What makes music so personal is not just the sound, but the emotional connection that we form with the sound as an audience. Tori Letzler, the artist behind Tinykvt, understands this from her experience creating film scores.
As a producer and DJ, her approach to producing music is similar: create an emotional connection. We took a moment to talk to Tori about her production process, the inspiration behind her music, and how her latest release "Down" came to be released on Rezz's HypnoVizion label:
iHeartRaves: I really enjoyed your new single "Down," can you share some of the process behind creating that?
Tinykvt: I created “Down” during a really emotional turning point in my life. The song itself both musically and personally represents a turning point for me and I wanted that to be reflected in the music. It kind of sits between a few genres and tonally it’s very aggressive and driving.
iHeartRaves: I'm a big lyrics gal. Could you talk a bit about your songwriting process in general?
Tinykvt: My writing process is funny to me, I write the lyrics at the same time I’m producing and often times I’ll sing gibberish over top of the track as I go to fill space or figure out what melodies are working.
iHR: I loved the way the lyrics on "Down" juxtapose with the melody to create that feeling of catharsis you get throughout the song. Did you write the lyrics first or create the music? It felt very much like a "life imitates art" moment.
Tinykvt: The lyrics for “Down” are very personal to me and writing it was very therapeutic. I started with the verse and had almost fully produced it along with the vocals before moving into the drops.
iHR: "Down" was your first release on Rezz's label, HypnoVizion, how did that come to be?
Tinykvt: Rezz has always been a big inspiration for me, so getting to release on her label has been such an honor. We finally met in person through some mutual friends in the spring & straight after, I sent her this track. Hypno was the only label we sent the single to and I’m so thankful she connected with it.
iHR: I know you produce film scores as well. How does that influence your production when making music for this project?
Tinykvt: Musically I actually think TINYKVT influence’s my scoring way more. I set out to make this project very raw, heavy, & industrial to juxtapose my cinematic writing but as the project continued to grow, a lot of my scoring clients are asking for it to be brought into that side of things.
iHR: I saw you post on Twitter that your vocals can be heard in the Tomorrowland Hymn by Hans Zimmer. That's really cool! How did that come to be?
Tinykvt: 12 years ago my first job in LA was working as a studio assistant for Hans Zimmer’s Remote Control in Santa Monica. I was there for about 3 years and in that time I sang on a lot of projects for Hans & other composers under that roof.
At the time, that was just another project and I was clueless as to what Tomorrowland was. I had only been to one small rave at that time and listened to EDM pretty casually. I’ve sadly never been to Tomorrowland yet and I’m hoping that eventually I can book it. Feels like that job almost predicted my future a little bit, and I would really love to see those two sides of myself come together in real time.
iHR: You have some exciting shows coming up. What do you have planned for Das Energi?
Tinykvt: Das is going to be a very fun set! I really set out to make my Festival sets a bit weirder, darker and more dynamic.
iHR: Being a producer first, how do you prepare for a live show?
Tinykvt: I feel like most DJ’s start by mixing and then learn how to produce. I went the opposite way but now I absolutely love it. I toured as a child performer so it’s been really fun interesting live performance and touring back into my life as an adult. I really look at my sets like scoring a film. It has to have a story with a beginning, middle and end.
iHR: What is your most memorable or favorite festival experience?
Tinykvt: Lost Lands 2023 was just such an incredible experience. My first time playing and second time attending, I just absolutely love that festival. I played the GRL GANG takeover and being at that festival with all my girlfriends, watching everyone kill it was such a special experience.
iHR: How would you describe your festival fashion?
Tinykvt: Lots of black hahaha I would say my onstage fashion definitely leans “Cybercore” or “Cyberpunk." I really enjoy looking like a video game character when at all possible.
iHR: If you created a piece of kandi today, what would it say?
Tinykvt: “PLURFECT”
