Meet Fernando Garibay | Music Producer & Polymath

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

Hi Fernando, let’s start by talking about what inspires you?
I am inspired by novel ideas; particularly those that start out nebulous and molar in thought, but through iteration and refinement can turn actionable.
The challenge lies In curating which; from the vast sea of new ideas, are worth exploring.
I stay mindful and disciplined not to allow the excitement of novelty, and our limbic biases; get in the way of empirically qualifying and validating which ideas should be followed through.
This is why I am a huge fan of thought experiments, Thought experiments allow for a quick
and efficient way to explore ideas that are worth taking to the next phase.

For example, if I have an idea for a new song, I can quickly map it out in my head and see if it’s makes
sense to continue with it and actually record it. Verses, spending all day or a couple of days flushing it out.

Another example; if I have an idea for a new talk or lecture, I’ll storyboard it in my head prior to writing it out
and validate it against my mental models of great lectures across my research..

Having a cognitive process and framework in place keeps me excited and inspired to keep pushing for stronger and more interesting ideas.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’ve produced and written with the following artists: Lady Gaga, U2, Sia, Whitney Houston, Britney Spears, Shakira, Kylie Minogue, Enrique Iglesias, The Pussycat Dolls, Snoop Dogg, Paris Hilton, Ellie Goulding, WIZ KHALIFA, and The Black Eyed Peas. I was the official musical director of Gaga’s Born This Way Ball and the producer of her Born This Way album

I’m a frequent lecturer and thought leader on all thing creativity.
Founder of The Garibay Center; a think tank and creative media lab.

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?
I am a strong believer in modeling behavior. I am extremely fortunate to have been in the company of extraordinary people, and still continue to be.
So my shoutout goes to Jimmy Iovine, Lady Gaga, Sia, Shakira, Britney Spears, Whitney Houston and every incredible artist,
manager, producer, songwriter I’ve worked with.
To the incredibly supportive community of extraordinary professors and mentees at Harvard and MIT.
And of course my Garibay family.

Website: https://www.thegaribaycenter.com

Instagram: @fernandogaribay

Twitter: @fernandogaribay

Image Credits
Ben Cope