewhere new, somewhere that I knew he could go because of his range and because of the way he writes and the themes he touches on. The music and the emotion that I wanted to get out of “11 Y Once,” I knew he could 100 percent do, so it was about getting him to get behind it and understand it. It was incredible because I showed it to him and he loved it, and the beat sounds like it was made for the lyrics he wrote. It felt like it was destined to be that way.

With Austin [Arcangel], it was more about our longevity together. I’ve been working with him since I started in music. I know his style, I know his voice, I know the types of songs he’s done that maybe in his latest evolution people don’t know as well. But I always had this nostalgic feeling of wanting to hear Austin on a more pop, R&B type of vibe.

Like in his “Chica Virtual” era.
Yeah, exactly, like “Chica Virtual,” “Ganas de Ti,” “Quimica Sustancia” — these songs where you don’t necessarily hear him rapping, and I love that part of him. It was something I was hard-headed about, getting him to represent that style on my song. I didn’t give him many options. [Laughs.] From the time I finished the beat, I knew it was for Austin. And he loved it — but it’s not like I showed him anything else. I was like, “Here it is and I hope you like it.” But it was what I imagined, and he totally understood my vision. It was about letting him be free to create what he wanted to, lyrically and melodically. Jhayco was with us during that song and helped with the melodies, so it was a collaborative process. It was about getting that Arcangel we haven’t heard in a minute. So that’s cool, too, now seeing that instrumental version and those feelings he helped bring out.

You also manage to get the feeling of the sci-fi genre on Data without being overbearing about it. It’s a hard thing to describe and a hard thing to do, but how did you manage to capture the essence of sci-fi through the music?
Being a fan of that — movies, films, animation, anime — I’ve spent so much time being interested in that aesthetic. I know so many of the moods and music that transmit the ideas of what sci-fi stories mean. That helped me a lot when I was trying to think of concepts to go with the initial ideas for the project. I think that gave me the plan, to build a story and visually see what was going to be a part of the album. I wanted to represent a part of me and the fandom I have for cinematography and films and the genre.

Anime also had a lot of influence on this. It felt like putting a puzzle together with all these pieces that ended up being part of the album. It was complicated in the beginning, but it was about finding things that could get me to the light at the end of the tunnel. It was actually a really cool and special process, to keep finding the pieces that were missing. It wasn’t just about finding the music and that’s the end. It was about finding the visual identity and the feelings that captured exactly what was in my head. It’s something you don’t always achieve, so I really am happy with how it all turned out.

What are some of the biggest sci-fi influences  on here?
There’s a lot. When it comes to anime, a lot of ideas and influences came from Ghost in the Shell, which is a classic from the Nineties. Evangelion, the Neon Genesis stories, which combine robots and the future mixed with human feelings and the pain of growing up and everything that comes with being alive. Those were the principle influences, but there was also movies like The Matrix, which informed the aesthetic, and Blade Runner, Tron, and Daft Punk, the way they captured music visually. So that entire combination of music, movies, books, and shows ended up letting me take the album where I could and showing part of myself.

Data was named one of the best albums of 2023 — but the brilliant compendium of futuristic, boundary-pushing songs took a massive amount of work from super-producer Tainy. The Puerto Rican innovator started masterminding the LP about three years ago, pouring his most avant-garde ideas and interests into the project. He finally ended up with an intricate maze of electronic, reggaeton, and ambient sounds that crisscross multiple styles and eras, all while yanking major acts like Bad Bunny, Four Tet, Feid, and Julieta Venegas into the album’s unexpected orbit.

Fans have profoundly understood what Tainy set out to do and 2023 has launched the long-time producer from the studio and directly into the spotlight. He recently appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone en Español, celebrated as a pioneer, a superstar, and a genius. And now, to close out his biggest year ever, he’s doing a final victory lap by releasing an instrumental version of Data. The project is another cerebral, unexpected release from Tainy, and one that lets fans analyze and anatomize the producer’s creative process up-close. Rolling Stone caught up with Tainy and discussed his latest effort, all the success he’s had, and how artists like Arcangel, Alvaro Diaz, and pushed him to new extremes.

