Energizing the Scene: Tryptid’s Uptempo Revolution
Energizing the Scene: Tryptid’s Uptempo Revolution
Eric, who goes by Tryptid, is an uptempo artist based in New Hampshire, USA. He practiced with minor technical and procedural parts of music production, but only satisfied just a fraction of his curiosity. He took a break and after a long hiatus from production, he rediscovered that hunger, started producing again, and already released three tracks since the end of 2023! Let’s take a look at how an artist gets started in the scene and their consistency with music production.
“What drew you to start producing uptempo?”
Tryptid states, “I was trying to make hardstyle [at the] beginning of this year. I was [also] kind of trying to do some raw stuff. And, a friend of mine, AbstructA, who’s based out of Maine . . . started making uptempo, and I was listening to his stuff . . . and I was like ‘Hey, this sounds really fun and it sounds fun to produce too.’”
This led Tryptid to experiment with a sound for his first track that he made in uptempo, and it came to his surprise how it just drew him to this genre. “There’s no rules around it or there’s very few rules compared to hardstyle. It’s more just like, do whatever is fun. . . . From [a] producing standpoint . . . it’s like whatever you want to do, basically, so I like that,” he expresses.
“How do you start with a track when producing the structure of uptempo?”
He usually starts with a female singing vocal or a rap vocal sample and he creates a catchy baseline to go along with it. He believes if the baseline isn’t catchy enough then one will feel uninspired. Feeling uninspired is a natural phenomenon that artists would encounter with ‘writer’s block’ and finding the right catchy sound might just be the tool to help overcome that.
“Do you think uptempo can have melodic climaxes/ drops?”
Tryptid explains, “Some of them do, but it’s less common. I think the reason why . . .[is because] the uptempo kick has a lot of highs in it and a lot of high mids in it. . . . Frequency-wise, those conflict with the frequencies in . . . a melodic synth.” Different instruments/vocals take place at different frequencies. An uptempo kick frequency would make a melodic synth sound strange according to Tryptid. Tryptid shares that some people still do it and may be able to pull it off. An example of this is a track by STV and UNVIZION called ‘Too Late’ where it ends with a synthesized melody that fits naturally over an uptempo kick.
“What do you like the most about music production?”
Tryptid shares, “I love making kicks. Sometimes I’ll be stressed out and be like, ‘Oh I need a kick for this [moment], nothing’s fitting,’” Marcus laughs. “I’ll just make . . . a kick that fits well,” Tryptid adds. It’s favorable to say that kicks can be a healthy relaxer for artists like Tryptid. “I like the creativity of making kicks,” he adds.
“Do you have an average time for making a kick?”
“I use FL studio to make kicks and I make one kick per project. . . . When I need a kick I go in there and I . . . [already] have an existing project. I . . . start moving things around, tweaking frequencies, turning knobs in Serum (Serum is the most popular synthesizer where you can make a bass, lead, or pretty much any sound with it), making all kinds of adjustments. . . . I’ve made . . . kicks that are basically the best kick in a track in like 5 minutes, and I’ve had times where it’s taken hours to get something good.”
“Can you give any specific tips for creating a kick?”
He provides a quick explanation from a YouTube tutorial from EQUAL2: “You have a basic wavetable in ‘Serum’. You might have the sub on. You might not. You use Pro-Q 3 or Parametric Equalizer (a frequency adjuster) and then create peaks and then you have a peak on the sub that’s modulated halfway through the kick (Tryptid continues by imitating the sound). And then you just run it through distortion and then just mess with [it].” Tryptid tells us, “To make a crazy kick, you just mess around with ‘Serum’ and mess around with the EQs” (equalizers). Overall, he believes in playing around with the tools repeatedly until something just clicks or “sounds catchy.”
“Do you also DJ and have you had any gigs so far?”
Tryptid also DJ’s! He tells us about a nostalgic experience, “Yes, . . . I have played one [event] down in Texas that was pretty awesome. It was a tunnel rave . . . just like totally underground vibes . . You have to walk down a long trail for like 5 minutes and there's . . . a highway going over you. . . . You get there and you can see the laser lights blasting out of this tunnel! It was really fun.”
“Do you have any toolkits to go with your DJ set?”
“It kind of depends on the crowd,” Tryptid mentions. It doesn't hurt to start up with something a little slower than uptempo like raw he exemplifies. In general, he strives to play all of his songs blended within his uptempo set.
He then explains a preference for set times for an event. “Ideally, if I can have any set time, I’d love to play at like 11:00 PM, but it all depends on the promoter. . . . If you play it at 11:00 o’clock [or] midnight, people are going to be the most fired up and they’ll probably enjoy it the most. . . . The issue is that whoever comes after that . . . they’re playing for a crowd that’s already . . . kind of worn out,” he chuckles.
Nevertheless, Tryptid proceeds to provide a contrary, exemplary show. “Hard Dance NYC played an event with Warface [recently],” he says. He mentions that this show consisted mostly of uptempo then slowed down with hard techno. This eventually led to Warface’s rawstyle set. He provides an example of how it can work to play uptempo acts early with a well-thought-out flow throughout the night. The energy flamed up from beginning to end for this epic experience!
