Upsammy: Crossing Strange Meridians

Thessa Torsing’s project upsammy frequently flirts with the stylings of techno and electro, but there’s an open-air fluidity to her output that seems as spontaneous as rushing water. The Amsterdam-based producer and selector offsets bubbly melodies and earthy field recordings with snappy beats and disembodied voices.

The latest upsammy album, Strange Meridians, arrives after a packed summer of tour dates for Torsing. Her gentlest record yet, it is centered on glistening arpeggiations and crinkly effects, Strange Meridians came to life in the wake of upsammy’s comparably clubby 2023 full-length, Germ in a Population of Buildings. The end result stands in contrast to the chaos that preceded it. “I felt the need to find a calmer place, something floating between the ground and the sky,” Torsing reflects. “This music naturally found its way out. Many tracks have this comforting blurry or foggy character in them.”

We recently caught up with Torsing to discuss her teenage pivot from rock to raving, DJ digging process, and the hardware she incorporates into her Ableton workflow.

What was your road into music like? Was upsammy your first project or did you wear other hats before you became a club producer?

I started with violin lessons when I was young. I didn’t do it very long, around three years. After that, I started learning guitar by myself and I played in some bands during high school, nothing too serious. When I was 16 or so some friends took me to an illegal rave and that’s where I started getting hooked on electronic music. Around this time, I also started producing. A friend of mine was already doing it so I got inspired.

How do you think being based in the Netherlands impacts what you do as an artist?

Musically, the Netherlands has impacted me quite a bit, I think, especially because on my first records I was very much inspired by the old sound of The Hague. Mainly Legowelt; his music has these eerie melodies that keep meandering, very addictive. It suggests all sorts of mysterious worlds. I used quite a lot of samples from his website for my earlier records.

I think there is a very vibrant clubbing and electronic music culture in the Netherlands. It is quite easy to get involved or sucked in. Especially in a small city like Amsterdam, you quickly get to know the scene. Places like De School and Garage Noord have always given me space to explore different sides of myself as an artist. But also other places like The Hague, Rotterdam, Utrecht — where I lived for a bit — have been very fertile grounds for different sides of music.

I’m a big fan of your DJing. I’m curious if you can talk about some of the techniques you use to dig for and spin music.

Digging wise, I find one track, find a label, go through the whole label or the era or the year, and just go deep in Discogs. That’s one part, and then, of course, you have Bandcamp. My approach to DJing right now is very much about layering. For example, I feel that a lot of music at the moment is very amelodic. It’s very focused on percussion. I try to bring back this melodic aspect by layering it with ambient, or, like, an Aleksi Perälä track full of melodic percussion. I feel like then you’re more able to tell a story within a set if you bring in dreamlike atmospheres, instead of being about, “This is the energy and we need to keep the energy.”

Could you talk to me a bit about how you produce with Ableton?

You can really create music as if it’s an organism, it can almost write itself. Randomization, modulation — it’s all very easy in Ableton. I like Max for Live, the idea that people can keep contributing and building. You can quickly generate ideas and jam in the Live View. I also like how you can build layered instruments and effect racks.

Download upsammy’s free selection of loops of cut-up field and voice recordings

What is your typical process like?

I enjoy inventing new techniques and question my workflow all the time. Often, the magic moments happen when you try something new. I like to start very intuitively, so no intention for a track before I begin. I can start with a field recording — quantizing it, looping it, retuning it. Or a new weird sampler in Max for Live. But I can also start with Operator, making a nice bleepy sound. Or just playing my keyboard or modular setup and see what melody or sounds flows out. Then I start layering things, removing things. I always try improvising an arrangement straight after I have the main idea, so it does not become something I dread.

What gear or plugins do you find yourself gravitating towards?

I enjoy the whole Inspired by Nature pack from Dillon Bastan, and also his more recent Natural Selection Bundle. Also, the Granulator from Robert Henke, I use a lot. Next to that I have a granular synth called GR-1 by Tasty Chips, a Dutch company; I use this a lot for live purposes, as well. The Euclidean sequencer PRO as well. I often use the Replika delay from Native Instruments; it has some nice ways to add effects to the delay, I use it a lot on melodies. Also, the Eventide Blackhole reverb for deep reverbs. Operator is my go to tool for designing weird sounds, but also making more chimelike sounds, drum sounds, and sub. And I love the Moog Multimode Filter XL, for really squelchy sounds. I use the Pittsburgh Modular Lifeforms SV-1 and Intellijel Plonk for analog sounds, which I combine with a resonator module and a filter and an Erbe-verb from Make Noise.

I read that you use a lot of modular synths with Ableton. Can you talk about the ways in which you incorporate Eurorack with Ableton?

I use Ableton to sequence my Eurorack modules. So I send MIDI to the Lifeforms, and from there to other modules. Then I record the modular setup into Ableton again to further edit and cut up or resample to change the sound.

Are there any Ableton features that you find particularly useful?

I think the Clip Follow Actions in the Session View are very cool. This gives you the possibility to randomize an arrangement and really create this organism idea. I find the take lanes and comping feature very useful. Let's say you are jamming on hardware and tweaking knobs and keep recording, it's nice to quickly grab different bits and pieces — with the pencil — with different settings, to create very organic and randomized loops. Also, the new features in Ableton 12 in the MIDI scroll are handy for generating rhythms or melodies and harmonies by quickly cutting up notes. I like the crossfader option, especially when playing live. Also the LFOs, Envelope Follower, and Shaper.

Your music is all over the map stylistically, and I’m curious if you can talk to me about how you manage to wear so many different hats in the studio.

To be honest, I try not to think about it like that. It is a very intuitive process, and I just let music come out that wants to come out. Of course, after the making process I combine tracks that work together as a release or concept.

Follow upsammy on her website and Instagram

Text and interview: Ted Davis