João Milliet began his musical career at a very young age, singing in advertising jingles at his father’s studio. In 1996, at the age of 11, João sang on the song “Aniversário” by the Brazilian children’s music group Palavra Cantada and performed his first live show. This pivotal moment led João to decide to pursue a career in music.
Shortly after, João chose the electric guitar as his primary instrument and studied under renowned guitarist Kiko Loureiro (Angra, Megadeth) at the Conservatório Musical Souza Lima in São Paulo, Brazil. At 18, he enrolled in the Faculdade de Música Santa Marcelina (FASM) in 2004, where he studied Popular Guitar for a year before transitioning to Classical Music Composition, a program he attended for three years. During his time at FASM, João also completed a semester-long Music Production extension optional class under professor Eduardo Avellar, with whom he later worked as an assistant. João’s outstanding performance in this class sparked his interest in production, recording, and mixing.
This led him to work at Palavra Cantada’s studio, where he recorded and mixed his first professional project: the group’s album “Canciones Curiosas”.From this moment, João began a steady and successful career in the music industry, balancing his work as a mixing engineer and as a guitarist. During this period, he became the accompanying guitarist for Palavra Cantada. Due to his demanding mixing, performance and travel schedule, João eventually left university but was already firmly established in the professional field.
In 2008, João co-founded the company Cada Instante Produções Artísticas with Rique Azevedo and formed his first professional band, LunaBlu, which signed with Universal Music Brazil. João co-produced and mixed the band’s debut album, which was nominated for the Best Album in 2011’s Prêmio Multishow.
Following LunaBlu’s success, the prominent Brazilian rock band Gloria, hired João, also recommended by his close friend, drummer Eloy Casagrande (Slipknot, Sepultura), to produce and mix their 2012 album “[Re]Nascido”. This album became a major success for the band and João’s career. João later produced and mixed the live album “[Re]Nascido em Chamas” and toured with Gloria as their bassist from 2013 to 2016.
To further improve his skills, João attended the Mix With The Masters workshop at La Fabrique Studio in France, studying under renowned mixing engineer Manny Marroquin (John Mayer, Alicia Keys, Bruno Mars). This experience greatly influenced João’s techniques and contributed to a quick development, that led to his first Latin Grammy nomination for “Take It Easy My Brother Jorge” by Adryana Ribeiro.
In 2014, João co-founded the band Pagan John, serving as a guitarist, mandolinist, and producer. Their debut album “Black to Grey” received critical acclaim within Brazil’s folk-pop scene.
This project opened doors for João in the pop market, including mixing the EP “Vício” by Manu Gavassi, and performing as a guitarist in the solo band of Andre Matos (Angra, Shaman, Viper). Pagan John gained national visibility by competing in Rede Globo’s Superstar (2016), a reality TV music competition.
Pagan John’s innovative sound showcased Milliet’s exceptional mixing skills, catching the attention of renowned artist Sandy and her producer Lucas Lima, which led to a close and ongoing collaboration.This collaboration included mixing Sandy’s single “Nosso Nó(s)” (2017) and her acclaimed album “Nós, Voz, Eles” (2018), further solidifying João’s position in the mainstream market.
By 2021, João’s career had reached new heights. He mixed a song in the Latin Grammy-winning album “Tempo de Romance” by Chitãozinho & Xororó (Best Sertaneja Album) and contributed to over 1,000 tracks across various genres. In 2022, João mixed Liniker’s “Índigo Borboleta Anil”, which won the Latin Grammy for Best MPB Album.
This album also earned João a nomination for Best Engineered Album, an award that directly recognizes sound engineers. The song “Baby 95” from the same album was nominated for Best Portuguese-Language Song.
In 2023, João achieved further success with multiple Latin Grammy nominations, including Best Engineered Album for Lagum’s “Depois do Fim” and Best Sertaneja Album for Chitãozinho & Xororó’s “Ao Vivo no Radio City Music Hall”.
By 2024, João Milliet had firmly established himself as one of Brazil’s top tier mixing engineers. He won the Latin Grammy for Best Engineered Album with Jota.Pê’s album “Se o Meu Peito Fosse o Mundo”, which also won Best MPB Album. The song “Ouro Marrom”, mixed by João, earned the award for Best Portuguese-Language Song. Additionally, João mixed Mariana Nolasco’s “Quem é Ela”, also nominated for Best Engineered Album, and tracks on Iza’s “Afrodhit”, nominated for Best Contemporary Pop Album in Portuguese.
In addition, João mixed Liniker’s 2024 album “Caju”, a major success in Brazil, receiving accolades at the 2024 Prêmio Multishow, including Album of the Year, Artist of the Year, and MPB of the Year.
With over a decade of experience in the industry, more than 3 billion streams, and two consecutive years ranked among the top 0.1% mixing engineers in the world by the credit platform Muso.Ai, João Milliet has solidified his position as one of Brazil’s most influential mixing engineers.
He has won a Latin Grammy for Best Engineered Album, with his mixing work contributing to four additional Latin Grammy wins. João has also received multiple nominations, including four nominations for Best Engineered Album, maintaining a presence in this category for three consecutive years. His portfolio includes successful hits across various musical genres, further cementing his reputation in the music industry.