Las Vegas-based DJ and Producer Tensteps is known for his distinctive style that innovatively blends elements from the Trance, Progressive, Psytrance, and Melodic Bass genres; his powerful and intense productions captivate listeners and mark his name as one to watch closely. With an already impressive set of accomplishments to date, like his winter tour supporting Andrew Rayel’s ‘Lifeline Tour’, and his latest musical releases teasing his upcoming debut album ‘Infinite’, Tensteps is showing no signs of slowing down. Now, we invited him in this exclusive interview to talk about his exciting upcoming projects: delving behind the scenes of his highly anticipated new album and sharing with us a glimpse into his plans for the future.
Hey Tensteps, how are you?
Doing well thanks! Busy putting the finishing touches on the new album!
Can you give us a sneak peek into your upcoming album? What can fans expect in terms of sound and overall concept?
The sound is a mix of the signature uplifting sound that regular listeners of my music will recognize, along with a lot of influences I haven’t really been able to bring to the table until now. As you listen through it, you’ll hear bits and pieces of everything from Melodic Dubstep to Pop Punk. It’s been a lot of fun being able to bring those things in that might be a little too outside-the-box to put in a single, but with an album you have a lot more flexibility for experimentation; and if the experiments pay off and people like what I’ve done with these outside influences, that opens the door to having more leeway with future singles.
Aside from the album, do you have any other creative endeavours or projects in mind that you’d like to explore in the near future?
I’ve been doing some co-producing for a really good friend of mine, Lena Leon. Her sound is nothing like Tensteps, she’s got this really cool, edgy kind of House thing going and it’s been a lot of fun to play with that while also finishing up my album. It’s sort of kept me on my toes a bit and kept my producer brain from getting too comfortable. Beyond that, I’ve been making a ton of random shit, and I have no idea how much if any of it will see the light of day after this album comes out. But there’s everything from Techno to Dubstep to Metal on my hard drive right now, and somewhere in there is probably a combination of sounds that will become the next chapter of Tensteps.
Are there any specific themes or inspirations that influenced your upcoming releases?
The overarching theme for the album is this idea of having no limits, and that you’re largely in control of your destiny. I know that can sound kind of cheesy, but I really believe that the choices we make are ours, and those choices dictate a big portion of how our lives go. If there’s something you want to accomplish, you can choose to put in the work and make a go of it. If there’s something that’s been a recurring negative in your life, there’s probably a choice you can make to improve the situation. And along with that is the idea that because you control your choices, there’s a light at the end of any tunnel you find yourself in, if you make the choices that lead you to it. For me, I try to be a positive person because I find that keeping a generally positive perspective on a given situation helps me make choices that create positive outcomes. I’m not saying you have to do daily affirmations or anything, I certainly don’t, and of course you have to be realistic to an extent, but when presented with a positive and negative outlook on a situation, I’ll usually choose the positive, and that’s the message of the album. Remember that you have the power to choose to make things better, you can choose to find the light in the dark, and you have infinite space to rise up from where you are now.
Are there any new elements or experiments you’ve incorporated into your upcoming projects that you’re particularly excited about?
I think one of the most interesting ones for me was bringing in this Rock vibe to one of the tracks on the album; it was definitely an experiment in a couple of ways. I haven’t really tried bringing Rock elements into Tensteps’ music in the past, and I had this idea to basically just dive into a Rock song in the middle of a Trance record. From a creative perspective, it honestly wasn’t that hard, but from a technical perspective, getting electric guitars and acoustic drums to sound right next to electronically generated sounds was a challenge for me. That song probably took the longest to mix out of any track on the album because it required so much fine-tuning.
The other experiment was with the singer. I’d posted this Rock/Trance mashup on TikTok, and this guy replied saying that he thought it was cool and would be down to collaborate on something. I checked out his profile and saw he was doing a lot of Pop Punk covers, and I’d been looking for a vocalist for this track for probably 8 months at this point. I’d been trying to get some of the singers from the bands I grew up listening to, but so far hadn’t had any luck. So, I told him to DM me and we ended up hitting it off, I sent him the track and a hook I’d written, he wrote the verse and recorded a first draft. I was hooked immediately, and we went back and forth for a while trying some different approaches, and eventually landed on the final vocal. I honestly couldn’t be happier with how this song came out, and I’m really stoked to know what the fans think when they hear it. I’d love to do more of this type of thing, so hopefully they like it!
Can you give us a sneak peek into any upcoming remixes or collaborations that we can expect to hear from you in the near future?
I’ve got a couple of really dope collaborations coming up for 2024. One is with Robbie Seed, who’s one of the other label residents with Find Your Harmony. That track is coming out so nicely, it’s just a really beautiful, emotional kind of record that fits in so nicely with everything both he and I like to do.
I have another collaboration as well that I can’t share many details on yet, basically a straight-up Mainstage banger that will knock your fucking socks off. That’s definitely one of the post-album releases that I’m most anticipating, it’s definitely going to blow some minds I think.
Beyond that, I have a really dope collaboration on the album that takes me way out of the realm of anything I’ve released as Tensteps so far. You’ll definitely know when you’ve gotten to that track on the album, there’ll be no mistaking it.
Are there any specific genres or styles that you’re eager to explore in your upcoming releases? Can you share any insights into the creative direction you’re taking?
As far as post-album stuff goes, I’m really just throwing shit at the wall and seeing what sticks in terms of what I’m making. Like I said before, most of it probably won’t ever be released or even get finished, but I’m really just having fun making all kinds of stuff. I made a Big Room Techno track two weeks ago in collaboration with a friend of mine, I have a couple of Melodic Bass records sitting around, and there’s, of course, some Trancey stuff in there, it’s really just a mess of things so that I can take a look at everything and say “ok, this is what I’m gravitating most to, let’s see how I can take this and turn it into something that’s still recognizably Tensteps.”
How do you navigate the balance between staying true to your signature sound and exploring new musical territories in your upcoming work?
I think my sound will always come through by the nature of how I write, how I mix my tracks and the production choices I tend to make. My melodies I think are fairly identifiable, same with my sound selection. So, to me, regardless of what I’m making, there’ll always be that constant thread of Tensteps running through everything.
Can you give us a glimpse into your plans for live performances or tours in support of your upcoming projects?
We’re working on some live dates in support of the album, and in the meantime, there will be a live stream performance sometime around the album release; stay tuned to my socials for more details on all of that!
What message or emotions do you hope your upcoming projects convey to your audience, and what impact do you aim to make with your music?
It really goes back to what I said before about keeping a positive mindset. None of my songs are about falling into a hole and never getting out. They all try and take something dark and find the light in it. And when it comes to emotion, I just want to make you feel something. I always say this to my collaborators and especially topline writers I work with – I want to cry to everything we write. I don’t care if it’s happy tears or sad tears, just make me feel something deeply enough that I cry about it. And if I can accomplish that for my listeners, then I’ve done my job.
With exciting few months ahead of him, Tensteps is set to continue building momentum as he prepares to release new productions that are sure to become favourites not only for his followers, but for all lovers of the Trance genre. As we close this interview, we thank Tensteps for sharing an insight into his upcoming projects and look forward to hearing more from this talented Producer soon.
Tensteps Online
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