If you're looking for clean funky House or chilled EDM tunes on Audiotool, you can't overlook Tim Derry. Listening to his tracks transports you directly to a pool party with sunshine, cocktails and beautiful people, of which for a few moments listening to his music you yourself are one. We have it on good authority that he is currently on a trans-Asian cycling tour and hope that he has enough connectivity in the wasteland of Funkmenistan to witness his big moment. Can you hear us Tim? Audiotool to Tim …

Interview:

About https://www.audiotool.com/user/tomderry/ aka https://www.audiotool.com/user/kravatt/:

I'm a 21-year-old frenchie from Lyon, currently studying at HEC Paris. I'm fond of windsurfing, and more generally I love outdoor sports (trail running, hiking, surfing, etc...). I've been on Audiotool for... almost 10 years now (damn) since I used to be the little brother in @tailmf, and I really discovered music creation thanks to AT. I started here as an EDM fanboy, inspired by artists like Avicii, Madeon, Kygo, and as I grew up I started to listen to a lot of soul, funk, disco, and house. I think this, and the amazing artists I met on this website really impacted my music, and - after 10 years here - my youth.

Which artist has had the most influence on you (on and/or outside Audiotool)?

On AT, i have so many artists to look up to : Pathfinder (aka Arcade aka Waveshaper) the groove master, Frigolito the magician, opaqity the musical genius, luxior (aka looks) the horizon opener, Teqtoniq the professional-sounding, retro(²) the creative idea generator, naut the acoustic talent, ford the feeling catcher,... These artists (and a lot of others) had a tremendous influence on me in my music but also in my life.

Outside Audiotool, artists like Justice, Daft Punk, The Blaze, Caravan Palace, Polo&Pan, Bomel, Mome, Madeon, Kavinsky are what makes me proud of being French, although i acknowledge other countries also have some of my huge inspirations like Disclosure, Marc Rebillet, Fatboy Slim, Yung Bae, Flume, GRiZ, and, as a teenager who grew up with EDM, definitely Avicii.

Who would you like to work /collaborate with on and outside Audiotool, and why?

On Audiotool, I would love to collab with Goon, I think our styles would fit really well together, and it would be hella fun. Also retro, our track would definitely be fire. And naut (aka TEGM), having his talent with acoustic instruments but also with AT synths in one of my tracks would really mean a lot.
Outside Audiotool, I'm ready to collab with Justice or Disclosure whenever they want ; just call me guys.

Have you ever had a writer's block? If so, how did you deal with it and what do you recommend to your colleagues?

Yes, I've had lot of small writer's blocks, especially after having not opened the app for a long time. What I recommend and always helped me is this little 'REMIX' button on some of very creative tracks that I like. I have maybe 50+ unfinished remixes in my drafts that simply helped me getting back on track or made me discover new ways to use the app. Two other things I sometimes do is to try to create a track in a genre I've never done before, or just play with samples from the library.

What has helped you the most on Audiotool to improve and widen your musical horizon?

Other artists ! Definitely. Through tracks left open to remixes, or simply through descriptions, comments, etc...
As a beginner, what helped me also a lot were samples - playing with them made me discover a lot of AT's functionalities. Then, as a newbie, what helped me were presets : to get to know the pulv or the heisenberg (i'm still not comfortable with space haha), I often tried to rebuild from scratch presets i liked from other artists, just to see how to get there ; and then i started to create my own. Today, what helps me the most to widen my horizon is other artists, new AT features, and simply practice/time.

What do you like most about Audiotool? Is there anything you would like to suggest?

The tonematrix ! More seriously, two things :

• The community, filled with talented artists, as friendly as humble. I've been amazed hundreds of times by what can be created here, and felt so proud when artists I love were faving and commenting my tracks. If I could not publish my tracks directly in Audiotool after creating them, I think it would take me 2x more time to improve.
• The AT team (Andre and his colleagues) who did an amazing job with creating this entirely free, intuitive, interactive and now professional DAW. I love the fact that i can feel it's been made out of passion, and that it's still run with passion, as a music-oriented way more than business-oriented website. Even though i feel like we do not express it enough, the community is really thankful for all the sweat and love that's been put into the development of Audiotool.

The one thing i would suggest to everyone is to help support the development of Audiotool through Patreon here : https://www.patreon.com/audiotool !
(For the AT dev, the one thing I would suggest would be to bring back the top comments, that was really fun.)

Your message to the community:

Thank you for the all the love I've been receiving from you. It means a lot and I'm glad to share my music with you. It made me more creative, it probably made me more confident and it definitely made me improve my English ! Cheers :)

Social/Musical Links:

Actually I kinda have an announcement to make : I will be leaving audiotool for a full year, because in September i'll be leaving Lyon, France, to go to Beijing, China... with my bike. It will take me almost a year and i cannot afford to take a computer with me, so no music making for a year. But i will come back with a head full of ideas ! Anyway, if you want you can follow my adventures here : https://www.instagram.com/bikepackingeurasia/ (the account has not been 'launched' yet but dw it's coming soon).

Album

We thank Tim for taking the time to put this album together for us.

Track #1:

Odesi by https://www.audiotool.com/user/tomturbo/

Pathfinder! aka Arcade aka Waveshaper is without any doubt one of my favorite artist in here ! His groove, his creativity, his attention to details, his friendliness are really unique in here ! He has been the one showing that quality funk was possible on audiotool. I feel so proud every time he compliments one of my tracks. And i believe his old work is still underrated

Track #2:

On The Roads by https://www.audiotool.com/user/frigolito/

Frigolito... What a genius. I've been truly amazed by his musical skills, technical skills (just check https://www.audiotool.com/track/jingle_bells_-_synth_barbershop/ and you'll understand why he is probably not from Earth). He pushed so many boundaries. And he can definitely funk. Probably the most talented musician to have been on this website.

Track #3:

juxtaposition (the album) by https://www.audiotool.com/user/traptaco/ and https://www.audiotool.com/user/trulsenstad/

This track HAD to be part of my Featured Album. Juxtaposition is definitely one of the best thing that has been created recently on AT. Everything in it is perfect, the story it tells is magnificent, the mix of sounds, colors, feelings is extremely powerful. This is what every collab should be. Big props to okin and naut for this ; and special thought to naut aka TEGM who is also one of the most talented and friendly artist out there that has been one of my first favorite artist and still is today !

Track #4:

[Chill] Anon, The Dentist, & Lewi - Teardrops (Ft. Nionsomnia) by https://www.audiotool.com/user/justaghost/ , https://www.audiotool.com/user/mark-lewis_ndikintum/ , https://www.audiotool.com/user/thedentist393/ and https://www.audiotool.com/user/nionsomnia/

This collab is just sooo good ! For all the aspiring rapper trap kids out there, pease check nionsomnia's account. That's the kind of AT hip hop i really like. This particular track sounds really professional, its groove is great, definitely in my spotify playlist.

Track #5:

pipe dream by https://www.audiotool.com/user/retrorhythm/

This is the most recent track of my sélection. I chosed it because it perfectly displays retro's style, combining musical talent, crazy perc work and innovating sounds. I think i've never been disappointed by any of his tracks (even as retro²), it always feels like fresh air. True creativity within the expanding boundaries of AT.

Track #6:

LEMON SODA FUNK by https://www.audiotool.com/user/tomderry/

I dont know if this représentés my work best, but it surely was one of the best creating experience i've had in here. Very fun to make, and quite cool to hear. Be sure to listen to the full track ! :)

The album in it's full funkyness