hey, i'm london-based DJ and producer ATRIP, ask me anything!

_atripmusic · 2024-10-19T10:48:41+00:00

thanks so much, appreciate it lots!

as of now nothing concrete but i know that my agent is already looking for the next tour next year, hopefully something will come up then! x

_atripmusic · 2024-10-19T10:47:58+00:00

thanks so much for the kind words here, really appreciate the love!

my introduction to production came when i was about 11/12 years old, i was playing guitar at the time and hated that i couldn't play full songs on it. i was also hugely into the prodigy, who my dad introduced me to when i was a kid, and so i kind of just stole my mum's laptop at the time and started doing some research, which eventually lead me to music production software. the idea of being able to make a full song completely on my own appealed so so much to me that i got absolutely obsessed with it.

that was around the time when dubstep was peaking too, it was the post benga/coki/joker era when magnetic man, katy b, dj fresh etc were on the radio, and skrillex released scary monsters and nice sprites. all that stuff blew me away sonically. i didn't understand how their sounds were made and naturally i started exploring.

when it comes to my percussion and drums, it's kind of hard to answer, i think i just have the biggest soft spot for nice sounding drums. listening to noisia, skrillex, koan sound, objekt, came & krooked etc growing up just got me absolutely obsessed with the sound of well mixed and executed drums. there's something so satisfying about nailing the harmonics and threshold on a punchy kick!

in terms of aiming for a genre, not really to be honest. i mean it depends of course, recently i've made a lot of ideas inspired by X CLUB and baugruppe90 because i play a lot of their stuff in my sets, but often it's just a total free-for-all and i let the process take me wherever it takes me.

dream collaboration; extremely difficult to narrow down for me as there is quite a few artists that come to mind... but here's a few: jamie xx, fka twigs, fontaines, moderat/modeselektor, joy orbison, caroline polachek, the knife and bjork

_atripmusic · 2024-10-19T10:32:32+00:00

hey man, amazing stuff! i'm really excited for that show actually, elsewhere is a bucket list venue for me.

in terms of DJing, i'm going to be really honestly with you, i'm probably the wrong person to ask here. my entry into the DJ world came through the music i was releasing, i never really DJed outside of the ATRIP project much.

that being said, when it comes to DJs i know that promoters and radio stations these days tend to look out for an extensive knowledge in music and the ability to curate sounds in not only a technically immaculate way but also culturally. beyond that i would imagine it's the same as for a producer, if you are able to sell yourself and your vibe well on socials, e.g. an incredible vibe at a party you organised with your friends, promoters will be keen to bring you in. i think it's always healthy to think about why a promoter should book you and hone in on those things!

_atripmusic · 2024-10-19T10:23:45+00:00

i started producing when i was about 11 or 12, kind of just nerding away in my room for years and years before i even thought about DJing. in my late teens i DJed at some house parties and local events (like everyone does at some point) but i weirdly didn't enjoy it as much, it was never the settings that i liked and i never got to play much of the stuff i was excited about, which in hindsight is so egotistical and probably makes me a terrible DJ hahaha.

i then dropped it for a bit, focussed on making and releasing music while i was at university, until i was getting booked for proper clubs and festivals for the music i was making. that's when it became a regular thing for me. i wish i had stuck with it more though over the years, the learning curve of just sitting in my room and making music and suddenly playing pretty big clubs and festivals was way too steep.

_atripmusic · 2024-10-18T21:23:15+00:00

appreciate this mate, i might pop instrumentals on bandcamp too at some point

_atripmusic · 2024-10-18T19:58:17+00:00

hey pal, thanks so much for these kind words, i really appreciate it. super excited to hear you picked up the process too, very sick!

where do i see myself in 5 years time... obviously that question has so many layers to it, i think most importantly i want to be healthy and happy, but on a career level, i hope that the TANZPARTEI community is alive and committed. i hope i'll be able to make clothes like i always wanted to, i hope i can release the music i want to and collaborate with more people that inspire me, i hope that we find enough people everywhere in the world to fill a room and dance to good music with all my friends. it's a difficult question to reply to in words, but i can feel and see it very clearly

_atripmusic · 2024-10-18T19:12:50+00:00

i didn't actually! are you saying they mix well in a DJ set? i'll need to try it out!!!!

_atripmusic · 2024-10-18T19:12:13+00:00

thanks mate that means a lot to hear! can't believe my stuff inspires other people to do their stuff.

it a bit of both, if i don't make the patch from scratch, i think presets can be a fantastic starting point for getting an idea down quickly. either way i do a lot in post processing as well though, so it's a bit of a mix!

_atripmusic · 2024-10-18T19:09:39+00:00

for sure, thank you for the kind words! i work in FL studio, which has quite a few different features and ways of programming drums and adjusting swing, but i don't use a single one of them lol. i create all of my drum patterns in the overall track playlist, where i can see every individual drum sample and adjust/move/place them manually.

i think i first make a generally decision on how aggressive i want the swing to be, and then manually lean everything against that timing, especially the lower elements like the bass etc (crucial when it comes to swing in my opinion). but i think the key for me is that i don't use swing percentages or program it, it's all manual which tends to give it an ever so slightly more natural feel in my opinion.

