If you like explosiveness on the dance floor, then Tritonal have got you covered.
The American duo consists of Dave Reed and Chad Cisneros who have been a strong force on the EDM scene since 2007.
They mix and mingle anything from progressive and electro house, to trance. And you’ll be surprised at who inspires them musically.
This is #DJDIARYENTRY/12
Tritonal were in Australia last week for their 2014 Australian Tour. They’ve been Down Under on “four or five runs, for clubs and festivals.”
But this time around they added something different to the list. They got chilly for a worthy cause. Yes, they did the ALS ice bucket challenge and Sydney’s Opera House stood as the perfect backdrop.
When it comes to musical inspiration the boys are appreciative of anyone who has “a lot of music involved, more so than big room.”
Artists that particularly capture them include Jon Hopkins and Coldplay.
“We listen to a lot of music all across the board...lately we’ve been on this Coldplay tip, we’ve loved Coldplay for years,” Dave says. “Their new album, ‘Ghost Stories’ is amazing.”
If they could sit in on any other producer’s studio time, Jon Hopkins is the man.
“Jon Hopkins is one of the good ones for sure...I think the way he does sound design is like no one we hear in EDM especially,” Tritonal say.
The boys have performed at every big festival you can think of. Tomorrowland? Tick.
“Yeah, we did Tomorrowland like two years ago and it was good man! It was crazy, it was really muddy that year, but it was good,” the boys smile.
Don’t worry, they’ve done Electronic Daisy Festival (EDC) Las Vegas too, deeming it as the craziest of all festivals.
“EDC, there is no other festival that compares. Tomorrowland doesn’t even hold a candle...I mean it does it terms of its size but not in terms of technology or pyro or fucken fireworks and just the amount of LEDS,” Chad explains.
In saying that, the boys are excited to finish the year off with some amazing festivals.
“We have some cool festivals coming up...Electric Zoo is next weekend in New York City. And then we have Nocturnal Wonderland in two weeks after that in LA.”
The boys are constantly on the go. But that doesn’t stop them from dropping new tracks.
Their latest single is “Satellite” and it’s been doing extremely well. It currently sits at number 13 on Beatports Top 100 Progressive House.
But which song do the boys hold closest to heart?
“I really feel like ‘Now or Never’ is one of our favourite’s produced. Not only because the vocals are incredible but the learning experience from producing the record...we’d gone through like 26 different projects just to get that track to its place,” Dave says.
Chad agreed: “Likewise, I think that’s probably my favourite record because of where we were when we wrote it and the longevity of that record has been amazing.”
The most interesting part of the interview was when the boys were hit with the million dollar question – what would you do on a gap year?
And the reply was simple: “A what? What’s that?”
After little research (thanks Google) I came to realise that “gap year” is an unfamiliar term to Americans. Instead they actually refer to it as a “year off” while India use the phrase “drop year” which is ridiculously appropriate for DJs (bravo).
After explaining what a “gap year” is, well, things got interesting.
“Oh, that’s funny! I don’t know...I am really doing what I love to do. I don’t know...I probably would...Dave any ideas?” Chad says wondering.
“I don’t know either but music would still be involved, I can’t just step away from writing,” Dave explains.
Chad pondered on this for a while. He came to the decision that he would use his "gap year" to finish off his Masters in Audio Engineering after having stopped so close to the finish line.
"If I had a year, just to do nothing, I would probably go and finish my Masters," Chad says.
"I got a year into the Audio Engineering Masters Degree and I only have, a bit more than a year, but 14 months...it's just one of those things you probably won't ever go back and do," Chad says.
But before Chad got to this answer, yoga was a close contender. And it went like this:
“I’d say maybe like some hardcore meditation somewhere...maybe yoga in some rainforest or something, I don’t know man,” Chad laughs.
“For a whole year!?” Dave responds.
“Yeah! Just me and the monkeys man," Chad finishes.
If you caught Tritonal when they were in Australia for their 2014 tour, then you would agree that they know how to tear up the dance floor.
And that’s why they are called Tritonal.
“A triton is like an explosive in the military, it’s like 80% TNT...so it’s like musical explosively,” Tritonal explain.
#DJDIARY/Q&A
Q: Taking the concept of Deadmau5’s Coffee run, who would you take on a Coffee run?
Chad: Oh his coffee run, yes those are funny. I’ve only watched a few...I’d probably take a movie actor; Ben Stiller would be funny, maybe Barrack Obama, somebody insightful or funny.
Dave: I would take Jim Carrey, definitely.