Under 500 Spotlight: kytes. -

Now that you’ve heard the music, let’s find out more about the artist behind the beats, Kyle Sullivan known as kytes. We first discovered the project by way of his remarkably well done future bass tracks Float and Forever uploaded to Soundcloud a few months ago. These tracks reminded us of the top artists in Future Bass music, while also breathing in a new refreshing sound to the genre. We were stoked to hear Kyle also produces bass music from time to time, which lead us to the monster banger Waterworld released this week. With an incredibly unique sound in a slew of genres, we’re positive we’ll be seeing much more of kytes. in the near future. We linked up with Kyle to chat about finding his love for Electronic Music in the Marine Corps, a journey through his DAW, and what’s ahead!

Where are you from, and how did your musical journey begin?

I’m a born and raised Chicago native, although I’ve lived in many places Chicago always feels like home for me. I currently live in Winter Park, Florida and am attending Full Sail University using my Post 9/11 G.I. Bill. I served four years active duty in the Marine Corps as a Motor T mech. It was actually while I was in the military that I developed such a huge passion for dance music. Some of my best memories were from shows and festivals that I attended with buddies I had met while I was in. It was there attending all these shows and festivals did I realize that I had a passion for this music and community unlike anything else I did. When the time approached to be discharged, I had no idea what I was going to do. I just knew that I wanted to do something with music. Being an artist and being up on stage and sharing that connection with a crowd of people through your music to me, is just quite possibly the greatest feeling a person could have. So I packed my shit, moved to Florida, and enrolled into an audio program. From there I started my journey, up to this point I have had not a single ounce of knowledge when it came to anything music. I just knew that I loved it more than anything. Along the way I taught myself a lot of what I know today from just watching other producers honestly. I would sit in on live streams of big producers via Defyre Society or just YouTube videos. I think people nowadays underestimate the power of the internet and ones own will. If your determined enough you can learn how to do anything you set your mind to.

Tell us about the project, what got you started? What can we expect from Kytes in terms of the Kytes sound?

My Biggest Inspiration is Flume. The guy is just a legend in my opinion. Anybody who listens to electronic music knows who that man is and its for a damn good reason, the mans insanely talented. He always tries to push the boundaries. Although I don’t feel that my music is yet boundary shifting, I’m continuing to work hard to improve my sound and the techniques I use. This project actually got started on a whim. I’ve had a great mentor who had taught me a tremendous amount about Ableton and sharing his audio knowledge. My good buddy Seth, he goes by the name of Tricks on SoundCloud. He influenced me to kickstart this project and I’ve just slowly been building confidence enough with it to finally start releasing my music. Now, as far as my sound goes I’ve been digging future bass vibes hard and I also make Lofi beats for fun. But, you will also see me throw some curveballs in there. I’m a dubstep lover at heart and I love me some filthy shit, so expect the unexpected with me.

How has COVID and the growing social movements impacted you? How do you stay inspired/creative?

COVID has made school a nightmare for me. I was a campus student and when they shut school down and moved everything online I started struggling hard. I’ve got a 3 year old daughter at home with me half the time and an incredibly amazing girlfriend to give me all the attention I need. Things down In Florida haven’t been as strict as the rest of the country, so it’s nice to be able to do some stuff down here. I stay inspired by being inspired by others, as funny as that sounds. There’s inspiration everywhere you just have to look for it, feel it.

What producers are pushing the boundaries at the moment and inspire you the most?

There’s honestly too many producers in my opinion nowadays who are pushing boundaries. But I’d have to say my biggest musical influences are Zeds Dead, G Jones, and Mac Miller. I listen to all types of music but anything that will make you get up and move is usually my intention. I also love to be creative and artistic with beautiful elements to my tracks.

Any fellow upcoming producers we should know about?

Yea HUGE shoutout to my boys Tricks and Teurnox. Also shoutout to my girl Holly aka. Hallucinate and my boy Tyler Gressle who will be featured on a bunch of upcoming tracks. One more shoutout to my boy JJ White in Milwaukee at Tymeless studios, he out there killin it.