Chonoes doesn’t take prisoners. If you prefer things soft and neatly pressed, you’d better turn around – or learn to appreciate that things get wild here. But this isn’t just hard-hitting. It’s playful, direct, and fiercely creative.

Chonoes comes from a real Audiotool dynasty — a young veteran who’s been part of the scene for more than nine years now. Where others play it safe, he dives headfirst into the unknown. Fearless, experimental, and unapologetically original.

Interview

About: Chonoes

I’m from Greensboro, North Carolina, and I have been on Audiotool since August 2013. My go-to pizza is bacon and mushroom.

Describe the style of music you produce

As of right now, I make a mix of dariacore and rage, with the only track I have out that sounds like it being REDROOM. I’ve also been working on making some punky shoegaze and emotional, noisy ambience. The only track I have out that’s similar to that is loss, but I hope to release more in that style in the near future. I also have a lot of side projects in the works, with my biggest one being with J Dog: Honor Amongst Crooks, which has its first album out right now, Trust Amongst Royalty. I also like to have secret side aliases on Audiotool that no one knows about. My style is still evolving and changing, and I don’t think it will ever stay the same because my main goal is to release music that contributes something or innovates within the music world.

What is your musical background and when did you start making music?

My dad was in a very active band in the ’90s for a few years and is still releasing music with the band to this day under the name Luxury. My mother sings in the church choir, and two out of my three brothers make music. My older brother, Polyspace, is my biggest role model and is now working on starting a studio, while my younger brother, itdoi, is my super silly bro-in-arms! I didn’t really develop a music taste until 2020, when I discovered 100 gecs and osquinn. That’s when I got super into hyperpop/digicore and wanted to start producing. However, I didn’t actively make music until August 11, 2023, when I was deep in my depression.

How long have you been using Audiotool, and how did you discover it?

Twelve years ago, when I was 7 years old, my family had a computer that my three brothers and I shared. Polyspace was really into Skrillex and Deadmau5 at the time and googled something like, “how to make dubstep online for free.” He scrolled through about 10 pages before finding Audiotool. One day, he sat with me to help me make an account and my first song.

What is your favorite Audiotool device and why?

The StereoOutput. It’s an original device, it’s irreplaceable, and its time of existence will slowly begin to fade away with the new studio replacing it. Yet, it has always been there through everything. It’s the Audiotool equivalent of the Scarlett Focusrite, but better. Every single song ever made on Audiotool has used it, yet no one has really acknowledged it. From tearout to lo-fi, from the trap kids to the sample kids, from Infyuthsion to po9t, from Grimebot to untitled forgotten Audiotool drafts—it’s always been there. I thought really long and hard about this question because the Audiotool devices are so iconic, but I never considered the StereoOutput. People often say the Pulverisateur, the Machiniste, or the Heisenberg make up the Audiotool sound, which is true, but really, everything owes its existence to the iconic StereoOutput.

What is your favourite trick in AT/What technique do you always use?

I think the Rasselbock is incredibly underrated. Using it in any way, in any genre, will almost always completely change the vibe or design of the song.

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

Early on, I had really bad writer’s block, but over time, I’ve come to the mindset that I make music for myself and no one else. The idea of whether music is good or not is irrelevant because the concept of a “good” song is so extremely subjective that it’s impossible to define. With that mindset, I’ve been able to approach all the different ways I end up in writer’s block. If I think my music isn’t good enough, I remind myself that it’s okay because I still enjoy the process of making music. If I’m bored of making music, I take a break from listening and/or producing. If I’m bored with all my songs sounding the same, I try different ways of creating or changing a song. I also strongly recommend having an alt account where you can release less serious music if you struggle with not posting enough because you hold yourself to such a high standard. It has seriously helped me become a better musician and person overall.

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

If I ever came across a song I thought was amazing or was completely confused about how it was made, I would open up the draft and figure out what was going on. If the remix option was off, I’d look at the snapshot and try to recreate it. That’s what’s so unique about Audiotool—almost every song ever posted can be used to learn without any outside help or bias, which is what makes Audiotool artists so unique.

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

The workflow and community. Almost everyone is willing to have a great conversation with you, and Audiotool makes it super fun, easy, and exciting to get into producing. The one thing I would suggest to the Audiotool team is to remember that there’s a reason people still use an old, outdated, and limiting DAW. I hope the team keeps that in mind while they work on rewriting the website from the ground up.

