Meet TELYKast, an LA trio with pulsating tracks
MWN: How long have you been working with Astralwerks?
TELYKast: Brand new, within the last three to four weeks. It’s because of our song Daylight which was going really well. They reached out and it was really cool because we wanted to be with them for a really long time. When they reached out it was the fit we wanted. It was the fit we wanted.
MWN: I had read that you enjoy going from straight DJ sets to hybrid sets, I was wondering if you know when to switch between those styles. Is it mainly because of your setlist or a more natural switch.
TELYKast: Usually within the sets we have a rough idea of when we want to do it and based on the crowd and their energy. Depends on if they are really feeling it. It’s about the intention. The last time we did this in a live setting, it was a really big show. The crowd was blown away. Kyle decided to loop the part where we were playing live and trading licks to doing it a little bit longer. We usually know what we want to do, and try to space it in a way out as much as possible. We try to retain the DJ aspect. High Energy. We do have the parts practiced and prepared for when we want to do them.
MWN: Kyle, can you tell me about your experience in Sweden and how their Dj culture influenced you?
TELYKast: Yeah, I used to play hockey full time and went to Sweden. I actually heard the team we were playing against had a song playing from the other side of the wall. They were blasting electronic music. At the time i was so confused and never heard anything like that. Then after the game, me and a few people from my team went over and asked what they were listening to cuz it sounded insane. They told us it was a CD with a bunch of artists on there. I ended up getting the CD and being obsessed with it from that point forward. At the time it was a lot of people like Tiesto and Benny Benassi and people who were just really getting started. It’s cool to look back now and how that really changed my path.
MWN: On that note, can you explain to me your musical process. I know you use real instruments and digital ones and beats. Do you find yourself using instruments first or going off of a beat?
TELYKast: It always depends. We are all songwriters. We all participate in the process. A lot of times we start on guitar and start writing from that. A lot of the time we will build stuff around that guitar part or something like that. When Linus plays keys, we will go from there, or with the drums. Most often it’s guitar then the melodies will go from there.
MWN: So the lyrics then come right after the musical process?
TELYKast: Yeah we normally start writing a song with a few chords of guitar or piano. Then we normally start producing the song and building from there. The lyrics come with the melody. Usually melody and phonetics. It’s like a freestyle. We have a melody then keep going back to certain phonetics like : “A, E, I, O, U”. Things get filled in from there. It’s a transitional process. We usually have a concept and the lyrics will stem from there. We like to push the imagery and storyline. We care a lot about the production and the song itself.
MWN: How recent was your new single Daylight created? Was it during pre or during covid?
TELYKast: It was definitely pre-covid. We have a lot of songs right now, but a lot of the time it takes a while to get the songs out. With Daylight it was pretty quick for us. The turnaround time was within a month of us creating it. It was interesting. We saw the platform TikTok and wanted to put something out there that could work on that platform.
From Left To Right: Linus, Kyle, Trevor
MWN: In regards to TikTok how do you feel about it? Would you compare it to spotify in terms of reaching new fans?
TELYKast: It’s awesome. There’s nothing like that to convert fans and get yourself out there on that platform. When soundcloud was getting started, that was the platform to gain all your fans. When it started to die down, spotify became the focal point. But it’s not the best for fan conversion. People are passively listening to playlists and not really looking at you as an artist or person. Tik Tok is a huge opportunity to put yourself out there and get in front of people in a different way. Just seeing the conversion is so interesting to see. It translates to many platforms. People are going to whatever platform they want to listen to like youtube etc. It’s really cool all around. In a nutshell, it’s kind of like what we’ve been doing as a group for the past 6 years. It’s grassroots campaigning in the age of digital streaming. Especially in the genre we are in. We let the people decide how they want to reach us.
MWN: In 5 words or less, how would you summarize your latest track Daylight?
LINUS: sexy and moody.
KYLE: haha just two words. Um I would go with danceable and mysterious.
TREVOR: That’s what I would say. As the vocalist I like to try and make it sexy but I would say it’s mysterious.
