I thought it was already too good to be true when this show was announced right after Paradiso. The weekend’s vibes still buzzing in my head, I just had to tell the world about how great my favorite act of the festival was, tyDi, and encourage people to make the trip out to his next Pacific Northwest show.
Once that article was posted, though, I had no idea that tyDi himself would repost it on his Twitter, nor would I have expected his manager to reach out to us directly and set up an interview with him. Damn, imagine if you could have told my 16 year old self that.
Fast forward to Saturday, my girlfriend and I made the trip all the way down to the Rose City to catch this incredible show. tyDi has been working diligently on a new album, and one of the best surprises of the night was hearing two brand new tracks before any other city in the world. It seemed like he played a lot more trance than I’ve experienced in a live set from him as well, which was phenomenal. Mixing Tiësto’s Adagio for Strings with a crazy big room drop was something I never even thought was possible. Out of the five times that I’ve had the privilege of seeing him perform live, this one was definitely my favorite, and he only gets better with time.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BXuYuUQg68_/?taken-by=ndwiggins01
We sat down with tyDi before the show to discuss music, politics, and Vegemite.
RMR: So the first thing we wanted to ask you is, there’s rumors going around that this will be your final tour, what can you say about that?
tyDi: There’s definitely a rumor, and it’s not my last tour per se, but I have said that this album that’s coming out might be my last album. And that’s because I’ve spent three years of my life making it. It involves a Grammy Award winning composer that I did this album with because I wanted to make the most epic album I could ever make. I spent so many years making my albums, my Redefined album, and Look Closer, and Hotel Rooms. I wanted to beat it all, and I wanted to make an album that no one could copy. So I needed an album that had a point of difference. So I spend two years writing songs that are real, about real things, then working with an incredible orchestrator and composer. I’m a composer myself, I studied classical and theory, so I really put that into good use. I had to pull out my textbooks and learn everything again. I’ve ended up with an album with 12 songs that covers every genre of electronic music. Drum and Bass, House, Trance, everything. It also features an entire orchestra with it. And any one point in time there could be up to 120 players on the record.
So basically, the album is just kind of…it’s hard to explain as an artist what you go through, maybe I say stuff on Twitter that starts rumors, but those feelings you get when you’re like…when I really thought the album was done I was like okay I need to take a break. So I just went away, I took a break, and I just thought about it deeply, and I was like okay, how can I make it better? With that, I had talks with the orchestrator, reworked vocals, and reworked things for like violin, or piccolo, or just small things. Or massive changes, like I added 24 chelos to a song. And it just became so intense to get to where it is now, and I truly believe it’s going to be the best album I could ever make. And I just don’t know if I could ever beat it. So when it comes out, which will be in about January…I’m dropping two singles from it this year, but when the album comes out around January, hopefully once you guys all hear it, you’ll know what I’m talking about. And it’s something different, there’s nothing like it, that could be a good thing and a bad thing, but I don’t know if I could beat it. I have said it might be my last album, a couple of fans have taken that as it could be my last tour. I could quit now and be happy, I’m very happy with what I’ve achieved in my career, but I’m not going to admit to anything like that. I can just tell you this album could be my last because I think it’s my absolute best.
RMR: You were just recently added to the Bumbershoot lineup in Seattle for their Silent Disco. Have you played a silent disco before, and what is it like coming back to the Pacific Northwest for the fourth time this year?
tyDi: I found out I was playing that when I saw the flyer, (laughs), so I’m excited. I’ve done a silent disco before, and it’s a little different because you can’t feel the bass so you rely a lot more on the melody and the feeling in the music, so I actually really enjoy it. It’s not about how heavy it is or how hard it is, it’s more about how everyone is feeling because it’s a quite a personal experience that they’re hearing in their headphones, and so am I, so its about how I can connect to those people. So I’m excited, I’m excited to see if I can win over some hearts.
RMR: Do you have any dream collaborations that you haven’t done yet?
tyDi: My dream collaboration was Dashboard Confessional and I did it. Bert from The Used, do you know the band called The Used? They’re, I guess, indie rock. I am doing a song with him. It used to be before that, it was BT, and I’ve done like four songs with him, so I honestly think I’ve done that. There’s always going to be people I’d love to work with, I mean who wouldn’t want to make a song with Taylor Swift? That would be fun. But if you say “dream collaborators”, I feel like I’ve worked with the people that I really admire.
