Trinity is a DJ, live act and producer who divides her time crafting house and techno and DJing between Sydney and Berlin.
In her hometown of Sydney, she runs her own night “4our,” together with Magda Bytnerowicz and has showcased the likes of Peter Van Hoesen and Steffi. To add to this, Trinity has performed live and DJ’d all across Australia playing alongside artists such as Dasha Rush, tINI, Marcel Dettmann, Luke Slater, Vril, and James Holden.
Her unique sound has lead to much interest from European record labels, and she recently signed ‘The Dish’ EP to the Swedish tastemaker label, Counter Pulse, which will come with remixes by scene stalwarts Headless Horseman and Mary Velo, and will be a vinyl-only release.
Having just finished up her latest tour, playing 4 shows in 4 different countries over the next 3 weeks alone (Australia, Berlin, Malta and Belgium), we chat to Trinity about her latest releases, Sydney’s techno scene in light of the 3am lock-out laws, and her amazing live set.
B. When did you start producing and playing live?
I started producing with my friend John Tzineris about 8 years ago. When we met, John was playing bass guitar for a Jazz funk band and writing songs for them also. I was DJing around Sydney and also using Ableton to do track edits and writing intros for my DJ sets and mixes. After years of talking about writing music together we finally made our first track Melville Lane as ‘Trinity & Beyond’ which was our alias. It was signed to Pinksilver in Melbourne, a crew and label I was affiliated with at the time.
My first live set where i performed to a crowd was warming up Luke Slater using Trinity and Beyond material. As the set needed to be a bit heavier than the music we were producing, I wrote some new material and remixed the Trinity & Beyond music on the fly. After a few live sets i started writing a lot more of my own music and now only play my own music for live.
B. Can you tell us about the creative process of writing a live show?
I use the same notion with live as I do with DJing. I like to play the right music for every set i’m booked for, depending on who I’m playing alongside, venue ect. So when I’m booked to play live for a party, I write music specifically for the gig which includes programming patterns into my sequences and drum machines, writing chords for my synths and writing and recording loops in Ableton. Then of course jamming for practice.
B. How different is it to writing an EP?
Sometimes I use the same creative process as writing live set when I write an EP. The only difference is I press record when I jam and edit the track afterwards in Ableton. Other times I won’t jam at all and just sit on the couch with my laptop In my PJs and write something, then listen on the speakers and mix it in the studio. I’m also still writing music with John and have just completed a bunch of techno and ambient tracks. When we write music together we use his home studio. It’s a completely different process again, I’ll usually give John direction as he writes in Cubase then I do the arrangement at home. and go back and forth to the track until we are both happy with the result.
B. In terms of Australian artists that play live, there’s not a lot of women representation. What has your experience been like? Have you experienced any discrimination?
I’ve had a lot of support from the scene since I started playing live and am happy to say that I have not experienced any discrimination for being a female live act. I think people know when you are genuinely passionate about what you do, whether your male or female it doesn’t matter what sex you are.
B. You have the ability to create productions that sound as comfortable in a Berlin club as they do locally! Where do you look towards for inspiration?
I listen to music constantly, especially on bandcamp and various podcasts such as Invite’s Choice and Smoke Machine. I’ll try to go out and listen to music also, I think this is very important and wish I had the time to do it more than I do. With regards to artists I’m in love with Eric Cloutier, Peter Van Hoesen, Luke Hess, Donato Dozzy, XDB, Artefakt, Conforce and Wata Igarashi. B. You’re latest EP “Orchard,” was signed to Belgian label Coincidence Records, as a vinyl only release – same as your other releases.
B. Why have you chosen to release on vinyl when many other artists are turning towards digital releases?
I’ve actually never really had a say in the format my music is released on. I guess I could just say that I have been very lucky that labels such as Nightime Drama, OOC Records/Subwax, Coincidence Records and Counter Pulse have believed in me enough to release my music on vinyl. In saying that I have had about 40 digital releases before releasing on vinyl, it’s nice to finally have something tangible though.
B. You’re about to head overseas for three shows in Europe (two DJ sets and one live). What do you do to prepare for these shows?
I’ve been mixing at home a lot thanks to my friend Matt Lush coming over for mixing sessions. I also spend countless hours sourcing new tunes and sometimes get up at at the crack of dawn listening to new music while my mind is fresh and I have no distractions. With my live set I’ve been playing around with my Dave Smith Tetra4 making new noises and sounds, it’s an incredibly powerful machine that is very compact for traveling.
B. Having played in clubs around Europe like Berlin’s Tresor, how do you think the Australian techno scene compares?
I think the talent we have in Australia is on an international level. Artists like Magda Bytnerowicz, Annabelle Gasper, Jordan Peters and Matt Lush are as good as any DJ you would see play at Berghain. Unfortunately the club scene in Sydney has been a struggle since the lock out laws. There are still great parties, but they are becoming few and far between and are happening less often. Promoters are working overtime to make their parties a success. In saying that there is a new wave of young promoters coming into the Sydney scene going back to the underground running secret events that would blow your mind. It gives me hope that the passion for electronic music is still alive in Sydney. I also love observing the Melbourne scene from afar and seeing so many great parties happening there too.
B. As an artist from Sydney and co-host of the club night 4our, what do you make of the Sydney lockout laws? You haven’t run a 4our party since the laws came in…
I could go on and on about the lock out laws, it’s all us Sydney siders do. Unfortunately Sydney is becoming a very conservative city, wanting us all in bed early, lights out and music off. 4our haven’t profited from an event in 18 months and we are finding it harder to find venues, but we still do it for the love however. We have had a quiet period but just had a cranken warehouse party a few weeks back and have something very exciting happening in the near future, so stay tuned.
Quick fire
1. What track of yours are you most proud of? The Wind Up – Etui Records
2. What was the first vinyl/CD/tape that you bought? Central Energy One – Peewee Ferris (cd) after my first trip to Central Station Records
3. What was the name of the venue where you had your first gig? The Burdekin Hotel, 16 years ago.
4. What was the first piece of equipment you bought? 2 X Technics 1200 turntables
5. What’s the longest set you’ve played? Harry Klein – Munich – 5 hour set
