Discover: Meet Treepeoh

Chicago-based DJ Ian Lyons, better known as Treepeoh, is taking over the midwest city by city. Playing New Year's Eve at The Rave in Milwaukee and taking on Chicago's Porn and Chicken in April, his shows (and his fan base) keep getting bigger and better. Spinning both remixes and completely original material, Treepeoh is a force to be reckoned with. We caught up with Treepeoh about where he started, where he's heading, and his elementary school love life. 

Where did the name Treepeoh come from, besides the obvious C3PO pun?

I used to go by 63PO -- it was a little spin off of my area code. I was changing my Instagram name to “Threepeoh” for some reason, and I forgot to put the 'H' in Threepeoh. I liked the way Treepeoh sounded, so it just stuck

How would you describe your sound?

I would describe it just as bass music. There are so many sub genres of electronic music, and I love a lot of them, so it's hard for me to put a name on it. But I would say I predominantly play dubstep. 

How did you get started mixing and producing?

I started out on basic software around six years ago but couldn’t do much with it. One of my good buddies was super into DJing, and I was so intrigued by it and became obsessed. I would say the beginning of 2012 was when the DJing really started to pick up. I focused my time on learning to DJ and play shows for a few years. Then I really spent all my time learning how to produce music. I moved to Chicago almost two years ago and went head into it.

On average, how long does a track take you?

It really depends, My new track I’m releasing in a few days I’ve spent around 4 months working on. A lot of my older stuff I was able to make in a week. I'm still learning a lot and my workflow is becoming faster. In the end, I just want it to be exactly how I want it before I put it out for people. 

Tell me about your "No Body" song. It's definitely one of your weirder mixes. Why did you choose to sample that video of that crazy guy rambling?

I'm glad you asked that; it's a funny story. I was working on that song in my living room, and Tosh.0 was on the TV, and I kept playing the track over and over, but I just felt like something was missing. When the intro was playing, that clip came on the TV, and I just thought to myself, "holy shit, this would work perfectly in the intro." And I pictured myself hearing that at a show and just thinking to myself, "WTF is this dude talking about??"

Favorite remix that you've done? 

As of right now, my remix of "Revolution" by Diplo. I was gonna make that an original track too, but it needed lyrics. I was at work earlier that day and the a capella popped up in my Soundcloud stream, and I knew right away it would be a great fit.

Favorite remix that another artist has done?

Oh man, that's a tough one, there are so many. But if I were to pick a song (where) I thought the remix was way better, I would choose Bassnectar and Stylust Beats remix of Bassnectars song "Loco Ono." 

Tell me about NYE at The Rave. You played the same night as Carnage and Brillz, that's unreal. 

It was a blast! I have some freaking awesome supporters that came out and made it one of the best nights ever; they are the ones who make it all happen. But I played on a side stage halfway through Carnage's set. The Rave does a great job of making sure all of the stages and productions are on point.

You've been playing bigger and bigger shows lately--what's been your favorite thus far? 

I would have to say NYE or this past weekend when I played in Elgin with Bommer and a bunch of other great artists. XDI Events and Stay Gold Promotions put together an awesome show, and again, all the supporters who come out to all my shows really make it happen. I can’t thank them enough. 

If you could play any festival, which would you pick? 

I would have to say Shambhala in Canada. It's a super cool festival out in the woods with incredible scenery. They put a lot of time into the visual arts of the festival, and the lineup is always fantastic. 

Which do you enjoy more, creating original tracks or remixing?

I would have to say making original tracks. It's really cool when you have all these ideas in your head and you can try to re-create what you're imagining in your head into software. I think I tend to experiment more when I have a blank slate in front of me instead of trying to re-create someone else’s vision. I think it pushes me more as an artist to do weird shit and find something new.

What's the weirdest thing that's happened at one of your shows?

Nothing too crazy has happened to me, but my brother got stalked by kids at my NYE show because he had a Go Pro on a selfie stick, and for some reason all these kids thought he worked for The Rave or something. So all night, he had kids coming up to him asking him for pictures and videos. He has a lot of the encounters on film, and they are hilarious.

What's coming up for you?

My next big show is Porn and Chicken Dance Party at Evil Olive on April 13th. They put on a crazy party every Monday; it's been rated the best weekly party in Chicago for the past few years.

Nicki Minaj or Niykee Heaton?

Oh man, me and Niykee had a little thing in elementary school and it ended up not working out, so maybe I'll give Nicki a shot?

Check out more from Treepeoh on Facebook and Soundcloud. 
Photo complements of Facebook