Meet Karel Psota

We had the good fortune of connecting with Karel Psota and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Karel, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
One day in class, a guest speaker came in to talk about his career. He opened with: “Accounting is very boring, but it’s stable. Perfect for suburban life with my wife and kids. The world will always need accountants.”

Now, at 19, when you hear that… Your body can have an allergic reaction and your dormant risk-taking gene might decide to wake up.

That’s what happened. I quit college and convinced my family that I was going to try something different. I applied for small jobs in the music industry like mixing assistant or cue-sheet admin. But they all told me: “You should do your own thing.” A polite way to deny the job and delude me into making a company.

My first company, Dissona Musika was just a pass-through entity for my services: trailer music and sound design. The second company AVA Music Group was started by Scott Loudon and Clément Ducasse. I just joined to direct their sample libraries, which is now the main business model. INSTINCT was our first library.

However, after 10 years in the music industry, my passion has shifted to something different… something with no screens!

*drum roll*

Introducing our new card game!

My friends and I were playing card games in Norway, but I kept losing because the rules were confusing. So, I decided to redesign all the cards in MS Paint, fix the rules, and add a few extra tricks to spice it up.

This version has been an absolute hit. Anytime I show the prototype, people want to play again, and get a copy. We’ve also seen 6-year-olds explain the game to their grand-parents!

We’re currently manufacturing and preparing for distribution in 2025. Kickstarter aimed for April.

more info: www.paybackcardgame.com

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Music-wise, many influences from Daft Punk, Justice, Sebastian and Madeon. It feels like that sound was baked into my brain since I was a teen. Anything I do, even orchestral music, is infused with it… I just do my best to hide it.

Ironically, it was when I stopped hiding that influence, that my music started blowing up.

VALORANT Chamber Trailer is a good example. It’s an homage to Justice and was used for a French agent.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUoqAn5T4h4

That said, the work that I’m most proud of is less popular.

https://youtu.be/a19ChoWMeM0?si=Ht1RzSe85myxfi5q

That cinematic pushed me to my limits. It was such a puzzle. I was losing sanity over the details AND the big picture. 4 months to write 5 minutes, but nothing was getting approved. At one point, I just laid down on the floor, looked at the ceiling, and started contemplating…

Why are we inspired by certain things? That’s an odd line of code in our DNA, especially for survival.

Is getting inspired and making things to inspire others, important for humankind?

Are we just like bees sapping on flowers, not knowing that the pollen they enjoy is key to maintaining a larger ecosystem?

I fell asleep and solved everything the next day.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I like to take my friends to the Escape Hotel on Hollywood, just for lunch. The vibe is haunting: creepy dolls, pranking staff, average food, homeless people coming in to steal the tip jar and jumping over the couch to roll themselves into the carpet, hence forming a “human-carpet-burrito”. Unfortunately, I had to stop going there as I was the only one enjoying it.

Now I just take them for a Runyon Canyon hike, and a cocktail at the Roosevelt Hotel (poolside).

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Composer-wise, I’m convinced that some of my friends are currently the best composers in the world, the world just doesn’t know it yet.

Brendon Williams is one of them. He has been continuously innovating on the writing and production side. His work for Riot Games is AAAA-tier. (see K’Sante, Tournaments of Souls, and Neon Nightlife). He also has a duo with Jason Walsh who is a crazy producer and sound designer!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUq89ouObQc

Kara Talve also ascended to a new level with her score on Tattooist of Auschwitz. She co-wrote the music with Hans Zimmer, and you can feel that the story is very close to her. The way the piano tuning was preserved from her grandmother’s era is hauntingly beautiful… and also just haunting. (You’ll find that I love haunted things).

https://youtu.be/xWD93s8ZD9g?si=e5jTjThezh3QeZTY&t=60

Website: www.karelpsota.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karelpsota

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karelpsota/

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/karelpsota

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/KarelPsota