Meet Tristan Gaskins of The Triangle

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tristan Gaskins.

Hi Tristan, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
So I got started because I learned how to dance in high school about a year before LMFAOs hit everyday. I’m shuffling. I had actually learned about hard style, hard jump in the Melbourne shuffle from YouTube. The first show ever went to was a Borgore show in Raleigh at the Lincoln theater. Which is pretty cool in reflection because a few years ago I got to open for him as direct support. So learning how to dance helped me break out of my shell and I started to actually make friends and feel like I fit in somewhere. I was warmly welcomed into the generation productions family and the dance music community of Raleigh en large. I nourished friendships and connections during the 2010s and where I’m at today and the experiences I’ve had is largely thanks to those who have believed in me and gave me chances. So if they’re meeting people dancing and generation productions in 2011 one thing led to another and before I knew it I was deejaying. Being thrown to the wolves and guided by some of the finest deejay and people in the region, I honed my skills and always did my best. From what first started as wanting to play the music that I like to dance to. It transformed into a want to start writing the music that I danced to. Because I spent so much time honing my craft, I quickly found my style. So I set out to create an outward identity that expresses my art, emotion and passions. As I continued on my artistic journey, I went through two iterations of my artistic identity and a third iteration that I’m currently representing. The first project was Luneffekt, the second Moontype, and the current version: VYNAVI.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I wouldn’t say it’s always been a smooth road. There have been times where it was as smooth as riding a buttery slope down the side of a mountain after a fresh powder snowstorm. And there are other times it was more Rocky than the most jagged spires of stone you can imagine. My journey has been incredible but it has also been challenging. In many ways I could even say it’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever experienced and brought on to myself. But it’s also been one of the most liberating and freeing as well. I guess you could say the highs have been really high and the lows have been really low. But it’s through community and a burning desire to accomplish my dreams that keeps me charging forward no matter how smooth or cumbersome the road is.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
So if you were to think of my artistic identity as one entity but specializing in two skills, the writing music aspect and the deejaying music aspect. I DJ, for myself and others, I love to play music that people might be familiar with in ways they’ve never heard. I love sharing my own music that I’ve created with people too. From weddings to clubs there’s not many places or events that I’ve not been a part of. I’m really proud of the skill that I’ve honed and of the events that I’ve helped bring to life over the years. When I’m writing music it’s usually more selfish but not in a negative way. I’m aiming to be expressing internal feelings, emotions, thoughts, perceptions, and energies into my music. If I’m in an emotional mood, I might write something more down tempo, melodic, and harmonious. If I’m in an energetic mood where I’m really trying to capture and present a specific energy such as a club jam or working on a remix, you’ll see more expressive tones in the forms of dance rhythm, driving basslines, and more up tempo BPM (beats per minute) songs. Most people that have seen me know me for my high octane performances, interactive crowd work, and bringing unrivaled energy and connection to my performances. And for that I’m really proud because there are many that do their own thing too that I look up to, I’m proud to have my style, but I love admiring others too. I think one of the things that sets me apart from others is that since I’ve been doing this for going on 15 years, I try my very best not to be any type of gatekeeper. I’m always wanting to put people on and help people find their way and their sound, even if it doesn’t always pan out.

What makes you happy?
The thing that makes me the happiest is freedom. The ability to have complete governance and control over what I want to do, what I want to express, how I do it, and how it brings me close to others. Through my music, I’m able to raise a beacon to those who may identify with any of the energies found within. And I’m able to broadcast that beacon to the world for anyone to find. That sort of unlimited outward signal makes me feel like I’ll never be unheard even if I don’t have millions and millions of streams.

Pricing:

• Free Quotes for All Who May Request My Services as a DJ/Producer/Creative

Contact Info:

• Website: https://soundcloud.com/VYNAVI
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/VYNAVIOnInsta
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/VYNAVIOnMeta
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@VYNAVI
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/VYNAVI