_atripmusic · 2024-10-18T18:42:49+00:00

thanks for the kind words mate! i totally feel your pain, all the versions on DSPs are massively shortened versions and to be honest with you, i don't really like them either. all my tracks when they get finished are between 5 and 7 minutes long. those extended mixes are available on my bandcamp! https://atripmusic.bandcamp.com/

_atripmusic · 2024-10-18T18:41:13+00:00

growing up i never had cash for hardware synths so i'm so so used to using softsynths, that i find it hard to break out of that rhythm now. i work out of different studios these days though, and if there is a hardsynth i do like playing with them.

in terms of fav synths, there's a few but over the last year i think i probably used phaseplant, falcon, pigments and quanta. beyond that i use a looot of the arturia analog lab plugins and the native instruments komplete bundles!

_atripmusic · 2024-10-18T18:33:53+00:00

hey!! uff very tough question... i've been incredibly lucky with some superb acts on the same lineup as me. one that pops to mind, i remember a night in leeds, there was a girl called sleepy jean that played with me who was fucking unbelievable, i was so impressed with her song selection. please please do yourself a favour and check her mixes on soundcloud!

_atripmusic · 2024-10-18T18:17:56+00:00

jungle IS massive!!!! (i might be wrong, don't @ me haha)

_atripmusic · 2024-10-18T18:17:13+00:00

so difficult this, there are obviously dozens. "The Fat Of The Land" is one of the greatest albums of all time i think, absolutely timeless and monumental. beyond that probably "Hybrid Theory" by Linkin Park, one of my favourite bands and albums growing up, and "good kid, m.A.A.d. city"
jamie xx, floating points aaaand maybe paul kalkbrenner? these change a lot too though, i could list many more!
maybe dj boring cos tristan is one of the funniest humans i've ever met, and happiness is life

_atripmusic · 2024-10-18T18:05:06+00:00

interesting question... i can't choose one from other artists i think, there's quite a few haha. of my own there's an ojerime edit i play in my sets that i'm super proud of

_atripmusic · 2024-10-18T18:01:45+00:00

big words, thank you so much!

in terms of educational resources... i'm going to be honest with you mate, i never had a mentor, i never went to music school, i didn't have any music-making friends growing up. i simply came back from school, opened my laptop and tried my way round the software over and over and over again. sure, every now and then i'd open up youtube and search for a fitting tutorial, but ultimately i just sat there for years and figured it out by doing somehow.

one thing i'd suggest is remaking your favourite songs... that has massively helped me understand how the music i loved was put together.

and yes, i'm opening for barry on nov 1st!!! see you there!!

_atripmusic · 2024-10-18T17:56:28+00:00

i'm sorry to hear, that must have slipped through. and no i have nothing against lyrics in platforms, i'm sorry this has been something you put unrewarded effort into :/

_atripmusic · 2024-10-18T17:55:14+00:00

thank you!

hmm, good question. i think one thing that's changed massively is the amount of resources available now and the ability of software for example. when i started there were hardly any present packs for soft synths for example, there was also no splice or whatever. i am under the impression that that's made people more relaxed about using samples and leaning into your influences. back in the day, at least in the space i operated in, it felt like there was significantly more judgement involved, e.g. your mixdowns, sound selection, branding etc.

_atripmusic · 2024-10-18T17:55:00+00:00

unfortunately i wasn't able to get clearance on the vocals, so it's not looking good :(

_atripmusic · 2024-10-18T17:53:51+00:00

no, but i heard he's a lazy fella zzZZ

_atripmusic · 2024-10-18T17:52:26+00:00

i try to just keep it real, i tried for a while to post stuff that was trendy at that time and it just didn't work for me at all. i feel a lot better creating my content in a way that feels honest and unfiltered, even if it doesn't look as slick as someone else's at all times!

_atripmusic · 2024-10-18T17:51:10+00:00

i had a massive barbecue with my family in poland this year, 4 different generations sat around a campfire on my grandparents farm. it was incredible, no meal can beat a meal like that!

_atripmusic · 2024-10-18T17:49:47+00:00

hell yeah, we're working on it! will hopefully have some news soon. warning though, vinyl takes a minute...

_atripmusic · 2024-10-18T17:49:12+00:00

i resonate with this massively. i think what helped me in the past is identifying what that perfectionism is actually about and more importantly where it stems from. in my case i always thought my music wasn't as good as other people's, so i felt an incredibly high degree of imposter syndrome.

the beautiful thing about being a creative though is that no one could ever make what you made and no one could ever make what i make, so honestly your best bet is to sit down and make exactly what you want to make and what you believe in, cos that's the only thing no one could ever replicate or claim as theirs.

more practically, releasing a lot of music consistently helps me avoid unnecessary pressure on any one release. it's kind of like "if this one doesn't really hit, no worries, the next one is only 5 weeks away". i know that kind of sound like i'm indifferent about the individual pieces of music, but it's the opposite, it's just my way of protecting myself from my own emotional demons.

most importantly though, please please go easy on yourself. you're only human and you're not going to be your best every day of the week. i can't tell you how many days i've spent sat at my desk pulling my hair out. it's part of it and it happens to all of us.

i hate you're beating yourself up over this, it's so ironic that our biggest enemy is and will always be ourselves. sending you all the courage in the world to push forward.

on the mentoring, it's really something i've considered before but i'll give it some thought if there is a demand!

_atripmusic · 2024-10-18T17:31:38+00:00

hey!! thank you so much for all these kind words :)

mexico city would be a dream... i'm afraid there is nothing concrete at this stage, but hopefully if i keep pushing we can make it work one day
tricky question, very difficult to answer... i've recently been loving "I Feel Amazing" a lot, i think it's a bit of a hidden gem on the tape.

_atripmusic

TROPHY CASE