Timmy Trumpet and his Freakshow

Thank you for taking the time to answer some questions for Music Festivals Australia especially in the week of such an important event for you, your Freakshow event on Halloween at the Sydney Cricket Ground on the 31st October 2020.

How do you prepare for an event like this, given the different environment isolation and Covid-19 has created?

I would normally be playing 3-4 shows per week, sometimes more in the summer so planning livestreams every few months gives me the opportunity to create something unique and special every time. This show will be my best performance yet!

Freakshow is a streamed event, a first for the SCG. Are there any new challenges this creates for you as an artist?

Not really. I do what I do as soon as I’m on the stage. It would be nice to be playing in front of thousands of fans or seeing our favourite artists up close and personal, but we have to make the best out of wherever we are in the life and move with the times. Playing the SCG is no consolation prize. This will be an epic show by any standards and it’s kinda cool that no matter where you are you can be part of this experience.

You participated in this year’s digitally streamed Tomorrowland - Around the World, what was that like compared to playing in front of a live audience?

Tomorrowland is one of my favourite performances of the year, so it was pretty amazing to see the promoters go to such great lengths to make sure that everyone had the best experience possible. The production was unbelievable and the fans around the world really appreciated it. Playing in front of a greenscreen you don’t actually know how it will turn out, so I was just like the fans watching it for the first time when I replayed it. That was pretty cool.

‘Freakshow’ will see you play previously unreleased tracks. What can fans expect from this performance?

I’m playing a bunch of tracks from my upcoming debut artist album. I’ve spent most of the year focussed on making the album. It’s a much more diverse body of work than people might expect from me but there’s some tracks that I can’t wait to unleash.

Throughout lockdown in 2020 you have reached out to your fans for audience inclusion, firstly with the track “Diamonds” and now in your request for photos for your debut album cover. Is this your way of staying connected to them? What was behind this motivation?

Absolutely! Diamonds was the first track I released after most of us were experiencing lockdowns. We wanted to make a video that showed how my fans in particular were dealing with the pandemic in the best way they could. I had the idea of making a music video together with my fans. Shaun David Barker directed the video, but the fans are the ones that took this concept to a whole new level by sharing intimate stories with us over Zoom, Skype, calls and conferences. Making a video in isolation was challenging but I’m very proud of it. This week I personally read hundreds of stories from fans about their experiences during 2020 and what their favourite pictures mean to them. I’m so honoured to feature a part of their lives in the art they inspired me to make.

Timmy, you have asked fans to show what 2020 means to them in pictures, what has it meant for you? Is there one picture you would choose?

https://www.instagram.com/p/CCjOfIbDdPk/

It would be this one of Anett and I. It was the first photo I posted after she said yes when I asked her to marry me in one of my livestreams. My best friend just agreed to spend the rest of her life with me. I’m the luckiest guy in the world!

You have been playing music since you were 4 when and released your first track ‘Sunrise' to the world in 2009. Why is 2020 the year you have chosen to release your first full album?

I’ve always wanted to release an album but this year I realised that it would mean more if I made “our album” instead of my album. It would give myself and my fans something we could all remember 2020 by rather than just all the crazy stuff. This album is a collection of music that sums up what this year means to me, and the people that inspired me to write it. My fans are the biggest part of that inspiration.

You have done some amazing collaborations over the years and 2020 has been no exception to that, Vini Vici, Zafrir, Nicky Romero, Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike, just to name a few. Who can we expect to see you working with in 2021? Who would the ultimate collab partner be?

A collab with Post Malone and Daft Punk would be pretty cool! I’d love to hear what that track would sound like! As for 2021 I’m always up for collabs and even the most unlikely names, so anything is possible. There’s a couple of tracks slated for release with heroes of mine so that is fucking exciting. 2021 is gonna be amazing!

Will 2021 bring the much anticipated and talked about third time amalgamation of you and the legend Savage for the follow up to the single “Freaks” that launched you onto the international stage in 2014 and your second single DeJa-Vu in 2017?

I love working with Savage. He has a heart of gold and talent like no other in the industry. I’m always down to work with him so I definitely wouldn’t rule that out.

Daft Punk have been cited as one of your early inspirations, as well as your father who taught you how to play trumpet. Who else do credit as an influence on your music?

There’s no one I can’t credit. We’re all just borrowing ideas at this point and each new reincarnation breathes new life and respect to the artists who came before us. I’m always listening, and I love hearing music that shocks me. That new way of musical thinking that changes the way we move.

‘Freaks’, ‘Hipsta’, ‘Punjabi’ and ‘Oracle’ are all crowd favourites that create a frenzy amongst fans when first notes ring out at your events. Which is your favourite song to perform live?

I love performing and it’s hard to pick favourites. The reaction from Toco gives me chills every time but it’s all about where and how you perform each song and who you are playing them to. There’s a magical moment for every track.

What's next for Timmy Trumpet? What can we expect in 2021 and beyond?

Right now I’m taking each day as it comes and looking forward to playing my music for people all over the world in livestreams and on tour.

29 OCTOBER 2020

Interview by Michelle Symes