RMR: Do you think you’ll ever do a classic trance set?
tyDi: I did one recently in Chicago, three hours of pure trance. I’ve been Djing for eleven years, and I started out as a trance artist. EDM became a thing in America, and when I released “Redefined” it became a hit, and I was thrown into the EDM basket, which is fun, but I still always play a bit of trance in my set. I just need enough time to do it. No one can do a good trance set in one hour, if you’re a trance DJ and you’re expected to play trance in one hour, don’t fucking waste your time! The best trance songs go for eight minutes, you can’t get enough songs that will take you on a journey in one hour. So, you give me three hours, then yeah, I’ll play a classic trance set. In Chicago, I did that, and there are plans for more of those, like if Dreamstate wants me to do a classic trance set. If they ask me to, then I’ll do it, and I’ll do all trance. But it’s gotta be the right crowd. There’s the people who know me for my more commercial radio stuff, and then there’s the old school fans who know me as a trance DJ, so if there’s a show specifically for them then I’ll give them what they want. Right now I’m trying to please both.
RMR: Well hey, whenever you come back to Seattle, there’s a club called The Underground and they have a lot of trance played there, the headliners have three hour sets. It would be amazing to see you there!
tyDi: In Seattle? Yeah, I mean, I love playing for USC Events, so I play where they put me. I love Foundation, I definitely get to play trance there. I haven’t seen this other club but it sounds cool!
RMR: This one is for all the ladies out there, back in November you posted that you were accepting bids from American women to marry you and get their Australian citizenship, how did that go? Did you find “The One”?
tyDi: (Laughs) Well basically, I mean, that election was quite interesting. Who would have thought in the eight months since Trump was in…let’s think about this. Alright, so everyone kind of, you know — I’m not a political person, I don’t listen to it much — but I listen to a lot of people talk shit on Obama, but things seemed to just kinda progress. In the last eight months, let’s see…Donald Trump just got voted in, okay, there was a racist white supremacy breakout that happened last night, I’m pretty sure there’s a nuclear holocaust on our hands with North Korea and America, beyond that there’s a massive FBI investigation into whether he cheated the election…I mean I can keep going on, but it seems like, if you ask me, things kinda got fucked up! I’m not saying that Hillary was better, or that Trump was better, I’m just like, okay people are talking nuclear…I’ll take the highest bidder, marry me and lets fuck off to Australia! But not yet, I’m still accepting invitations.
RMR: I was really curious, do you ever carry Vegemite with you on the road?
tyDi: No! No. But I will have it, I’ll have it if it’s there, but I just don’t carry it.
RMR: I feel it, how about Victoria Bitter, anything like that?
tyDi: No, the only Australian thing about me is my accent!
RMR: Alright so finally, what are some tips you can share with new producers?
tyDi: Don’t waste your time copying anyone else. I’ve done it. It’s not worth it. Just because something is cool now, this industry moves so fast, if you try to make anything like it, by the time you release it, it’s old, and you’ll seem dated, and you’ll seem like a copycat. The best thing you can do as a producer is to lock yourself in the bedroom, the studio, wherever, and try to be as creative as you can. If that means changing the most random things around until you have something you think sounds cool and no one else has got, then you show people. Because no one gives a fuck about anything that sounds like anyone else. Imagine if I tried to release Avicii- “Levels”, or if I tried to release, like, anything that’s been done. People are just going to say that I’m copying them, and that’s just me. Now try to imagine a kid who has no name, going, “check out my latest dope track! It sounds like Dillon Francis!” People are gonna be like, “well that’s fucking Dillon Francis’ style man! Don’t copy that shit!” The best thing you can do is just make your own original sound and stick to it.
You can catch tyDi again in the Pacific Northwest in September for Bumbershoot!
Tickets are on sale now for the entire weekend or for individual days.
FOR MORE UPDATES ON MUSIC NEWS, FOLLOW RESPECT MY REGION FACEBOOK AND TWITTER.