“How important are labels to producers and how should producers approach promotion?”
“Labels are great for getting on playlists [and] getting your name out there. So, I've released 2 songs on . . . ‘Darkside Unleashed’ . . . [and] ‘Triple 6’ . . . and they’re in the thousands of views, and I released one myself. I think it's at, like, 100 plays or something,” he says. Tryptid proposes that labels will take care of the heavy load for promotion and help legitimize artists. Tryptid modestly recognizes, “There’s a lot of artists that self-release music that already have a large following so that does really well.”
“Do you have any upcoming gigs or projects for your fans?”
“I have a few that I can’t necessarily release yet, but hopefully very soon we’ll be able to talk about them,” he anticipates. He also has an upcoming gig called ‘The Homie Collective Campout’ that takes place in Charlton, MA scheduled for August 1st - 4th, 2024. This will be Tryptid’s first gig at a multi-day festival alongside other huge names in the hard dance scene. This will be an epic moment of multi-genre energy, campout vibes, and crowd hype. Watch out for the official Phase 2 lineup released on April 20th!
“Do you want to popularize uptempo in America, in the hard dance scene, or just in the dance scene in general?”
“Absolutely!” Tryptid exclaims. “I think the more people that are into it, the better . . . I think it’s fun. I think there’s . . . [many] directions you can go with it. I’m definitely a big proponent of popularizing it in America," he says.
“From where you’re at now, how would you do that?”
“So I think working with other artists, finding people . . . of the same mindset. . . . Working with them and kind of combining forces [will do it] . . . To build a scene . . . [it’s] going to start with the artist . . . I think it comes from uptempo producers finding other uptempo producers and kind of just . . . [doing] it from there,” Tryptid advocates.
“If you were trying to popularize it, how would you describe uptempo to an average listener who hasn’t heard hard dance music before?”
Tryptid admits, “Ah, that’s tough.” We all chuckle. “I guess I would say it’s just like crazy EDM… crazy energetic EDM that has unique . . . distorted sounds in it, and . . . it’s just focused on energy and trying to make it fun.”
“Can you share a pivotal moment in your career where you had to adapt or evolve your approach to music production?”
The way he was implementing kicks from ‘Serum’ was not the standard way of creating them. He realized he was hitting a wall where he had less control of his sounds, kicks, and tones. Once he flipped his strategy, he had a massive improvement in controlling the quality of his sound. He pivoted towards an industry standard with FL Studio to build his kicks. In doing so, he realized the musical approach to creating his track, "Subs", using this method. Check it out here: Tryptid - Subs
He describes the reapproach: “Originally, 80% of the kick was built in Serum and then 20% was just small tweaks out of Serum. And, the way I do it now is probably 20% . . . in Serum and 80% is in the effects after Serum.” A prime example of the old method is his track “Armageddon” and his new method is "Subs". "Armageddon" still comes with quality kicks and unique distortions ready for a fun and energetic impact for any musical fan. Dare to give it a listen? Tune in here: Tryptid - Armageddon
“Can you share one of the most memorable moments or achievements you’ve had throughout your career?”
Tryptid shares, “I’d say it’s probably winning the Vida Loca remix contest.” (“Vida Loca” is an uptempo track by DRS, Andy the Core, and MC Robs from 2022.) “I was able to put together a track that I thought, like, built upon what was great by that song and added some other components . . . added a melody to it [and] added some crazy kicks to it. I added . . . almost like a . . . pre-drop mariachi feel to it,” we nod and smile with approval.
Being recognized by Andy the Core and DRS was genuinely an honor to him and one of his best achievements thus far. This pumps Tryptid up for more heights to achieve with uptempo. Give it a listen here: La Vida Loca (Tryptid Remix)
“What kind of tips can you give to aspiring producers and DJs?”
Tryptid provides an example of how he sustains an inquisitive mindset, “One thing that I love is . . . having those little techniques that [when] I listen to music . . . I'm just like . . . ‘I wonder how he did that’. That sounds dope. ‘How can I do that?’ And then figuring it out, thinking about how it might be done, learning it and just . . . keeping that and using it.” He also mentions he has individual tools in his production toolkit that by default he incorporates. This helps him have a musical ear for detail and facilitates industry standards, time, and efforts while still providing quality and unique builds.
“Same goes for DJing . . . [with] having that ear for detail,” he says.
We concluded with a friendly conversation and hoped for the best of life's journey for each other.
Tryptid is offering to help out any aspiring producers with tips, questions, reviews, or discussions of any sort! Reach out to him whenever! Direct message him here: Tryptid's Instagram
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Marcus is one of the leaders of San Diego Hardstylerz. He started listening to house, trance, eurodance, and freestyle as a kid. After a friend showed him hardstyle in 2010, he formed a passion for the scene and music ever since. His hopes are to help thrive the hardstyle scene throughout the states to the best of his ability.
Writer: Marcus
Co-writer: Ivan
Editor: Linda
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