EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Triads & Chris Ponate

Eonity: Who are you? (Tell us more about what you do in life, where you live, your age, your real name, what elements could define you, …)

Triads: My name is Tom Verbeek, 23 years old and living in the Netherlands. I’m currently a student majoring in Business IT & Management. To define myself -that’s a hard one, though. I can describe myself as someone who is helpful, nice to other people, and a listening ear. Furthermore, I work out in the gym like 3x times a week and I like to spend the weekends with friends.

Chris Ponate: My name is Christian Sagner, also known as Chris Ponate. At the time of writing this, I am now 23 and I live in eastern Germany, close to the Netherlands, where I work in retail. My strengths are teamwork, determination, and autono-…huh? This isn’t a job application?

When did you start working with music?

T: I started producing back in 2017. 

C: That is pretty hard to pin down precisely, but when I am asked this very question I usually tend to say that I started “producing” at the age of 8 (with the skill of an 8yo) and I began with remakes of songs I liked, for example, “Don’t You Worry Child” by Swedish House Mafia. I learned the basics of songwriting at a later age and then began to be interested in singing, first in the shower, now in front of the microphone. At the age of about 14, I started to really take singing seriously and trained my voice to make myself a name in the industry.

How did it all start for you?

T: I guess… In like 2019 when I started to take it a bit more seriously.

C: Mixcraft 5. Yes, some people won’t even know what this is. It’s a lesser-known DAW that comes packed with a sh*tton of loops, which appealed to me greatly. After a few years, I realized that Mixcraft wasn’t really the way to go for me anymore, so I switched to FL Studio. That’s also what I am using to this day.

Why are you producing music? And more globally, what does “music” mean to you?

T: It’s a way to connect to people and to express your feelings. I have a hard time expressing my feelings. And I can do that in music.

C: To me, music in any shape or form is the purest, most appealing, and most direct way of expressing and/or evoking emotions. Nowadays I hear a lot of songs that are lacking emotion, and that really defeats the point of music.

Where do you get your inspiration?

T: Probably heartbreaks.

C: I get inspiration from life itself. Sometimes my own life, sometimes other people’s lives. Life just tells the best stories.

What is one track that never gets old for you no matter how many times you hear it?

T: Adrenalize – Get Up. I really like the style and emotion in this track. I will always be listening to this track.

C: CANYON.mid
I can already imagine so many people looking at this name confusedly. Jokes aside, every musician SHOULD now say “my own songs!”. Think about that for a second, I know it sounds stupid. A “real” musician doesn’t create a song/track out of randomness or boredom. I’d like to refer to “What does music mean to you?” at this point. I, for one, create music not to appeal to someone other than myself. I write songs and produce tracks that are catered precisely to my personal taste, so I can confidently say, without trying to kiss my own ass, my own songs NEVER become boring to me.

According to you, what is the best way to develop a business in the music industry?

T: Dedication and commitment.

C: That’s not a question I feel qualified to answer. If there is someone that can answer this, try Elon Musk. He can found a business in EVERY industry and just leave the competitors in the dust. Elon, if you see this: I desperately want a Tesla.

What has been your favorite gig (show) so far?

T: Suits

C: Okay, storytime:
At the school I was attending, we had the townhall (including a stage and seating for about 700 people) built wall-to-wall to one of the school buildings. Every year, selected theatre- and music-classes put together a 2-hour-long show to welcome the pupils that were to start attending our school (and their families) in summer. Nobody really cared for it nor wanted to do it, it was more a cringe-fest than anything else. So, in 12th grade, the rest of my music-class and I got told that we were one of those selected classes, but at least we could choose what we wanted to do for the show. We decided on a choir-performance of a medley that I personally put together for the occasion. Given that everyone in the class (including the teacher) obviously knew my affinity for music and singing, they seriously convinced me to sing a part in a duet with a fellow pupil. I think this is a great time to say that I have INSANE stage fright. Whenever I stood on a stage even just being part of a choir (we did these kinds of things in 6th grade already) I was so nervous – incredibly nervous.
We rehearsed the performance multiple times and every time I was quite confident that it would be alright. When the day of the performance came, I REALLY had to convince myself to even attend it, but I did in the end. In short: I had weak and shaky knees, moved weirdly (I had no microphone to hold so what to do with my hands?), and was a singing mess in general. After the show, I realized that this was probably the most embarrassing day of my life. And the worst part: I had to do it all over again the next day, as only half of the families fit into the building at once. The performance was filmed and I thoroughly burned every single device the video was saved on. Haha.

Do you have stuff in preparation, future collaborations, or personal projects?

T: Yes, I got some good music left to release soon!

C: There’s a lot to come, but not much to talk about yet. I can say that I will go on a genre-journey with my personal projects in the future.

And for the producers out there:

In what Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) are you currently working? And why that one?

T: FL studio. Well, I never tried out other ones, so… stick with what you got.

C: FL Studio. No particular reason, could’ve started with Ableton as well, but I didn’t.

On average, how much time do you spend in the studio on a typical day or week?

T: Depends on the week mostly 12 hours a week.

C: That’s difficult to answer, as my personal life doesn’t really allow me a regular timeframe to work on music, I just squeeze it in where I can.

Do you have any technical tips to share with us (composition, sound design, mixing, mastering, or anything else…)?

T: If you’re new to making music. Try to start with composing a story you want to tell and not random things. Try to express emotions in your story and melody.

C: Look at the pros, learn their techniques, and use them for something completely different.

Let’s talk about “Feel Better”

What was your inspiration for this track?

T: To be honest, I was heartbroken.

C: Sometimes things in life don’t go as planned, you don’t live life, life lives you.

How fast did the track come together?

T: Well pretty fast. When I work with Chris we usually get the track done quite fast. Only the mixing and mastering takes up the time.

C: My part of writing lyrics and producing the vocals was done in a couple of days.

What is the story behind this track?

T: I was in a relationship with a girl that was pretty toxic and hard on me. To feel better I needed to let her go and move on. 

C: About the vocals: One of the biggest setbacks in life can be the moment you realize, that the person you’ve spent a very long time with, and you thought they deeply cared for you as much as you cared for them, isn’t the person you thought they were. After all that time now comes the point where you’d like to say “I am right here, I’m not feeling well, I need you.” and they are not there anymore. You thought that maybe you’re something special to them and someday you notice that maybe this was just the hope or a wish for them to feel something special for you, and you realize that it’s just not true. And that can hurt. A lot.

Finally:

Any important people in your life you wanna mention, thank, or talk about?

T: Is thanking your ex weird? Further not xD

C: My girlfriend, because she is the reason I will never have to feel the story behind the song ever again. I love you.

Anything you wanna add to end up this interview?

T: Not really It was pretty fun to answer the questions.

C: It’s a pleasure working with Tom and Eonity. Tom is just very kind and determined in what he’s doing. I feel like Eonity really cares about their artists and what they want their music to portray. Thanks, guys!

Check out Triads & Chris Ponate: