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Featured Artist: Two Sworded

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In more or less a decade on Audiotool, TS - aka Two Sworded - has not only grown up as a human being but has also solidified his musical style and now provides a foundation for the ever-growing Bass Music community on our website. TS is also convincing on his alt accounts, showing both variety and accuracy in his production quality. Especially on in. he thrills us with interesting sound constructs, cool beats and a deeper and more relaxed atmosphere, whereas the sound on Downlocked hits you directly in the face.

If you already know his music, stay tuned. If you don't yet, what are you waiting for?

Interview:

About Mike aka T S aka in.

I’ve been on this site for about 8, going on 9 years now. I Joined the site when I was in middle school and now i’m (supposedly) a grown adult. I like alot of what I'd call "revitalize" music scenes. Where artists create stuff that kinda harkens back to older styles or sensibilities but with newer techniques or aesthetic. Some of it can be a lil corny like alot of modern boom bap and sometimes that just becomes exactly what the artists were trying not to be like riddim but when it's done well, it's some of my favorite art.

Describe the style of music you produce

Most of my output sits within various styles of Bass Music but most people would know me for my songs in the older riddim-dubstep style, which has the more minimalistic structure of old school dubstep with some brostep elements sonically. Because of that, my admiration for hip hop informs my style in a way as it’s in a similar space in my mind. On the "in." side, that was originally just OG dubstep with stuff similar to Deep Medi Musik, Skull Disco, and Tempa. But now it kinda houses all my experimental stuff in general, too. It's the "ugly step child" but personally I find it more gratifying artistically when I'm on there. It's funny when people only really know one account and then they find the other. They're usually so confused haha.

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

There was this big wave of electronic stuff in the 2010's popular music and when that kinda died out I stuck around. I started making music in 2011-2012 on a site called "clubcreate" and it was just putting together samples to make songs. And me, some guy I met who was a brony or something, and "The B-ST" all came over here and that other site died shortly after. Then this weird "wonky" style of dubstep started cropping up and I thought that was cool in a way cuz it made brostep feel almost "overproduced" in the same way Pop Rap was. It was gritty, bare bones, and then some idiot called it riddim and eventually people forgot how dumb that sounded so here we are.

What is your favorite Audiotool device and why?

Pulsar Delay. It's pretty versatile for me. If I use more than one I can generate these cool tones out for sound design and even for texture or FX I can just have stuff kinda pop in and out at different intervals.

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

For cabling devices, I rename and number off the most important stuff and THEN whatever they are so they go up to the top of the little drop down menu and I can find it all easier. Mainly the centroid buses but it definitely helps if I have alot of the same device or effect.

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

That's my secret, cap. I always have writer's block. Honestly though, I log onto my "in." account and just do shit. That's kinda it's secondary purpose. So yeah, just try somethin new.

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

Listening to music for hours with the app closed. You kinda have to break stuff down. Whenever I want the full scope of a specific genre, I delete all my watch, like, and search history on Youtube and start listening to whatever songs I do know and then I'll find more. There's so many obscure metal or jazz records no one cares about that I've heard because I let the algorithm just pull me into the abyss.

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

I like being able to express myself artistically for "the best price". But I also like seeing other people not only do the same but go onto do that professionally. I've actually bought some users' work. And they made that here. That's awesome.

Your message to the community:

If there's one nearly universal truth it's that regardless of belief, once you leave this world, you can never return to your current experience as "you." So DO YOU. Take as much control of your life as you can so you leave with as few regrets as possible. This is all for the one time. Find your inner satisfaction, survival isn't good enough you deserve more, and I wish you all the best, I really do!

Social/Musical Links:

Soundcloud 1: https://soundcloud.com/yuklann Soundcloud 2: https://soundcloud.com/musicofin

Edition Audiotool Album

Track #1:

OCULUS by jg

JG was one of the original handful of people making riddim dubstep on the site. He’s no longer here but his work is dope and properly solidified itself within the riddim scene. And it’s my humble opinion that this was the track where he really started to understand and develop his style. I honestly had no clue how he got this sound when he first dropped it and it still impresses me when I listen back to it. I mean, this was like 2017 AT Riddim…I know YOURS TRULY didn’t sound this baddass in 2017.

[[EMBED:https://www.audiotool.com/track/oculus-5ag1sb/]]

Track #2:

Keep it....... by Yang.

I got a little story for yall. So it was junior year of high school for me when this dropped and people were freestyling on the bus. And people were playing beats they made and like old Chicago drill instrumentals and I went to my phone, using my own data, to pull this beat up cuz I loved it so much. Some of those guys actually rap now and swear to god I don’t think they’ve yet to spit a bar hotter than some of the shit they said when I put this beat on. “Hollow” w Tocka is amazing and Yang, in general, makes some of the best hip hop anything on this site but “Keep it”, the rework Yang did, and the Sorrows remix of that are FIRE.

[[EMBED:https://www.audiotool.com/track/keep_it-z5bca4nbv/]]

Track #3:

Tides by Olaf

When it comes to garage music, even when I’ve made it a few times, I’m thinking of stuff like early Burial. And Olaf. There’s an odd duality between these two sounds in my head. When you listen to Untrue or Kindred, you really feel like you're waiting at a subway or a street corner on a rainy day. Sure Olaf’s music can sit a little gloomy occasionally but most of the time to me it feels more like I’m on a beach and it’s a different time of day depending on the song. I ain’t never been to no beach but that’s the vibe I get, aight? The way the live instrumentation is implemented, the way he puts his drums together, along with lush synth work over all of that; there’s really nothing like it elsewhere on Audiotool. And there’s also OLAF II. Only the coolest stuff gets a sequel!

[[EMBED:https://www.audiotool.com/track/tides-izatkj0/]]

Track #4:

The circus of the lost souls by WhiteGrizzly

There are a lot of “moods” expressed on Audiotool. Happiness, Sadness, Volatile, or Somber. Unsettling or even creepy is a much more rare feeling to find. And WG really knew how to convey that feeling. And these are long songs! Over the years I've acquired more of an ear for music with longer run times. I only listened to 3-4 minutes songs my whole childhood and then grew up listening and making music in a scene where you literally DIDN’T finish your song unless someone signed it or you put it out for free later. And if you look in the comments of this track you can literally find what might just be my first real experience with “long form” music. I know he passed a few years ago and as many users have expressed, he is and will be missed.

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

Track #5:

rari techno (EQ) by VLTRA

So Kepz left a comment on this track (might be another one) that VLTRA is the reason he started listening to lo-fi stuff. This is true for me as well. And it’s directly because of this track. The bassline is CRAZY, dude. There’s actually not alot going on but the mixing and placement of everything makes the track feel so complete. And that shows true mastery when it comes to minimalistic music if you ask me. VLTRA’s work is phenomenal. S/O to my guy "voyd" as well for another V-named techno genius.

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

Track #6:

Relay by T S

This is one of the few songs I’ve made that I listen to because I actually enjoy it rather than having notes and critiques for my next thing. It’s the closest to what I like the most in this style of music. One day I’ll learn how to actually mix a track but for now, I consider this to be my most solid endeavor in the thing I'm most known to do.

[[EMBED:https://www.audiotool.com/track/awtg0056/]]

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