When an artist releases a song to the public, people are often quick to judge whether or not they enjoy it. They take the song at face value, listen to it one or two times, and decide whether or not it is something they’d like to purchase or to play again. Regardless of whether or not they feel as though the song is a hit or not, they attribute its quality to the artist or band that released it. What they typically fail to consider are the teams behind these artists and how much hard work and dedication goes into bringing a track or an album to the public. It takes ensembles of skilled composers, songwriters, editors, and more to carefully piece together each and every aspect of the project. Potentially the most important of these roles lies in the caliber of the producer on the track, a job that Portuguese producer Rafael “Lhast” Alves knows better than most.

The role of a producer is intricate, and requires a well-developed, refined skill set to achieve success. Producers are responsible for a number of crucial roles such as brainstorming and gathering ideas for a project, finding ways to change or improve song arrangements, coaching artists during and outside of studio time, acquiring session musicians, leading and directing recording sessions, and much more. Essentially, producers are in charge of supervising the entire process of recording a song and ensuring that the artist or band that they are working with are more than content with the final product. Lhast, who has always been passionate about building a career out of his love for music, has spent his entire life learning how to master these skills and adapt them to every artist he works with. Throughout his time working as a producer, he has lent his talents to artists like Richie Campbell on his song “Do You No Wrong,” which received over 12 million views on YouTube, a Platinum Record Award for over 15,000 sales, as well as a nomination for a Portuguese Golden Globe. His reputable production style has also helped artists like Joao “Valas” Valido rise to fame. After Lhast both composed and produced Valas’ hit song, “As Coisas,” Valas was nominated for Up-And-Coming Artist at the New Era Awards and was the song that lead him to be signed by Portugal Universal. He is well versed in his art form and he is known for his ability to shed greatness upon the projects of the artists he works with.

In 2016, following the world-wide success of “Do You No Wrong,” Lhast was approached by Diogo Picarra to produce his song “Historia.” Knowing that Picarra was already a major artist in Portugal, Lhast knew that this would be a solid addition to his career. Picarra briefed Lhast on his vision for the song and Lhast was instantly confident that he was the best producer for the job. When artists approach him about a project, Lhast is always careful to ensure that he fully grasps the intentions of the artist but that he uses his own affinity for hit-making to refine the artist’s vision and target their intended audience strategically. He has a keen understanding of the industry and he takes great care to professionally propose any changes to the song arrangements that he sees fit. At the time that Picarra recruited Lhast, he already had the composition prepared. He was simply looking for a producer to take his groundwork on the single to the next level. Fortunately for Picarra, Lhast added his flare to the song’s elements and was likely the reason that Picarra went on to receive widespread recognition amongst fans and fellow artists alike.

“It was a very smooth process. Since Picarra already had the demo and composition for the song, I had the exciting task of adjusting these pieces to produce a five star, quality track. I suggested that we move the arrangement to draw attention in different areas and ironed out a lot of minor, yet important details. I also felt it necessary to record some other instruments on the track. In all, I wanted to make sure that the whole experience was sonically fresh and had great quality,” Lhast said.

High quality is exactly what the track had. 7 million YouTube views and a Gold Record for over 5,000 sales later, Picarra is still buzzing about what he and Lhast accomplished together. This, however, is not an unusual reaction for the artists that Lhast works with. His reputation has grown because of the way in which he conducts his work and his ability to guide his artists along the right path. Take Valas for instance. After years of working with Lhast on several different projects, he still finds himself impressed by his skills as a producer. He credits Lhast with his growth as an artist, and knows that he was instrumental to the success of his career so far.

“Rafael is a producer with great attention to detail and knowledge of the various listeners we try to target. Beyond that, I think he really stands out for his understanding of the public’s emotional response to a piece of work and how they will connect with it. He juggles the technical aspects of a song, as well as the emotional ones and the results are profound. I think he knows how to bring out the best in me and he is so incredibly in tune with what I’m trying to express through my music,” told Valas.

While artists find joy working with Lhast, his pleasure extends beyond that. He loves the open challenge that each new project presents and that there aren’t many rules regulating his creative mind. Despite the competition that surrounds him, he firmly believes that through hard work and persistence, great projects will find him. He sets his efforts toward perfecting his skill at any chance he gets and building discipline in the process. He is motivated every day and he truly loves what he does. He hopes that one day, he will be one of the greatest producers in the world. Maybe he will, or maybe his talents will steer him toward other great titles; however, one thing is for sure, he will stop at nothing to find out.