Tryangle Man opens the doors to ‚Hotel Defou‘

Tryangle Man returns with ‘Hotel Defou,’ an album built around an imagined hotel where each track represents a different room, encounter, or moment. Developed through more than a year of live performances and careful studio work, the record moves between club energy, jazz expression, classical dynamics, humor, romance, and personal memory.

In this conversation with EG, the London-based artist discusses testing music in front of crowds, knowing when a track is finished, recording with the freedom of a live performance, and creating a place listeners may want to visit more than once.

Photo by  Daragh Drake

EG: Hi Tryangle Man, welcome back to EG. Where are you today?

Tryangle Man: Hello, thank you for having me; it’s good to be back. I’m currently in London planning some shows.

EG: Your previous album felt like a journey of discovery. This new one feels more like entering a place. What changed in you between those two worlds?

Tryangle Man: The scale of my last album was quite big. I wanted to explore the stars, and it was fun. It was also very conceptual. Now with this new one, I focused on one thing and put all my attention on it. Something tangible and real that the listeners can relate to. So I guess what changed is the need to connect with the listeners on a more personal level.

EG: ‘Hotel Defou’ was shaped over a long period of writing, performing, testing, and refining. At what point did you realize these tracks belonged together as one album?

Tryangle Man: When they filled the story I had in mind. The album is called ‘Hotel Defou,’ and each song had to portray a different place or moment you’d find in a hotel. I had to perform and practice for more than a year to fine-tune what I was working on. And by repetition, some projects would stand out more than the others.

EG: When music spends time in front of real crowds before being finalized, it develops a different kind of truth. What did the dancefloor reveal about this record?

Tryangle Man: The dance floor is extremely telling, and very much part of my process. The crowd’s reactions define when a song still needs work or when it’s just right. It feels like being in the studio, with a room full of people. Incredibly inspiring, especially when they react well. Seeing someone who doesn’t know me or my music stay at one of my shows from start to finish- that’s the best feedback I could ask for.

“Like checking in that super cool hotel where the lobby smells incredible, the rooms are funky, and you’re excited to see what’s around every corner.”

EG: There is a strong sense of movement in the album, but also character and detail. When you were finishing it, were you thinking more about bodies moving, or minds entering a story?

Tryangle Man: A bit of both. ‘Elevator Music’ was made on and for the dance floor with bodies moving and jumping. ‘Tooka Martini’ was made to take the listener on a funky journey. You’ll find a mix of groovy and emotional. A balance that hopefully takes you through different emotional and groovy experiences.

EG: You have always carried classical and jazz instincts into electronic music. On this album, how did that background help you avoid making something that feels purely functional?

Tryangle Man: There’s a lot of trial and error. Different versions for each song, going back and forth between ideas. That background helps taking critical decisions and breaking the mould. There’s a lot of dynamics in classical and Jazz music. It takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions, and that helps make a song feel alive.

EG: Some records are made to capture a moment, while others are made to create a world. What kind of world did you want Hotel Defou to become?

Tryangle Man: A place of wonders. Somewhere you feel energised and refreshed. Like checking in to that super cool hotel where the lobby smells incredible, the rooms are funky, and you’re excited to see what’s around every corner. A place where you can let loose and enjoy life.

EG: The album has moments that feel playful, elegant, romantic, strange, and deeply personal. How do you keep all those emotions connected without losing the groove?

Tryangle Man: There’s a central theme that kept me anchored. A guide so I wouldn’t lose momentum. That is what keeps everything connected because if it doesn’t fit the story, it doesn’t make the cut. It’s for the listener to discover what that story is.

EG: You seem to enjoy contrast: mystery and humor, discipline and looseness, musicianship and club energy. Which contrast became most important while making this album?

Tryangle Man: Life can get too serious. This was my moment to let go. The approach was simple: do what feels right, no stress about how it should sound or how it’s arranged. It had to feel natural and playful. So I recorded everything as if I were performing. No fixing, no redoing. And yet, still working hard to deliver something of quality. Looseness and discipline, side by side. As well as making some songs for clubs and others for listening pleasure. It was important to have a mix of all these elements for listeners and for me. It makes the production exciting.

EG: There are intimate dedications inside this chapter, including love and memory. How do you decide when a private feeling is ready to become music for other people?

Tryangle Man: There is no right moment. More of, I’ll do it now and find out later. Otherwise, nothing ever gets released. ‘Postcard to Edith’ is a song for my late grandmother, and releasing it felt right. And ‘When We Met,’ dedicated to my wife, I couldn’t wait for it to be out.

“Making an album can get overwhelming, especially when you love adding more elements, more songs.”

EG: What was the hardest part of bringing this album to its final form: choosing what to include, preserving the live energy, or knowing when to stop?

Tryangle Man: Knowing when to stop. Making an album can get overwhelming, especially when you love adding more elements, more songs. The hardest decisions were about what to keep and what to cut, for each track individually. Some songs had to be shortened in time, others had to be stripped down, and a couple didn’t make it on the album. Those choices are hard to make, especially when you like all of them.

EG: In a time when many releases disappear quickly, what makes an album still matter to you as an artistic statement?

Tryangle Man: I love when an album feels connected. The choices the artist makes, the track list order, and the artwork. Above all, the feeling I get when I listen. That’s what makes it matter.

EG: If someone discovers Tryangle Man through ‘Hotel Defou,’ what do you hope they understand about your universe by the time the record ends?

Tryangle Man: That they have spent a wonderful night at the hotel! I’d also hope they can feel the work and time behind each song. And when it’s over, they feel satisfied, curious enough to go back, and explore the rest of what I’ve made.

EG: Looking at the current electronic music landscape, what do you think artists could learn from spending more time with their music before releasing it?

Tryangle Man: Spending more time with music can be good and bad. I can take my time refining and perfecting, as well as never finish a song. So learning how to be happy with what you have and letting go of “the perfect sound”. It’s easier said than done.

EG: After ‘Hotel Defou,’ what door do you feel is opening next for Tryangle Man?

Tryangle Man: More bespoke performances, festival appearances, more music, and then even more music.

EG: Thanks for the time and all the best!

Tryangle Man: Thank you for this interview, and see you on the next one.

Tryangle  Man’s ‘Hotel Defou’   is available to listen to and stream here.

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