Preamble:
This is an effort for me to catalogue some writing from when I was an intern writing blogs and doing PR for a music studio after I graduated way back in 2010. I’ve managed to recover some old blog posts via the Wayback Machine. I’ve done some light formatting and editing because the typos are embarrassing.
I don’t remember why I was called Companaro Jack.
Notes:
- TroNic was a good dude. No clue what he’s up to now, but here’s his old Bandcamp page.
- I believe this was probably the first thing I did at the studio.
An Interview with TroNic
April 27, 2012
Companano Jack here. The brand new writer guy.
On the very first day that I came into the Euphonic Studio to meet with everyone, Emma basically told me, “So since you’re new and neutral to everything, we’re going to have you interview TroNic.” Someone threw on one of his tracks and I typed up a few quick questions. I had originally just planned on recording my interview with him to save me from trying to make notes, but by the end of it, I ended up with some great audio. TroNic’s an awesome guy, and it was really refreshing to sit down and talk hip-hop with someone new. Be sure to check out the audio interview below as well.
Describe what you do/try to do/want to do with your music.
I want to build some form of emotion with people. That it somehow just actually touches them and you actually get some feeling. And if I get a reaction out of it that’s even better. Mainly that, but to also help people. If they’re going through something, they can listen to one of my songs to help them through the day, or if they just want to go out to a party, they can get hype to my music. Or even if they’re at the club, they can have fun and listen to it.
So you have a nice mix of the club banger, and then a nice sensitive…
Exactly, because that’s what I think people are. You live these different parts of life: you have fun, you’re depressed, you’re happy. So I think that comes out in my music.
How is it working with Euphonic?
Great. I call them La Famillia. They’re my family. They’re my studio family. I call everyone ‘bro’ or ’sister.’ That’s what Euphonic is to me.
Everyone asked me to have you explain what ‘Trizzy’ means.
Trizzy really just came from the whole Drake thing. One of my friends was just messing around like, “Yo! You should be Trizzy TroNic because he’s Drizzy Drake and you guys are both in Toronto and you’re big!” So Trizzy is nothing really official, just a little play on words that I like to do. And it sounds cool.
So it’s your version of the Slim Shady/Eminem thing.
Exactly, exactly.
What are you working on currently? Album, events…
Right now we’re finishing up – we have like one more song to finish for the EP, the Unfinished Robot – and once that’s done, it’s going to be just heavy promotion. I’m going to try and get out and do a lot more shows, I just did a show the other day at Harlem that went really well. I just really want to get back on stage and spread my music, spread what this project is and then I’m actually already starting to work on the project after this right now.
Another album?
I’m going to release a mixtape. Free music, of just like, 20 songs so it’s just out there for people to listen to.
Just through the few podcasts that I listen to, I’ve been finding that a lot of guys are releasing free mixtapes and EPs.
That’s what it is, yeah. I think a lot of people are realizing that people want free music nowadays, and in order to sell music you have to prove to them first, that you can actually do what you want to do. So releasing free music is really important. I like doing it too because if you’re able and you’re built to do this, and you’re able to release a lot of songs, why not do it? And I feel like I’m that type of person. I’ll record a whole leap of songs just for the sake of it, and just because I need to get it out of me. So why not just let them into that?
What do you think about the United in Flow contest?
That was another genius move. It’s really fun, ‘cause now you’re going to see a lot of artists who need this, and it’s going to bring them in because United in Flow is such a great idea, especially for the hip-hop community, in Toronto especially, because it’s not really that strong. So something like this, seeing people branch out and start something of our own, is something that’d going to have a real big effect.
I think there’s going to be some really cool music out of it, as well as some really jokey, fun stuff too.
That’s the other thing. That’d the fun to it too, because you never know. It’s always fun too, to see people mess around with it or whatever. It’s all love.
What are your influences, in general?
I think there’s a tie between Jay-Z, Lauryn Hill and Kanye West. I think those are my biggest influences. And it’s weird to me, something that really inspires me is photography. I like looking at pictures. You know how a picture says a thousand words? I see a thousand stories. I’m a person who loves to tell stories and it’s fun to me to look at a picture and somehow build a story in my mind of what’s going on in it.
What you’re feeling right now?
I’m listening mainly to a lot of underground and independent artists actually. Maybe I do it because of competition. I’ve been listening to this artist right now that I think is going to be insane, J. Cole.
I’ve been hearing him on a few tracks here and there lately.
Yeah, one of the Reflection Eternal songs, and on ‘A Star is Born’ on Jay-Z’s Blueprint 3. I remember listening to him when he just dropped ‘The Warm Up,’ his last mixtape. So I caught him as that album dropped and before he blew up. I remember when he was on Twitter and he had like 3,000 fans, and one day I went back on and it was like 15,000. But yeah, I listen to J. Cole a lot, I like this other artist named Wiz Khalifa, Currency…
What you’re hating?
Not really. If I don’t like it, I won’t listen. I avoid the radio, to be honest with you. I really don’t listen to it that much anymore. Everything I get is from blogs. You can just get it so easily nowadays. On the radio though, when I do listen to it, the music doesn’t sound as bad as it was a year or two ago.
It’s sort of starting to make an upswing, with guys like J. Cole hooking up with Jay-Z. I’m really stoked for the new Reflection Eternal album.
They’re crazy too. Another big project that I’m looking forward to seeing is the Nas and Damien Marley album, Distant Relatives.
What are your thoughts on hip-hop music and culture in 2010?
A few years ago I was really in dismay. I went out and bought a “Hip-Hop is Dead” t-shirt. ‘Cause before, if you don’t know, I did a lot of production and I wasn’t really into rapping, and it wasn’t until a year or two ago I decided to get back on and start rapping again. So that was my phase of where I was like “I’m done with this. I’m just going to produce and whatever,” because I had nothing to feed off of. But now, I’m so happy. Especially with the whole underground thing, you can see that these artists who are on the internet and everything know how to work this game. Because I think nowadays, artists who do actually get signed early and try to build a career don’t make it. But these artists who are releasing mixtape after mixtape after mixtape… They’re getting 500,00 downloads before they even drop an album. Put a few of your songs on iTunes and make your money off shows. I’m like, “Wow, you guys are smart,” and no one really sees how they do it.
And then they get signed.
And they get these big deals too. It’s like, they demand, “No, you’re not giving me a million. You’re giving me six.”
Like Jay Electronica. He blew up off Twitter and MySpace.
And he just took over. That music to me is just great. They make good music. And you hear some of it slipping into the mainstream airwaves too. You’ve heard of this artist, B.O.B.? He was doing the same thing and all these songs just started making their way onto the radio and people were feeling it there because he had such a strong fanbase already.
And the last one, what do you think of the death of Guru?
Aw, man, it’s sad. I wasn’t a big, big Gang Starr fan, I’ll be honest, but every song that I heard from them though was hot. There’s no question about it. And he’s been a big influence and it’s really sad. I remember hearing about him going into cardiac arrest last month, and he was in a coma and he made it out and had surgery… DJ Premier went and said, “Yeah, he’s doing well, he’s doing fine. He should be okay,” and then I woke up the other day and heard that he was dead. It caught me by surprise. And then this whole thing about some letter going on, that he left some death letter beside his bed. There’s some scandal going on about it. So yeah, it’s pretty sad. Rest in peace to Guru.
I then got TroNic to freestyle over a beat I happened to have on my computer (the instrumental version of ‘Streets’ by the Cunninlynguists, for those who are interested). I’m hoping that this turns into a regular thing. I had a blast doing it.
For more information about TroNic, check out his website atroniclife.com.