Editors' Pick: Tryphème (CPU Records)

Published on 2020-10-06 00:00:00 by Morgan

It’s rare in this day and age to experience music that is truly original seldom do I hear something that really manages to stimulate my senses or spark sentiments in new ways. However, after seeing French electronic artist Tryphèmes live performance in Manchester last Autumn, I was left feeling overwhelmed, amazed and itching for more. I managed to catch up with her to ask a few questions on the performance.
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\ \ \*\*You recently played in Manchester at the venue Yes. How did you find it?\ \ \*\*I had a wonderful time. The promoters, the audience and the venue were very warm towards me.\ \ **Describe your musical experiences in Manchester in 3 words?Bubbling Lava LampWhat constitutes a Tryphème live set?** \ \ For the live set in Manchester I used: a sound card, my computer, a Korg Radias, a controller, a MIC, egg shakers and a reverb pedal.\ \ \*\*Tell us about the approach you take to playing live and what role improvisation takes in your sets?\ \ \*\*There is not enough room for musical improvisation (other than voice and body improvisation) in my current set up, so I’m thinking about a more animated one… to be completely satisfied, and to fully spread this energy that I want to give, it would require me to play with musicians. It will happen at the right time.\ \ \*\*What comes first, vocals or production?\ \ \*\*Production always came first, and then, listening on repeat to the instrumental, I can clearly hear vocals. In my current live set up, I tried various combinations until I found an interesting story to tell, until the different pieces of the puzzle are able to communicate and come alive together.\ \ \*\*If there was a fire in your studio and you could only save one piece of equipment, what would it be?\ \ \*\*My external HDD maybe… but if this were to happen, I wouldn’t be sad as I would think this is fate and I will take the opportunity to change my life path.\ \ **Tell us a bit about your roots and if the places you’ve lived have affected your musical ?** \ \ I’m from Triors, a tiny village in the south of France, where I lived until I was fifteen years old. I had a happy childhood, full of freedom; I was homeschooled, studying in the morning and spending the afternoon playing outside, living by the rhythm of the seasons, mentored by nature. I kept many sound memories from these adventures…\

Give us ten tracks that have shaped you as an artist?

Whenever I listen to these ten pieces, I experience an epiphany. Something happened to me between sixteen and nineteen, that period of time before I decided to start making music, I had a voracious musical appetite and I only wanted nourishment for the heart. These songs are a part of me, as a tattoo.

CLAMS CASINO numb
ABSTRACKT KEAL AGRAM petersbourg
MEDIO MUTANTE another land
SEBASTIEN TELLIER fingers of steel
SALEM snakes
JOHN MAUS believer
FUCK BUTTONS surf solar
ANIMAL COLLECTIVE for reverend green
ROEDELIUS pink, blue, amber
THE BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE the devil may care

How would you describe your music to someone who has never heard of you?An emotional labyrinthWhere do you get your inspirations from?

I really need to be alone or to be surrounded by people (in a train for instance). Sometimes, I start something outside on ableton that I continue later in my home studio. Anyway, no matter where I am, there is always something which springs up and gives me inspiration: the place or the people influence what I do, changing the colours of my sounds.

**In terms of creating a track, are there any particular familiarities, processes or habits you have in order to get ideas flowing?

**The appetites come with eating! I like starting without knowing where I will go. I usually prefer the morning: I turn off my phone and the internet, I sip a good coffee.

**We’ve been loving your ‘Online Dating release on CPU – how did it come about? And what’s behind the release name?

**I was living in Lyon and I was unemployed after many odd jobs, thus I had time off to explore the city and make music. Throughout this unencumbered time, I welcomed many couch surfers from all over the world and they deeply inspired me.

**If you could change one aspect of the electronic music industry, what would that be?

**I think it’s a pity that Dj sets are often more focused on than live performances are. Also, as Fred Chichin from Rita Mitsouko said: When it’s an emergency to make an album, it’s an emergency to not do it.\