Data was named number one on Rolling Stone and Rolling Stone en Español’s lists of best Spanish-language albums. How does it feel to see the album generate so much success and positive feedback?
To me, it’s a complete joy, first and foremost. This is an album I worked on so much, and I gave everything I have to make it the best production I could. I’ve spent years thinking about this album and figuring out how to make it and trying to release it when I could. That ended up being this year, and I’m happy about that — first to even release it and for it to exist in the world, but also to see how people everywhere are listening to it and how they have connected with the different songs on the album. That’s the coolest part.

There are so many different artists, so many different sounds on here that anyone can really connect at least with one song. So, it’s incredible that it’s now going farther and being named as one of the best records of the year — and that a project I created could add something to the musical landscape.

Now the instrumental version of Data is out. Tell me why you wanted to release this version of the project.
A lot of people, after finally listening to the album, were interested in the production. At the end of the day, this is a producer’s album and there are so many details that go into that. The sounds we picked, what the artist brought to the table all adds to the music, but this was my way of letting people see what part fell on me and what I did to connect these elements so that it all felt like the same universe. That’s where the idea for an instrumental album started. Being a producer, it’s a chance to let people hear all those details that maybe you don’t notice 100 percent with the combination of vocals on top.

It’s also an opportunity to let people feel free to use the music as they’d like, and maybe it can even serve as inspiration for them to write their own songs and to imagine different versions or to look at the music differently. Having the control and ability to release an instrumental album is something our team felt was really cool — it’s something I can give people to celebrate all the love and support the project.

With some songs, like “Pasiempre,” you get a totally different perspective hearing just the instrumentals. How does this version of the album give each track new life?
Yeah, it’s seeing something you know from a new point of view. Maybe there are certain things you’re attracted to in this version or things that connect with you differently. To me, it’s so fun to see what comes to mind for people and for them to have the full tracks in their hands.  I’ve heard these instrumental versions like a million times, so I’m happy to pass them on. [Laughs.]

Are there particular songs you think are enhanced by the instrumental version?
Wow, that’s tough, but I think I’d have to say the one you mentioned, “Pasiempre.” That one has so many details, so many artists, and so many vocals that it isn’t easy to pick up on all of those special moments in the production and you get to see it in a new way. It wakes up a new feeling. “Fantasma/AVC” is another cool one that has a lot of surprises in it. I’d say “Paranormal” with Alvaro Diaz, too. A lot of these are totally different.

You also really get to hear the different genres you use here. And though this isn’t an ambient album, you’ve talked a lot about being inspired by ambient music. I think you even said you found the Four Tet sample on “Volver” by listening to an ambient playlist.
I wanted to explore that so much in this project and I felt I could achieve it at some point. I love that feeling of listening to music and hearing a detail, a chord, a progression that can transport you somewhere else. The power of transporting people to different places or making them feel closer to where you are and what you feel as an artist is something special. I wanted to achieve depth and substance, and I think it’s something I did by taking risks — there’s stuff that’s dance-y and update, but I tried to introduce a clash of energy and something unpredictable. I wanted the songs to make you move, but also to touch on different feelings and emotions that connect with your memories and inner psyche. I think in that sense, it’s really connected to ambient music and what ambient music does.

“Colmillo” was a song that came out when the album was out already, and it also felt like a bit of a surprise for fans. How did that song evolve?
“Colmillo” was super fun to work on. I think it represents the fundamental idea that I had on the album of combining different genres, different era, and different sounds, so that you have these old-school feelings that take you back mixed with a futuristic touch no one has heard before. The reggaeton that represents me, from the place I come from, can be mixed in with this other world. It’s one of the reasons you can see the introduction is a little more of an Eighties, Nineties-type of vibe, but within an atmosphere that’s a little dark and techno, situated in like a sci-fi movie. Then you see how that transforms into the reggaeton world by turning the tempo down and keeping things aggressive, so that was fun. It gave me the liberty to take all these ideas and combine them, and to be able to find that energy between Jose [J Balvin], [Young] Miko, and Jowell and Randy was really cool.