Your message to the community:

I’ve been hearing a lot of people complaining about the toxicity of Audiotool’s community, and to some extent, I agree. I just hope people can remember that this website only exists now because of us. Even though not all of us are getting along or are doing questionable things at times, we should make an effort to get along enough to keep the DAW we all love and care for so much alive and thriving for decades to come. To inspire the next generations. To show the world what a culture looks like in this new world of so much cultural death. Even if we decide to leave for FL, Ableton, or any other DAW, or publish our music to SoundCloud, Bandcamp, or through DistroKid, most of us owe our passion for music to Audiotool as a website and as a community. Even through all the drama and controversy, I believe we still get along somewhat. Through all the years of drama, we’ve never forgotten how Audiotool has helped us and shaped us into who we are and what we make. Optimism with awareness can go a long way, and I cannot wait to see what the future holds for all of us individually and as a whole, and what we as a community can offer to the world in this era of hopelessness!

Social/Music Links

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/chonoes

Edition Audiotool: Chonoes

Track #1:

mothsong by etterath

This is the most important song to me on Audiotool. Because of this song, I’ve been able to confront the deepest roots of my depression. There was a night not too long ago when, as I played this song, I had a reality check about just how unhappy I was with my life—where it was and what my future was going to be. To top it all off, I had just learned that my childhood cat, Skittles, who I saw as a reminder of happier and simpler times, had passed away, and I didn’t get to say goodbye. I cried for the first time in 10 years, for a long time, while this song was playing. She was the only close friend left from my childhood, and mothsong helped me confront the horrifying feelings I was afraid to face. It also gave me the motivation I needed to better my life and turn it around.

[[EMBED:https://www.audiotool.com/track/k1osiy4y9i7/]]

Track #2:

see you again by polyspace✧

This song is also deeply personal. The cover art and sampling are from a trip Polyspace took to a campground in Hot Springs, NC, with our church. In 2017, only he went, but in 2018 and 2019, my whole family joined. Those trips were the last times I felt childlike wonder and happiness. During the time I had just lost my cat, I re-listened to this old song, and it brought back a wave of nostalgia for that trip, old friends, and my pre-COVID happiness, which feels lost forever. The title, in a way, was telling me that my future can be whatever I want it to be and that living in the moment is what I truly strive to achieve again. Trying something new without anxiety—to “see myself again.” Even though the original title referred to Polyspace’s old girlfriend, it has taken on a new meaning in a beautiful way. The chattering voices in the song are those of old family friends I’ve since grown apart from.

[[EMBED:https://www.audiotool.com/track/lni8ki6y/]]

Track #3:

the red moon's egg by we die

The production on this work is immaculate. To me, this piece represents the story of our world—a decaying ball of beauty floating in an infinite void of destruction. It reflects how the human mind can see beauty in everything. This piece also makes a statement about our global elephant in the room: our world is destroying itself, and when it’s gone, nothing will be left in this universe. And yet, it will still be beautiful. Spend your limited time on this earth to the fullest—there isn’t enough time to be afraid.

[[EMBED:https://www.audiotool.com/track/ahntfhcz35/]]

Track #4:

Chiliocosm by etterath

This piece has the best production on Audiotool, hands down. If I were to show someone what Audiotool has to offer, I would show them this piece. It demonstrates everything this DAW is capable of—not just production-wise but in telling a story. Etterath’s ability to bend dissonance and noise into an emotional story of not just the world but of herself is incredible. Her ability to use the act of making music as a way to deal with her trauma is, in itself, the most beautiful thing I’ve ever witnessed. Chiliocosm evokes a very similar feeling to the red moon’s egg, with its depiction of our world decaying and being destroyed by us in a beautiful dance of death. Concluding with a wall of noise, it suggests that our existence will end just as it started—with a massive explosion, wiping out our entire species.

[[EMBED:https://www.audiotool.com/track/w6lmx83a59/]]

Track #5:

w/ loste & skye [unfinished] by polyspace✧ and dove

This song is very nostalgic to me. When I first came back to Audiotool, the experimental, distorted future bass sound hit me hard. It combines Dove and Skydoki’s future bass arps with Acloudyskye and Polyspace’s love of metallic distortion to create that signature 2018 Audiotool vibe that hits any avid Audiotooler with emotion and nostalgia. This song isn’t just nostalgic but also offers amazing arrangement, harmony, and structure. It hits you like a wall of emotion.

[[EMBED:https://www.audiotool.com/track/7mhgv0xte/]]

Track #6:

REDROOM by Chonoes

This is the best song I have out right now that represents my style. Chaos, clipping subs, painful drums, and swag. I’ve been loving experimental rage music, and I wish more people made it. That said, this is not my only style. I’m constantly experimenting, and you can expect a lot more emotive music from me in the future.

[[EMBED:https://www.audiotool.com/track/8ykxragg74/]]

Full Album

Edition Audiotool: Chonoes

• a-records

21

about 1 month ago

1		mothsong etterath	etterath	1223
2		see you again polyspace✧	polyspace✧	1008
3		the red moon's egg we die	we die	6450
4		chiliocosm etterath	etterath	710
5		w/ loste & skye [unfinished] dove polyspace✧	dove polyspace✧	2615
6		REDROOM Chonoes	Chonoes	1296