DJ Interview - Tritonal

The talented DJ/Production Duo, Tritonal, provides a fresh angle in today's exciting electronic music scene. Chad Cisneros and Dave Reed are two unique producers who have come from opposite sides of the United States and together, as Tritonal, they are pushing a new sound for the world to hear. Always exciting, never obvious, and unpredictable, they are helping to forge a new era in electronica.
In the last 12 months alone they have released original productions and remixes on Ferry Corsten's 'Flashover' label, Armin van Buuren's 'Armada', Markus Schulz 'Coldharbour', Gareth Emery's 'Garuda' & Andy Moor's 'AVA'; remixed Ferry Corsten, Ronski Speed & Solarstone, and opened for Paul van Dyk, Ferry Corsten & Armin van Buuren.

We drag the guys away from their Studio for a quick chit-chat, before they wing their way to New Zealand for their first tour down under..


Firstly, what is the story behind the name ‘Tritonal’?
Well, before we started working on tracks we were quite keen on developing an alias which was fresh, catchy and meant something. We spent a couple weeks coming up with all sorts of ideas and nothing stuck. Many of the names that we came up with were cool, but too hard to remember, too long and sometimes too generic. A "Tritone" is an interval or a chord in music which has a distinctive sound. The actual word "Tritonal" is a bomb.

From Wikipedia:
Tritonal is a mixture of 80% TNT and 20% aluminium powder, used in several types of ordnance such as air-dropped bombs. The aluminium improves the brisance of the TNT - the speed at which the explosive develops its maximum pressure. Tritonal is approximately 18% more powerful than TNT alone.
We fell in love with it, and it has a very unique and catchy quality to it we feel. :)

It’s hard to believe that Tritonal was formed less than two years ago! Your sound has such variety and seems to have evolved in style over a short period. Who would you say your musical influences were when you first started out and have these changed since then?
We began the collaboration with uplifting trance as the focus of the project. We were heavily influenced by Anjunabeats with artists such as Super8 & Tab, Oliver Smith, Oceanlab and such. As we began to write music we would allow ourselves to explore other styles and genres. Tracks such as Walk With Me, Lights Over Austin, and Let Solitude are all quite different. As we play out in clubs and venues more and more, and learn how tracks work on a dance floor, we continue to mature as producers. Our influences in dance music today encompass a wide range of trance and progressive music.

We have just finished our 20th episode of Air Up There with Tritonal, which showcases a Total Tritonal 2 hour set filled with some of our favorite productions. Putting the set together was an eye opener for how our style continues to change and progress. We love exploring new sounds and styles, and it keeps us fresh and creative.

If you were to describe yourselves and your music to someone who hadn’t yet had the pleasure of discovering Tritonal, how would you do so?
We get asked this question a lot, and it’s a tough question. Tritonal is a duo who produces energetic melodic trance. Our tracks frequently focus on catchy vocal hooks and riffs which give the tune a unique characteristic.

You frequently collaborate with the incredibly talented vocalist, Cristina Soto. Tell us a bit about her!
Cristina Soto is a blessing. She lives in our hometown, Austin TX and is a full time career girl, volleyball player, and also sings in a rock band. She is very busy and motivated and has been one of our biggest assets. We are currently working on some new material with her, which should debut soon!

If you were given the opportunity to collaborate with any other artist in the world today, who would you choose and why?
That’s tough! Gareth Emery, Stoneface & Terminal, Super8 & Tab, Myon & Shane 54 and the master Ferry Corsten all come to mind!! :)

What are you working on in the studio at the moment?
We are collaborating with J Scott G (Formerly Deepsky) on a new project which seems to be shaping up quite well. We have 4 new tracks that were recently finished, and we are awaiting word on final approval from labels there. We will begin remixing a Francis Preve tune, who happens to be one of our friends here in Austin. The track will release on Josh Gabriel's Different Pieces and should get us some exposure to a different fan base.

Tritonal productions have been receiving considerable support from industry heavyweights such as Armin van Buuren and Gareth Emery in recent times (we understand your tracks have featured on Armin’s A State of Trance radio show at least 10 times already this year!) so how does it feel to be recognised and pursued by producers of this calibre?
It feels wonderful!! We feel so blessed, excited, and happy to have had support from guys like Armin, Ferry and Gareth! We want to continue to become better producers, and are always looking to learn new techniques and methods. This industry is so much fun to be a part of, and we have every intention of working as hard as we can to become successful.

The past year has afforded you some excellent opportunities to play alongside some of the biggest names in dance music right now. What have been some of the main highlights of touring and meeting such identifiable artists?
We played at Pipeline Cafe in Waikiki, Hawaii to a sold out crowd!! The energy of the night was amazing, and spending time on such a beautiful island was remarkable. We also enjoyed playing at Ruby Skye and 1015 Folsom in San Francisco, alongside Tiesto in San Antonio, and with Ferry Corsten in Houston. We are set to play again with Ferry on New Years Eve in our hometown of Austin at the Travis County Expo Center! There should be 5000-8000 people in attendance, and we expect it to be epic. :)

What are your Top 5 Tracks right now and which Tritonal originals/remixes can NZ audiences expect to hear when you play in Auckland this weekend?
1. Piercing Quiet feat. Cristina Soto
2. Suede (Stoneface & Terminal Remix)
3. Kiss Me Here feat. Cristina Soto
4. Let Solitude feat. Cristina Soto
5. Sideswing
(We have some newbies that we can't let out of the bag yet!! Will def be playing those too. :))

Are there any obscure or little-known facts about either of you which our readers may find interesting?
Chad prefers his coffee cold in the morning, with a bit of cream. And, neither one of us can correctly say "A hay of bail, oh shit, I mean bay of hail.... damnit! No, it’s a BAIL OF HAY!! " lol (that was a funny story of us when driving to a gig).

Lastly, what does 2010 hold in store for Tritonal?
We will be playing around the US and Globally lots more this next year!! :) We will be redoing our website and focusing on fewer but bigger tunes. :) We also want to thank everyone who cast a vote for Tritonal in DJ Mag's Top 150 this year! We are thrilled to be at #141 after only our first full year of releases and gigs. Cheers!

Thank you for your time and I will be seeing you this weekend!

Don't miss TRITONAL's debut New Zealand appearance on Saturday 28 November at Studio, Auckland.

Interview by Pippa Crawford

http://www.myspace.com/tritonalmusic
http://www.tritonalmusic.com