Chicago born and now San Diego based Tvvin has been turning heads with a sound that weaves luminous guitar lines into immersive electronic landscapes. His sets are equal parts euphoric and hard-hitting leaving audiences glowing long after the final drop. With his new 10 track EP, ‘On The Drive Home‘, Tvvin delivers a liberating collection built on passion, honesty and the kind of emotion you can hear in every chord–smiles, heartbreak and everything in between.
As a listener of artists like Duskus and Louis the Child, the future bass, house, and experimental collection is great to hear more insight about in our recent interview with Tvvin, given name Matthew O’Connor.
You’ll see how the burgeoning producer is finding his place in the scene opening for some of the most fun names and learn about his early indie music ties with Levity as the good times roll for Tvvin following his slots at Heatwave or the legendary venues, Chop Shop and Radius, in his hometown of Chicago, among many hot spots.
Until Friday, we have the lead single from the upcoming EP to share, ‘The loneliest place I know is the silence between us now’. Be sure to come back then, or hit the pre-save for the full unveiling.
Tvvin Interview
Can you share a little about the messages or your introspection around some of the releases on the album? Curious how you came up with the titles to certain tracks. Any particular inspiration behind one or two you would like to elaborate on?
The goal with this album was to start to establish the types of sounds I want in my production without limiting myself to a specific overall genre. Each of these tracks contains guitar, which was the goal. I wanted to be able to perform all of them live with my guitar, and for it to flow. It has been over a year since I have put out any originals, and I was overdue for some. I thought, why not make an album for people to pick and choose from instead of just building up one big single and stressing over it. For the titles, I have always been very inspired by early Fall Out Boy records.
I loved that early to mid-2000s new wave of emo and pop-punk/post-hardcore that contained really long titles. I wanted to put my own spin on it.
‘Beach House (under the stairs on Whitehall)’ was inspired by my neighbor growing up. We’d sit under the stairs in this super cool Harry Potter type bedroom (the difference was this one had lots of pink) and listen to CDs. I always loved that experience of waiting for the CD to start after dropping it in. That’s where the influence for the name and the intro of the track came from.
What are some production techniques you explored throughout the album? What are some of your favorite guitar settings?
I try my hardest to build drops not around supersaws. I try to use a guitar or warp a sample to get it to be the core piece of the drop. I have a very minimal setup – I don’t like to be reliant on too many plug-ins or equipment. I have always found the best way for me is to feel limited on what I can use, so I’m forced to stick with what I know.
For reverb, I am obsessed with Logic Pro’s stock matrix reverb. You can hear me using it on every single track on the EP for my guitars. I also love Native Instruments Guitar Rig.
How was it opening for acts like Galantis, Slushii, Gryffin, Keys N Krates, and Laszewo? Any takeaways from watching them perform?
You learn a lot about yourself as well as from the artists in those situations. You learn about your ability to read a room, green room etiquette, opener etiquette, and that nobody really cares about you, so it’s best to just be as polite as possible. I’ve been lucky enough to get those slots and meet those people, and it’s always really cool to see how they work a room. Sometimes some of the artists sets are planned out to coincide with visuals and their own tours, so getting to see how they map out their night based on their experiences performing is always really educational and interesting.
They are not hoping the room responds well; they are making sure the room responds well.
From the second they step on stage, they own the room. Another huge thing is stage presence. I’ve learned from those acts that you have to treat each performance like it’s your last and to have as much fun as possible. The crowd can tell if you are nervous or not having fun, so it’s extremely important to have fun and enjoy yourself.
Favorite places you played?
Radius in Chicago was hands down my favorite. I got to open for Alan Walker at an official Lollapalooza aftershow there. There was a couple thousand people in the room. After years of hard work and dedication, that was the first moment it truly felt validated. Chicago has so many great venues. Chop Shops always been a favorite, but I also really enjoy anytime I can play at Prysm or Sound Bar.
Please tell us about Wabansia! How is the collective currently developing? Anything new you can share around the project? How did you get involved?
Wabansia was a blast. It’s put on hold for the foreseeable future. Levity and Gudfella have catapulted into the scene as some of the biggest names in bass and house music, while Cudos is working on their project. That group was a great example of right place wrong time. We all were having a blast and felt like we found something special, but it was too late – Levity and Gudfellas solo careers had just started to take off and it’d be too confusing to be making indie rock on the side. It was exciting to get to at least put out some music together and experience a group writing process. I often write alone, so getting to bounce ideas off of such a talented group was something I’ll always be thankful for getting to experience.
What are 5 tracks you find at the forefront of electronic music? Top 3 future bass releases?
Anything by Tape B, Odd Mobb, and Jigitz. I feel like those three have a sound that everyone in their genres is becoming inspired by. For future bass(ish), Laszewo is crushing with each new remix and release. Also, don’t sleep on Align from Chicago.
What is one philosophy you like to live by?
Treat every performance like you’re on the main stage at Coachella. Doesn’t matter if its two people in the crowd or 2,000, you have to give it your all.
Where can people find you performing next?
I am working on mapping out a tour for 2026. Always feel free to let me know where I should pop up next.
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