“Colmillo” was probably the most challenging, too, because it was so many ideas that maybe don’t combine easily at first. It wasn’t like I had an idea of what was going to happen from the start. Instead, it was like I kept finding my way along the song and figuring out how to make sure no part outshone the other. “Paranormal” was similar too — I had two ideas, and I knew I had a few days with Alvaro. I got to see his versatility and it helped show me that I could make these separate beats into one song. Before, I had showed it to him as two beats and then we figured out that it could all be the same thing. He helped me a lot with the theme and figuring out what felt natural and special. Each song had moments of figuring things out: “Volver” with Rauw, “Si Preguntas Por Mi,” with Kris Floyd and Judeline. It was the songs that had those drastic changes where we had to figure out how to make it whole.

There are so many other surprises: You see Arcangel doing a softer, pop-oriented sound on “Me Jodi…,” and Sech on a much more explosive kind of rock song on “11 Y Once.” As a producer, how did you connect these artists to what you were doing on the production side?
From the time I started the instrumentals for those songs, I had it really clear in my mind that I wanted those two artists in particular. I had an idea of what I wanted to achieve, and I already knew their voices so well. With Sech, it was about taking him somewhere new, somewhere that I knew he could go because of his range and because of the way he writes and the themes he touches on. The music and the emotion that I wanted to get out of “11 Y Once,” I knew he could 100 percent do, so it was about getting him to get behind it and understand it. It was incredible because I showed it to him and he loved it, and the beat sounds like it was made for the lyrics he wrote. It felt like it was destined to be that way.

With Austin [Arcangel], it was more about our longevity together. I’ve been working with him since I started in music. I know his style, I know his voice, I know the types of songs he’s done that maybe in his latest evolution people don’t know as well. But I always had this nostalgic feeling of wanting to hear Austin on a more pop, R&B type of vibe.

Like in his “Chica Virtual” era.
Yeah, exactly, like “Chica Virtual,” “Ganas de Ti,” “Quimica Sustancia” — these songs where you don’t necessarily hear him rapping, and I love that part of him. It was something I was hard-headed about, getting him to represent that style on my song. I didn’t give him many options. [Laughs.] From the time I finished the beat, I knew it was for Austin. And he loved it — but it’s not like I showed him anything else. I was like, “Here it is and I hope you like it.” But it was what I imagined, and he totally understood my vision. It was about letting him be free to create what he wanted to, lyrically and melodically. Jhayco was with us during that song and helped with the melodies, so it was a collaborative process. It was about getting that Arcangel we haven’t heard in a minute. So that’s cool, too, now seeing that instrumental version and those feelings he helped bring out.

You also manage to get the feeling of the sci-fi genre on Data without being overbearing about it. It’s a hard thing to describe and a hard thing to do, but how did you manage to capture the essence of sci-fi through the music?
Being a fan of that — movies, films, animation, anime — I’ve spent so much time being interested in that aesthetic. I know so many of the moods and music that transmit the ideas of what sci-fi stories mean. That helped me a lot when I was trying to think of concepts to go with the initial ideas for the project. I think that gave me the plan, to build a story and visually see what was going to be a part of the album. I wanted to represent a part of me and the fandom I have for cinematography and films and the genre.

Anime also had a lot of influence on this. It felt like putting a puzzle together with all these pieces that ended up being part of the album. It was complicated in the beginning, but it was about finding things that could get me to the light at the end of the tunnel. It was actually a really cool and special process, to keep finding the pieces that were missing. It wasn’t just about finding the music and that’s the end. It was about finding the visual identity and the feelings that captured exactly what was in my head. It’s something you don’t always achieve, so I really am happy with how it all turned out.

What are some of the biggest sci-fi influences  on here?
There’s a lot. When it comes to anime, a lot of ideas and influences came from Ghost in the Shell, which is a classic from the Nineties. Evangelion, the Neon Genesis stories, which combine robots and the future mixed with human feelings and the pain of growing up and everything that comes with being alive. Those were the principle influences, but there was also movies like The Matrix, which informed the aesthetic, and Blade Runner, Tron, and Daft Punk, the way they captured music visually. So that entire combination of music, movies, books, and shows ended up letting me take the album where I could and showing part of myself.