When you’re making music in a city as saturated as Austin, TX, you gotta work hard. Luckily, that’s hardly a challenge for Chad Cisneros and David Reed from progressive house duo Tritonal. They’ve been putting out dancefloor-approved records since 2008 and just unleashed their newest banger called "Blackout." We called Chad in the studio to chat about the duo’s single, their secret getaway/radio show Tritonia and what it’s like to be DJing dads.

How are you, where are you and what are you up to?

We’re great. We’re at the studio right now, finishing up a record in the studio actually.

Let’s go back to the beginning: How did you two meet?

We originally met online. We were sharing music because we had the same gear and hardware. And through that we started expanding our creativity and then started collab.

How long ago was it?

I’d like to say the end of 2006 and then we started going at it in 2008. We’ve spent a couple of years listening to the same radio shows. We both wanted to achieve a similar sound and style of music, so we’ve spent a couple of years digesting each other’s music as well.

Well you do realize that if you met in 2006, then this year marks your 10^th anniversary, right?

I think we actually met in 2007 and started writing music in 2008.

Okay, so you’ve got some time to prepare a big celebration. Were there any struggles when you started working together?

Obviously. We both have our own ways of working. There’s no right or wrong way of working, but we had to understand that between each other. And when we did, we started to really cover some ground. Because we just let each other fail and then let each other see what ideas would succeed.

Do you still have any struggles when you collaborate?

Of course! You have to let each other go down different paths. Try things and then come back together and ask yourself if you like that. It’s like any relationships, you know.

Do you argue who’s got the deepest drop?

[laughs] Not really that. It’s more like discussing what we feel like could be better and what we feel like isn’t right.

Do you have your own take on why Austin gave us so many talented musicians? Something in the air, water, booze...?

It’s a musical town. It’s a contemporary city amongst a really conservative state. There are a lot of universities here, cool parks, bars, places to eat and listen to all kinds of music. There’s South by Southwest festival here.

Are you playing SXSW this year?

We’re gonna be on the West Coast doing a little tour there.

So you’ve grown out of SXSW…

No, we haven’t, we love it! It’s just a scheduling thing.

I’ve just checked your Twitter account and saw this cute baby photo. Explain yourself!

[laughs] Yeah, we’ve been getting busy on the baby making department. I have a little baby girl named Stella and she’s 6 months old. Dave has a baby boy named Micah who’s 2 months old.

Is it hard being DJing dads?

It’s tough when you’re out on the road, ‘cause you miss them. You wake up every morning, you see them, they smile and you leave to go get some work done.

I’m sure. But imagine how excited they’ll be when the time for the "bring your kid to work" day comes. You’re just gonna be picking the right festival to bring them with you.

Oh, yeah, that’ll be fun. They’ll have to get a little bit older than they are now.

A little bit, yeah. So what’s Tritonia? Is it like a secret getaway for all the dance music fans?

Yes. It’s kind of another dimension. It’s just a place where people can go to escape reality and tune in to things that will make them feel good, which is hopefully the records we play at our radio show. So that’s also the name of our radio show—Tritonia.

You had a tour with Cash Cash. I’m sure you guys had a lot of wild stories. Do share!

We all learn about each other by being on the road together. First and foremost, being on a bus is a whole new experience rather than flying. That alone was cool and different. At first sharing the bus with these three guys was overwhelming but it turned into this awesome experience. Yeah, we had some funny stories, like when we had ants on the bus and JP [Jean Paul Makhlouf from Cash Cash] freaked out and we all had to clean it. We smile when we look back—we’d do it all over again!

Tell me about your new single, "Blackout."

It’s new for us in terms of sound and tempo. We’ve never produced anything like that. It’s 142 bpm. It feels like it’s a little bit chill, it’s got some energetic parts and it’s definitely wrapped up in the emotional vocals. We love it! It’s exciting to release something super fresh like that.

Did you ever actually have a blackout?

Probably, back in the younger days from partying too hard. But not any time recently. Dave and I keep it pretty professional on the road and on tour. We try to take care of ourselves, get good sleep, not partying too hard and just trying to make sure we’re always aware of the fact that we need to get back and keep writing good music.

What’s your long flights survival routine?

We write music on the planes as well as listen to some inspirational music. We both love films. Sometimes some time by yourself can be good, too. In terms of really long flights, it’s really just hang on to your ass, man, cause you’re gonna have some intense moments when you’re really gonna wish you weren’t on a plane. And the more that you fly these long ones, the better you get at it.

You played tons of festivals. But if you were to start your own festival, what would it look like? Did you ever dream about it?

That’s a good question, I really haven’t. But I love the festivals that are more eclectic. So we’d obviously have a nice share of electronic progressive house artists, but also cool bands, indie bands, maybe some comedians who’d have interludes in-between the shows instead of going silent. Have a variety of things.

Do you actually dance at the festivals when you’re seeing other DJs?

If I get excited, I’d dance for a minute on the side of the stage. But we don’t really go out on the pit that much anymore because we’re recognized so much. We’d be taking picture all the time and wouldn’t be able to enjoy the show.

Buy bigger sunglasses, guys!

Yeah, sunglasses and a wig.

They sell those at most of the festivals! What’s an absolute must for you in the green room? How demanding is your rider usually?

Oh our rider is pretty easy. We don’t really drink. There’s no alcohol on our rider, we just have some sparkling water, maybe some coconut water, chocolate. We always say we’re cheap dates!

Promoters probably love you!

We get that a lot, we do.

You should at least request chocolate-flavored coconut water next time. Here’s a tip from Myspace for you!

Yes, that can work. Thanks!