A Familiar Face and A New Name
Representing opposite ends of the experience spectrum, floopy and Cynax have teamed up to bring you the latest Tiny Waves release “Beat ‘Em Up.” While floopy has been making and releasing music for several years, this is the first official music release from Cynax. What started out as a work in progress shared in the floopy Discord server quickly evolved into an incredible collaboration between two very talented artists. I sat down with both floopy and Cynax to discuss the production and prospects of this latest Tiny Waves hit.
Let’s start by getting to know each of you a bit better. You both have a unique stage name, floopy and Cynax respectively. Where did those names originate? Do they have any special meaning behind them?
Cynax: I had a dream once where my name was Cynax. I listened to a lot of Cysmix back then, so I suppose my mind just made up a similar name for myself, haha.
floopy: Nonsensical names have always appealed to me because they can be goofy yet cheerful. I think that love for silly names stems from giving custom characters ridiculous names in video games when I was younger. I like floopy because it’s fun and represents who I am.
Floopy, you’re a familiar name to Tiny Waves. Where did it all begin and how did you get to where you are now?
floopy: Where did it all begin? Well, I was born in Long Beach, California and grew up on video games and skateboarding. Most of my life was spent exploring different forms of art, but I always came back to music. I taught myself piano in seventh grade and later wrote some rather embarrassing midi rock songs in GarageBand. Shortly after, I found electronic music and production. Combined with my love
of video games, I made my way to where I am now.
As far as working with Tiny Waves, it was really a dream come true. I had been trying and failing to pitch my music to labels, just working to get my foot in the door. If I remember correctly, I pitched “Traveler's Tune” to Ben Briggs in late 2019. The Tiny Waves crew loved that track and released it in early 2020.
Cynax, this is your first time officially releasing music. You’re quite young but tell us about your history with music production and how it led to this collaboration with floopy.
Cynax: Growing up, my father was always into electronic and rock music, and as I began to explore my own tastes in genres, music became a way for us to bond. Music has since become a huge part of my life. It lets me express myself and my emotions without a need to explore deeper meaning – just pure, raw emotion that evokes images, visuals of the mind, that send a message through music. I used to draw while listening to music, so there’s always been a big audio-visual connection for me.
My struggle has always been a of lack confidence with releasing music, but this floopy collab is helping me to become more open to the public. Just the fact that floopy was willing to collaborate with me on a track was a huge confidence boost. When I heard that we’d be releasing the track through the Tiny Waves label, I was super excited because I knew that floopy had worked with them before.
How would you each describe the type of music that you make?
floopy: I primarily make music for myself as a way to emulate what makes me happy, but I’ve found that my music can also make others happy. I can connect with others through my music, and I love that. That said, my sound as a musician is the result of a very eclectic palate. I love producing everything from soundfont-heavy VGM-inspired future bass to JRPG-inspired orchestral pieces while still hanging onto my Virtual Riot fanboy love of complextro. I also have a video game themed instrumental metal side project because of course I do.
Cynax: I generally stick to orchestral and piano with the occasional combination of electronic elements into the orchestral pieces. I’m slowly working on branching out to other genres. Currently, I’m obsessed with using midi to study music theory because it’s really the best way to learn music. STUDY MIDI! Midi is literally the holy grail of music, haha.
So how did the collaboration first come about, and what did you each contribute?
floopy: I shared an early work in progress to my Discord server, and Cynax spontaneously wrote a lead part for the track. I loved it and asked him if I could use the part. I integrated it and then pitched the track to Tiny Waves. They said they loved it, so I reached out to Cynax again and asked if he’d want to finish it together. He then wrote what is BY FAR the best part of the track. It was great watching this song evolve from something underwhelming to something really incredible.
Cynax: Floopy already had the structure completed, so I was able to incorporate a section in the middle of the track. I added some synths and effects and a few instruments. I was trying a bunch of different ideas and took my time to find the perfect fit.
floopy: I composed the general structure, directed the sound design to stay in the realm of chiptune, and more or less did the mixdown. The composition is probably 50-50 with Cynax contributing some great sound design to make it something special.
One of the benefits of a collaboration is that artists can always learn something new from one another. Would you say you learned anything from one another during this collab?
Cynax: I definitely learned a lot through the process, specifically studying some of his melodic structures and progressions. The mastering was surprising to me since it’s simple yet sounds great. This was my first ever collaboration, so I was excited to work on it. If floopy is down for another collab, then I’d love to do this again.
floopy: Getting a chance to look at anything Cynax works on is a treat. Being around him instantly improves your composition chops, and I did revisit some techniques for electronic production. I had a blast and would love to collab again soon on something more in Cynax's style.
Looking at where you are now as an artist, what still lies ahead? Where do you hope all of this leads you one day?
Cynax: I personally want to improve at my electronic side of music production. I spend quite a lot of time on orchestral pieces, and I definitely want to incorporate more electronic elements. My end goal is to be able to create music that fully expresses what is in my head without the production process being cumbersome. For now, music is a hobby, but I would love to keep producing in the future and maybe even create a soundtrack for a game.
floopy: What lies ahead for me is a whole lot more music. Of all the different creative outlets that I’ve explored, music has always been the constant. It’s what I always come back to, and that is likely to remain unchanged. My ultimate goal is to score video games. I can’t wait for that to be my present and not just my future.
Any final words of inspiration to the readers?
Cynax: I hope the promotions for this song help us to reach a new audience, though I’m not too concerned with numbers. I had so much fun working on this track, and I just hope that everyone else loves this song as much as I do!
floopy: Oh man…THANK YOU to every single person who supports us. Music is nothing without community. And thank you to Cynax for hopping on board with this. Be kind, treat others the way you want to be treated, and I hope you all love this track. I love you all. Thanks for listening. Shout out to Tiny Waves. ✌
It seems there may be another collaboration on the way from floopy and Cynax, but until then, we can all enjoy “Beat ‘Em Up” while showing both of these artists some love. They both have bright futures ahead and incredible beats to be made, so be sure to stay tuned and follow both of them on their musical journeys. You can find them online as floopy and Cynax, respectively. And, as always, be sure to follow Tiny Waves on all our social media for upcoming releases and incredible music.
- Charming H. Thomas
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