The funky, jungle drum jam titled ‘Controller’ was a taste of what was to come from the emerging artist, who released his five-track EP just a few months later.
A mixture of rap, soul, funk and Detroit house, Tres has tapped into an eclectic mix of sounds to produce the self-titled debut, inspired by the smorgasbord of influences he listened to growing up.
“I grew up listening to rap music, pretty much everything,” he says, in his West Coast drawl. “DJ Quik, Snoop Dogg, Dr Dre … I grew up on West Coast music, and gospel music. Motown, jazz, smooth jazz. And I mean, the house music, that part, well, I just like dance music. I like on-the-floor shit.”
Tres grew up in Los Angeles, in the city of Compton, a place made famous for its musical exports and big names in rap, such as Kendrick Lamar, Dr Dre and N.W.A. Growing up there was “a mixture of crazy and fun,” for the young producer, “I mean, it was all I knew at the time so, it was cool.”
His hometown’s strong rap and hip hop history meant that music was a large part of Tres’ life since childhood, but there’s more behind his passion for the medium.
“I was surrounded by it [music] at church growing up,” he says. “Then my grandma got me a drum set when I was like five or seven, something like that, and then I started playing drums, for school and choir, and I got good at it, so I decided I liked it.”
“I had sung with my youth pastor in my church, and he invited me to his house and he had musical equipment set up and then I just started [producing]. I made my first beat, then I stopped for a bit and then another friend had musical equipment, and then, when I was 18, I met a dude and it just came natural. Then, I just wanted to study more.”
Tres went on to study music at university, eventually being discovered by LA label Godmode and marking the start of his musical career. But for Tres, music isn’t just about pumping out records and selling hit singles. Music is something inextricably linked to his culture, his community and making a difference; a powerful tool through which to tell stories that might not otherwise be told.
“I’m black, and black people, we dance when we get together. Barbecues, family outings, whatever, it’s all music and dancing around me,” he explains.
“People didn’t know a lot of the gang violence that took place in Compton until they discovered Easy E or N.W.A or Dr Dre, or Snoop Dogg, you didn’t know what was going on, cause sometimes the media don’t show everything, but sometimes the music is the voice of people you won’t ever really hear from.”
In terms of his own music, he tries to articulate the struggles he’s faced in his life and offer up some hope for those who may be going through the same.
“I struggle like a lot of [people], with low self-esteem, and with a lot of different mental struggles. Or, maybe being lonely or not growing up with a father and shit like that, you know? I try to show people that, even though that shit happened to you, you can fucking make it out.”
“Making it out” for Tres doesn’t necessarily mean making a name for himself in the music industry, and ‘fame’ doesn’t really seem to be something he’s particularly concerned with. Rather, the down-to-earth producer is just going with the flow, and enjoying all the doors music is opening for him.
“Music is my vehicle to a lot of things I want to do,” he says. “It’s about going somewhere with it, it’s about giving shit back to the community, it’s about me pushing myself creatively in certain areas, it’s about dancing ‘cause I love to dance, it’s a way for me to travel for free and make money. It’s a lot of things, you know? It’s really a lot.”