MWN: Since everyone is forced to stay at home, have you been using this time to continue to create more songs or have hit any writers block?
TELYKast: Yeah, so in the beginning it was really weird. It was a shock, but it didn’t change what we do. If anything it brought us closer because we are quarantined together. We’ve just been working on so many songs. Individually it’s been good to be reconnecting with our instruments again and playing everyday as opposed to playing with computer and production. We are able to just keep practicing and getting together and working on projects. It’s been really goal focused. This time honestly took away some pressure. Once you wrap your mind around it, everyone is in the same position. Everyone just has to find the way to make the most out of it. But yeah it’s been really good for us creatively. It’s been cool because normally the regular LA musician and producer lifestyle is like speed dating. We do sessions everyday. We would do five different sessions with five different writers for weeks. It’s been good to just get songs sent over and working with people all around the world. When it’s not that, it’s just the three of us focused on our work.
MWN: I just want to end with some Fire Round questions:
Who would you want to collaborate with and why?
LINUS: ODESZA It’s very versatile and that live boundary pushing sound.
KYLE: Chainsmokers. They’re helping our vision come to life when they do their shows. It’s kind of like what we want to do with our shows, I still really look up to them. They’re crushing it.
TREVOR: It would be dope to work with any of those people. I would want to collaborate with someone outside of the box like Kanye. Do a collaboration with someone people would not be expecting.
MWN: Favourite album of all time?
LINUS: The White Album the Beatles, because of the fact that there are so many songs on there. Anything haha. I’m gonna go with Let It Be, that’s it.
KYLE: ODESZA’s latest album as a collective body of work. A Moment Apart is insane. Also Parachutes by Coldplay because of Yellow.
TREVOR: I love so many different genres, so it’s really hard for me to pick one. I just enjoy listening to a variation of one.
MWN: Favourite music era?
TREVOR: As a guitar player I like the 80s. Bands like the Motley Crue. I just think it was such a fun time in music. The way everything happened was raw and having fun.
KYLE: I would say 2010-2012 for like dance music specifically, when it became this huge thing. That was when I started going to shows and doing music today. For me, that time means a lot to me.
LINUS: The 80s were poppin, but I would go with the 60s for sure. The era of classic rock. People like Jimmi Hendrix and the British invasion. It was just a time when music was the most important thing in terms of culture. It was a real voice for the people. There were actual real fucking rockstars. They were cultural icons, and I guess I don’t see as many anymore.
MWN: Yeah I agree. It makes me think of the time I watched Oasis’s Supersonic Documentary and Liam Gallagher was talking about how during their Knebworth concert everyone was focused on the band. There was not a single cell phone in the crowd. People were just living in the moment.
TELYKast: Yeah! Exactly. Damn. I saw a bunch of trends like that on the internet. Things like Michael Jordan dunking, and how there was no one documenting that on their cellphones.
MWN: Yeah, I guess the best we can do is try and live in the moment as much as possible.
TELYKast: The moment has definitely changed, but that’s what I really like about that era. The moment was the moment. And you could only see things in that moment. It made everything more special just being there and seeing it.
MWN: I completely agree. My final question is what is your Dream Venue or Dream festival to play?
TREVOR: Since I grew up in LA, I would have to go with Staples Center. I used to go there alot with my family.
KYLE: Staples Center, MSG are the two classics. So I’ll name a festival. I would go with Coachella or EDC
LINUS: I grew up in NYC so I would go with MSG
MWN: I would definitely see you guys at Tomorrowland.
TELYKast: All festivals would be great. Coachella or EDC are definitely great for cultural reasons in America.
MWN: Thank you so much for your time and before I let you go, is there anything in general you want to say to your fans and our readers?
TELYKast: If you’re supporting us, thank you! If you’re just hearing about us we appreciate your time and support. We are excited for everything we have upcoming. We do this for everyone and hopefully after this is all done we can do more shows for your cities.
By: Jennifer Machuca | Exclusively for @Music, Why Not!