INTERVIEWS
Channel Tres: Dance music's reluctant trendsetter
Ahead of his appearance at Beyond The Valley & Wildlands Festivals over Summer, we caught up with the Compton-born performer as he returns to Australia yet again.
In many ways, 2025 has been the year that the world rediscovered dance music. For those already familiar, this might come with its fair share of begrudging enthusiasm, as a culture with its own varied histories, sounds and visionaries is brought new success, but at a cost.
Whether Rosalia’s ‘Berghain’ nod, FKA Twigs’ ‘ESEXUA’ or Tyler, The Creator’s ‘DON’T TAP THE GLASS’, it’s been hard to ignore the influence that modern pop has taken from a post-COVID, dance-driven music landscape.
In amongst that, however, are artists with catalogues far less easily influenced. Channel Tres, a Compton-originating rapper, DJ, and singer best known for his singles ‘Controller’ and ‘Topdown’, is one such artist.
Tres’ house, jazz, and neo-soul-infused brand of infectious pop has long been lorded over by fans of all genres as an original yet entirely individual take on his influences. That lording has seen him regularly tapped to visit Australia, most recently touring his most recent album ‘Head Rush’ around the country last Summer. This year, he returns, set to perform at Beyond The Valley and Wildlands festivals.
Ahead of this next run of shows, and with his latest track, ‘Free Your Mind (Channel Tres Version)’, having been released just last week, we caught up with the artist on what crowds can expect in just a few weeks.
Q: Channel, hey! Thanks so much for your time. I had the pleasure of interviewing you all the way back in 2019, right as you were still riding the insane wave that was ‘Controller’. Looking back on that track, which part of yourself, as an artist now, do you still see being reflected by that song?
CT: Controller was such a moment. I was still figuring out who I was in the world, but I think what people connected with in that song is still very much a part of me now.
There’s this balance in Controller confidence, groove, a little attitude, but also vulnerability underneath it. That duality is still at the core of everything I make. It was the first time I really felt like I’d found my voice. I was like, “oh okay… this is what my lane feels like.”
What I see reflected now is that same instinct to make people move, but also to give them something deeper while they’re moving. That mix of the spiritual and the physical. The idea that the beat can free you a little.
So even though I’ve grown a lot since then, that foundation and honesty are still there in everything I do. ‘Controller’ was the doorway. I just kept walking through it.
Q: It wasn’t long ago that you were in Australia, having played last Summer on a tour across the country. Now you’re back for Beyond The Valley festival and Wildlands festivals. Why do you think somewhere so far away has become such a crucial spot for you & your music?
CT: Yeah, Australia has really become a special place for me. It’s far from home, but it also gives me a chance to see a world outside of my home. We’re all the same, I think. We just want to have fun, and I’m always down to show up for the folks who connect with what I do.
Q: What have you come to learn about Australian crowds as you’ve continued to return here?
CT: What I’ve learned about Australian crowds is that the energy is real because artists don’t always make it out here. So, when we do come, people really show up.
Q: Your music is obviously incredibly dance-driven, but ‘dance’ music is so often conflated with DJs these days. I’d love to know,where do you feel that you fit in amongst ‘dance music’ nowadays?
CT: I’ve never been someone to try to “fit in” anywhere. I love to dance, and I love dance music. That’s why I make it. Whoever likes it, then cool, but I’m not concerned with who’s doing what. There’s enough to go around for everybody.
Q: What do you make of the ‘dancification’ of pop music that we’re currently experiencing?
CT: Pop music has always been dance music.
Q: Do you think it's important for new producers to honour the roots of where & when dance music and house originated?
CT: I think it’s essential for any musician to study their craft, especially in dance and house. If you understand where this music comes from, the communities that built it, the feeling that started it… You create from a more honest place.
It’s not about copying the past, it’s about respecting it. Knowing the roots gives you a foundation to push things forward in your own way. That’s how the genre keeps evolving, but still keeps its soul.
