Photo credit: Rick Vargas
Truthlive has spent the last few years shifting between various shades of musical styles. His last two commercial EPs October Summer and Love & Respect both hit #1 on Beatport’s New Releases chart, signalling a growing presence on the global circuit. With Going Up, he pushes further into the rave: a collision of techno, hardstyle, big-room and warehouse energy, shaped by years spent around sound systems and late-night spaces.
His new single Going Up opens in the distance, sub-bass bleeding through walls, no top end, a nod to that feeling of approaching a warehouse party before you’re inside. From there, it kicks hard. Fast percussion, vocal refrains, distorted hooks and moments of freefall are all pulled into a tight structure that echoes the rhythm of a long night out: tension, lift, drop, repeat.
We spoke to Truthlive about producing Going Up, and what comes next for this constantly evolving artist.
You’ve spoken before about the emotional side of rave culture. How do you translate that sense of anticipation and release into production choices?
To me, one of the most pure feelings is that sense you get before going inside a rave or afters, and you can hear and feel the rumble of the bass through the walls, in the concrete and structure. You can’t make out the melodies or define the music yet, but the tempo, the rhythm, the pulse, it’s all there. There’s almost a reverence to it as much as there is excitement.
Some of the best undergrounds are hard to find and they’re careful about the process allowing folks in. It’s kind of like reaching the end of a treasure hunt and that low end rattle getting louder until you physically feel it, is the sign you’ve made it. For Going Up, I tried to sonically recapture what that feels like when you’re approaching from way outside, then making your way closer in the hallways but still not in, to breaking the threshold as you just barely get in, and finally to when you’re fully immersed, all the way in it. That whole entry process guided the arrangement and frequency choices. It’s an experience I am very conscious of every time it happens and I feel this song hits on it.
Your recent work feels heavier and more physical than before. What triggered that shift toward a darker, harder sound?
Big room stuff is all about tension and release, right? The whole world seems to feel a growing sense of angst and tension to me. I feel it. I bet you feel it. I bet anyone reading this feels it. I didn’t try to go darker or harder, I just let what I observe, what’s happening in my life, and what’s in my spirit come through. There is a tension, and this expression is a type of release. Even within the song there’s the elevator sample of “going up” and “going down.” Which can apply to so many things. I don’t want to be overly dark or hard as a person, but in order to not be overcome by something, sometimes you need to lean all the way into it. Also, it’s just fun to make some loud, aggressive, banger shit. That part isn’t complicated or esoteric.
You’ve moved through several styles over the past few years. How do you decide when it’s time to leave one sound behind and explore another?
I wouldn’t say that I decide to leave one sound behind as much as I do intentionally keep exploring. I don’t leave sounds behind, I add to them. It would be a smarter career choice to hone in on a more narrow path, stay consistent with it, but that wouldn’t keep me inspired or happy. I chose music over lots of other safer options to adulting. If I can take the risk to be an artist as my profession, then I also want to do it on my own terms, at least within reason to not be totally broke. Lol. We are going to be dead and gone just as quickly as we were here. Fuck it, right? Make shit you feel, put it out, keep it moving. Maybe I’ll eventually get pinpointed to a consistent sub genre, or the fans will pull me in to one, but for now, it’s just feel and flow.
Going Up has a strong sense of space and distance before it fully kicks in. How intentional are those environmental or cinematic elements in your writing process?
Cinematic and environmental is definitely what I am going for, on this release, and with my music in general. That’s very intentional. It’s also very natural, as what draws me to making art is genuine feeling. I am a pretty tripped out dude and always have been. I am sorta in outer space all the time. I don’t connect to reality in a way most would deem normal. I am generally not the most present person, except when doing a few things, like music. I guess it’s kinda funny that making music that captures the environments in my head, also makes me present with others. For Going Up, this is very literal, as the whole bass kick relationship mirrors that outside of a party, on the way in vibe. It’s also why the arp and saw leads I used are so sharp. There’s a contrast to reflect an environment change. Outside to inside, loud and clear.
Having come up around sound systems and late-night spaces, how has your understanding of “energy” on a dancefloor changed over time?
As a DJ who has played just about every type and size of room possible, to so many different audiences, from house parties, to stadiums, tapping into the energy of shared space becomes both a bit of an art form and a science. Tempo and genre trends go in cycles. But something that is universally present throughout the cycle is energy. That said, what’s the best energetic fit is totally set and setting dependent. For me, that means being a perpetual student and fan of different scenes and subcultures, unless you’re gonna stick to just one or a few.
I know most Producers, DJs, promoters, branded events, etc. tend to work off of prior expectation, as people usually want to know what they’re getting into ahead of time and have that delivered, but I am someone who walks in more than world. That approach does leave me gate kept out of some things, but it also makes me, me.
As a Producer, I just make shit I feel. As a DJ, I don’t adjust what’s good and true to me in the programming choices, but I will adjust what I am pulling from, here, now, based on what fits the energy of the people and the event. Granted, I find the best energy comes from master curators, and those master curators know how and when to throw unexpected curveballs, and also when to lock in and hammer away at the core. I do think you need some peaks and valleys to bring the peaks the very most high. Static gets boring, even if it’s “high energy” music.
Photo credit: Rick Vargas
The crossover of hardstyle and techno is becoming more visible again. What draws you to that edge between control and chaos?
There is something hypnotic about hardstyle and techno that is either a big turn off or turn on. There is a fine line between it being annoying noise and really incredible hypnosis. Which is subjective in taste, but that trance like state people get to, somewhere between headbanger rage and synth bliss is pretty unique. It’s mostly true for all sub genres of electronic music, definitely for downtempo wompy Bass, but I feel extra so that a lot of the techno and hardstyle scenes come with a sort of pre-approved buy-in from the people in attendance. They came to fuck with it. They know what time it is. So while a lot of the music can sonically feel chaotic, there is an inherent control to the whole experience at the same time. A syncing between DJ and crowd. That dichotomy is dope. Life is always on the edge of control and chaos.
You’ve had chart success with more melodic releases. How do you balance making music that connects emotionally with pushing intensity and rawness?
I really don’t care about genres or labels to perfectly describe the categories of my music, but if it lacks emotion, I should probably stop sharing it with others. People are dynamic. Good people can do bad things. Bad people can do good things. And all people are many things. Nobody is just one thing. The same person, me, connects to some rooftop deep soulful sexy vibey shit the same way I connect to the intensity and rawness of this song and driving techno. They’re parts of a whole. I hope I can continue to find a growing audience that appreciates the range and depth.
You describe this track as both a shift and a return. What does that mean for what’s coming next, are you building toward a particular vision or letting instinct lead?
The shift is obvious as I tend to make and release more vibey tracks. This clearly ain’t that! The return is Going Up being somewhat of a homage to raves, undergrounds, and the types of events I started DJing at. My overall vision is about range, risk, and authenticity to self. So in that sense, instinct is leading the vision. They’re kinda the same thing. As far as slated releases, I have stuff ready to go now from D’n’B, to Electro, to Tech House, to Bass House, to Synth Wave, to back home in the Deep and Progressive House realms. And of course, some melodic and chill shit too. I am also expanding my DJ sets to become hybrid live performances that incorporate the DJS1000 and Toraiz 16. Whatever I do, I want to first like it myself, and then have it be interesting for others.
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