After making waves Down Under as one of Australia's youngest and most popular DJs, tyDi garnered global attention from legends like Tiësto and Markus Schulz with his original tracks like “Meet Me in Kyoto.” He shared the stage with the likes of Armin Van Buuren, Pal Van Dyk and John O'Callaghan at the mega Dutch festival Trance Energy in 2009 and the doors opened for him globally. Born Tyson Illingworth, the Aussie was honored as the International Dance Music Awards' “Best Breakthrough DJ” during WMC in 2010 and his success has since skyrocketed. Tonight the 25-year-old producer makes his OC debut at Sutra in Costa Mesa. We chatted him up and talked about his musical background, how his sound has progressed and why he plans to join the DJ elite who live in Los Angeles.
At the young age of 15, Illingworth ditched his drum kit and began learning to DJ and write songs. Just a year later he had won his first DJ competition in the Brisbane DJ Wars and was holding down residencies at the most premiere nightclubs in Australia. Juggling more traditional studies at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music while releasing his debut album Look Closer at 19 shows his determination and passion for electronic dance music. “I wouldn't say a degree is essential, but my Bachelor of Music and Technology has absolutely influenced my music,” Illingworth says. He studied everything from song writing, playing classical orchestra music and production at the Conservatorium. “I think it was an advantage for me because I learned how to write a complex song properly and can conceptualize music in the studio well.”
See Also:
*Free Ticket Tuesday Wednesday: tyDi at Sutra
*Markus Schulz – Sutra – October 30, 2012
*Kristina Sky Was Dragged To Her First EDM Rave in the '90s, She Hasn't Looked Back Since
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What resulted was an ingenious brand of melodic progressive trance which now six years later has transformed into everything from house, electronica to some dubstep inspired beats. “My newest album has a lot of diverse tracks and I have been writing a lot of pop tracks this year,” says Illingworth. “I'm 25 now and I have been writing music every single day since I was 15 years old. It would be insane to be writing the same style of music for 10 years and not exploring anything new,” he adds. He says this in response to fans who complain they miss the “old” tyDi sound. Now as the first DJ to sign a publishing deal with Rondor/Universal Music Group in 30 years, it looks like his fans can expect more radio hits like “Glow in the Dark” featuring Island DefJam artist Kerli. “I never intended on being stuck on one genre,” he says. “It's like telling a painter that he has to paint pictures of flowers for the rest of his life.”
About five months ago tyDi and his manager set up a meeting with Universal to share his music. The result was a songwriting deal and new album. “It's pretty exciting to me to be the first DJ in 30 years they have signed,” smiles Illingworth. “It shows they must really like my music.” Today tyDi gets full access to the Universal studio in Woodland Hills which is a much needed break from producing on his laptop in airports and empty hotel rooms. “Living on the other side of planet is not really convenient because most of my 250 shows a year are in North America, Europe and Asia,” says Tyson. ” It's really intense traveling all over the world, but from Brisbane to Los Angeles is only 12 hours.” This is why he plans on moving to LA with the other slew of super star DJs now living here like UK's Rusko and the Swedish Steve Angello.
TyDi plans on keeping this new sound alive by making another single with Kerli, a track with Dashboard Confessional's Chris Carrabba and another with the infamous Christina Novelli by December. On the side of DJing and producing his own music Illingworth keeps busy producing music for others. “I'm having a lot of fun writing tracks for pop artists,” he says. “Songs that have fun lyrics and catchy hooks can be challenging yet fun to think outside of what I would normally like.” But don't think he is going too commercial on us. He still plays solid tracks with heavy basslines and glitchy sounds like those on his Global Soundsytem podcast. “I'm very excited to play in Orange County,” he says. “I'm sure it's going to be a great party and I have lots of new music prepared.” With his passion for dance music and it's broad assortment of genres tyDi will continue to revolutionize his style as an artist and bring his music to the forefront of EDM.
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