Q: Modern festival and dance music culture is often one tied to a ‘release’, often separate from the idea of sobriety for many punters and artists. You yourself have gone through a journey of sobriety. What does it feel like, in 2025, to look out at a crowd & be in that sober mindset?
CT: Sobriety is good, now the high comes from life and the adrenaline of the music. It still all feels the same, I just don’t have to deal with the hangover from a substance now. Also, I feel more grounded in my body. My experience with music is much better now.
Q: I was reading an interview from 2023 where you said, “I don’t think I’ve ever participated in my life the way I wanted to, like I am these days.” How has that feeling manifested itself in 2025?
CT: It’s the same. I’m a participant in the good and bad parts of my life. Everything comes and goes, and it’s very important to me to ride all the waves with my chest out. Songs and ideas come from these places. It’s great to be human.
Q: What kind of energy or outlook does that allow you when you’re on tour?
CT: When I’m on tour, I feel like I’m locked into my purpose. It’s fun, it’s high energy, but it’s also work in the best way, like I know exactly why I’m there.
Being on stage gives me this sense of clarity. All the noise drops away, and it’s just me, the music, and the people in front of me. That outlook keeps me grounded. It reminds me that what I do has a real impact, and that my job in that moment is to show up fully and give everyone the best version of myself.
Q: As an artist whose sound spans across genres and audiences, how do you read a crowd to decide which direction to lean into?
CT: I read crowds sometimes, but I try to just lead. If you came to my show or DJ set, hopefully you know what you came for.
Q: Coming to Australia again, this will be the second time you’ve toured since ‘Head Rush’ was released. What are you bringing to these shows that sets them apart to earlier this year?
CT: This run is going to feel completely different from the last time I was out here. Earlier this year, I came out here to DJ and this time I’m performing the live show. I’m bringing in some new choreo, new moments in the show, and some new music that I’m excited to share. So even if you caught the DJ sets, this is a whole new chapter. It’s a bigger world, and I’m excited for people to experience that.
Q: It’s in some ways the burden of an artist to feel pressured to ‘evolve’. Is there any direction you hope to ‘evolve’ in the future?
CT: I believe in not skipping steps with each performance and project released. I hope that progress is shown. I feel no pressure in evolving; if I’m studying and continuing to learn my craft, it’ll show.
Q: I understand you've got some new music coming out, set to release in December. Coming from the US, there's a very stark difference in mood & weather between your home and Australia at that time of year. How do you ensure that your music can provide something for all kinds of seasons across the globe?
CT: Yeah, it’s funny because where I’m from, December is like hoodies and short days… then I land in Australia and it’s like someone turned the sun all the way up, two completely different worlds.
But the way I’ve always made music is that I’m not chasing a season. I’m chasing a feeling. If the feeling is honest, it can live anywhere.
I grew up in a place where you had to make your own joy, your own space, your own temperature, honestly. So even when I’m making something that hits in the club, there’s still warmth in it.
‘Free Your Mind (Channel Tres Version)’, the song I just released, is exactly that. It carries that energy, that sense of openness, no matter what season you’re in. I just want the songs to give you that same energy, that confidence, that release, that little escape. That’s the goal every time.
Q: What are you looking to do with each piece of music that you've not done before? Is it about building on what you already have, or redefining it with each consecutive release?
CT: I think it’s a little bit of both. Every time I make something new, I’m trying to push myself into a space I haven’t been in before sonically, emotionally, spiritually. I don’t ever want to get too comfortable. But at the same time, I’m not trying to reinvent the whole house every time I walk into the studio. There’s a foundation there that’s real to me.
So I look at it like building a world. Each song is another room, another corner you haven’t seen. I’m adding details constantly; there are always new stories to be told.
The goal is always evolution with intention. Not changing for the sake of changing. Changing because I’m growing, learning, freeing my mind a little more each time.
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Beyond The Valley takes place in the Barunah Plains from Sunday, December 28, 2025, to Thursday, January 1, 2026.
Wildlands Festival takes place in Meanjin/Brisbane on Thursday, January 1, at the Brisbane Showgrounds, and in Boorloo/Perth on Saturday, January 3, at Arena Joondalup.
