I think I got just a little bit excited when I was given the opportunity to chat with someone who is now synonymous with big room trance. I spin this guy’s tunes regularly, and consider him to be one of the best producers of his ilk in the world right now. Sean Tyas, a New Yorker who now resides in Switzerland, has cut himself a fine niche in the global trance kingdom. With tracks such as Lift and Drop as well as remixes of Fly Away and Robert Miles’ Children, Tyas’s sound is of the here and now, and it’s extremely popular. It’s a sound that he describes as ‘pure trance’, but such a label is a little too open ended for some so Tyas is willing to settle with branding it ‘energetic trance’. To me, this is probably a perfect description. Tyas’ sound is driving, full and thumping. It’s big-room peaktime trance with plenty of hands-in-the-air moments.

Anyone with an ear for trance can hear just a few seconds of a Tyas track and recognize it as one of his productions, which he claims is an important factor. “Everyone, in really any business, needs to exploit their advantages while working hard to fix any disadvantages or weak points. My main thing that I really love doing is just pure energetic trance, so that, I guess, would be my advantage.” And he’s racked up a few achievements over the past two years, including being crowned ‘Best New Face’, the #3 spot for the ‘Best Remixer’ award as well as the #5 in the ‘Best Producer’ category at the recent Trance Awards, He’s says that he’s “really proud, but in no way or shape or form anywhere near where I want to be technically.”

But why Trance? Why not take the easy way out and focus your attention of the latest variation of house that’s popular in the clubs, and start rolling in the earnings? I was interested to know what it was about trance that gets Tyas excited, considering that his passion hasn’t always been there… “At first when I started gettin’ into dance music back in the days, I was into Gabber!” he says. “After a while I got into the slower sound of house, then, on a fluke club night out in New York, I discovered trance at a Paul van Dyk night… It’s hard not to fall in love with the sound, especially the 1997-1999 era. Watching everyone’s reactions on the dancefloor and just simply being a part of that”.

In an attempt to siphon off some of Sean’s production prowess, I decided to ask him how he goes about making a track, and what equipment he’s got in his studio. But really there’s no big secret to be revealed here. Just good old fashioned trial and error. “I guess first I’ll throw a 4/4 kick drum loop down so I have a tempo frame of reference. After that, so I have that ‘pull and pull’ effect to bounce melodies off of, I’ll add an open hi hat and a clap. Then I’ll dig through my software synths and Virus Ti for a decent sounding patch…” He uses a Mac, along with a host of software synths including the V-Station, ES1, Es2 EXS24 and a Korg Legacy, as well as his aforementioned hardware Virus Ti. When discussing his approach to the creative aspects of music production, he relates it to drawing: “I went to school and got my degree in illustration, so I’d say its really just that EXACT aproach: I flesh things out with an outline, and create the details from that outline. As things start to feel like ‘something’, that is when I add final details, such as snare rolls, transition effects, crashes etc.”

But his least favorite part of the production process is arrangement. “I just wish I could sit all day and only write melodies to be honest”. And if you’re wondering which of Sean’s own tracks he likes the most, it’s Mirella. And not just because it’s my wife’s name, but because every time I play it back, the melody still has me going pretty great, and it’s got that ‘linked and unending feel’, if that makes sense. As in, when the melody restarts, it’s very fluid, and that’s the type of trance melody I die for”. Makes sense to me!

When he’s behind the decks, Sean’s DJing has a lot in common with the sound of his productions – combines many of his own productions with other equally driving trance numbers. His performances are played by ear, and by reaction. “Obviously if I notice the really happy uplifting sound isn’t clicking, then I’ll just go darker bit by bit until I see it’s really working well out there. No point forcing it.”

With the advent of MP3 downloads, EDM especially has been the victim of endless file sharing, leaking of promos and piracy. But the other side of the coin is that ultimately, it gets your music into the hands of as many people possible who might not normally have purchased your track anyway, and getting you gigs in the process. So what’s more important – selling your music, or playing your music. “Playing my music, absolutely,” he says. “At first I was flipping out in the beginning, seeing all my tracks all over the internet. Thinking ‘oh my god, now no one will buy it’. The fact of the matter is that trance people are usually VERY computer savvy, and that’s just how it works in our genre. But as an up-and-comer, take it from me, it’s the best free promotion that exists to push you as a performer or DJ. Similar in a way to Las Vegas, you don’t go in there expecting to make money. Instead you should use that simple fact that probably 20x the amount of people can hear your music and see your name, and also become very familiar with it.”

And along with these changes, the role of a record label is becoming less and less important, with artists instead relying on the big name DJs to give them airplay on radio shows and their DJ sets. “With way less emphasis on the record labels, all someone needs to do is log onto Beatport, then they can select all (or most) label’s tracks, and buy them all in one centralized place. Label name has very little influence to most people these days as to if they actually buy it or not. People just want the tracks they enjoy.”

For anyone wanting a taste of the trance sounds of Sean Tyas, he’ll be hitting our shores towards the end of the month alongside fellow international trance icon Simon Patterson. In a parting comment, I jokingly tell Sean that trance is cheesy, as well as being dead as a dodo. “Go listen to minimal techno”, he replied.

Catch Sean Tyas at the following dates…

Thu 20 Mar – Rise, Perth
Fri 21 Mar – HQ Complex, Adelaide
Sat 22 Mar – Metropolis Hotel, Sydney
Sun 23 Mar – Queensbridge, Melbourne

And have a look at this clip of Sean Tyas performance at the A State of Trance 300 party in the Netherlands last year…