Artist Feature: upsammy

Click here to listen to the Carhartt WIP Radio Show featuring upsammy.

Describing upsammy’s music often involves speaking in contrasts: unpredictable yet deliberate, minimal yet expansive, analytical and expressive. Her work resists easy categorization, instead unfolding with a strong sense of environment, form, and dimension, like a terrain shaped by crystalline melodies, intricate rhythms, and an interplay between the digital and organic.

“It's very important that music comes out in such a way that it feels like you are discovering or uncovering something,” says the Amsterdam-based musician, artist, and DJ. “Like it just happens to take shape in front of you, instead of it being formed by a certain mold. “Curiosity” is a word that comes to mind when I think about my music.”

Born Thessa Torsing, upsammy’s foray into electronic music began after attending her first rave as a teenager in Sloterdijk. Soon after, she and her friends were organizing illegal parties in nearby towns, where she also taught herself to DJ and produce music. In 2016, she uploaded her track Zona to SoundCloud, catching the attention of Sjoerd Oberman from Nous'klaer Audio, which eventually led to her debut EP Another Place in 2018. The following year, she released the mini-LP Wild Chamber on the same label.

Since then, upsammy’s work has appeared on a diverse range of labels, including Dekmantel, PAN, or Die Orakel. She has also held residencies at NTS Radio, Amsterdam’s Garage Noord, and the now-shuttered De School club, all while completing a degree in Image and Media Technology at Utrecht University of the Arts. In 2025, she debuted an audiovisual live show for her album Strange Meridians, released in 2024 on topo2.

For this edition of Carhartt WIP Radio, upsammy has put together a mix of her own music, journeying through different textures, materials, and scales, while combining ambient releases with more club-focused tracks. As ever, the mix is accompanied by an interview, the artist discusses the influence of physical environments on her music, clubs as micro-societies, and why walking is an art form.

Can you talk to us through your background? What have been some pivotal moments in your life that have led you to what you do now?
 
upsammy: My start with music was violin lessons. It did not last very long, I think three or four years, but I remember enjoying assignments where I could compose my own melodies. Then I started playing guitar and in a band in high school. When I was 16 or so, I joined some friends at a rave in Amsterdam’s western industrial area – that is how I got more into electronic music. We started doing our own raves in our hometown and in Amsterdam, and that’s where I learned to DJ. I remember this as a very adventurous time, playing music under bridges and in nature – this still influences me to this day. After high school, I went to art school in Utrecht and started to think about sound more conceptually, exploring a more experimental side of it. Some people in Utrecht found my music online and then I started playing radio shows there. Soon after, I released my first record on Nous’klaer and I became a resident at Amsterdam’s De School. I also played Dekmantel after, and from there on, started playing more internationally.
 
What's one club, party or record store that had a major impact on you as an artist?
 
upsammy: Those early raves and also De School. I got to explore so many different sounds and settings, as well as a sense of community. The raves were very loose and free, adventurous. At De School I started shaping my sound and getting a sense of different dance floors. I was still quite young when I started playing there, but by the time they closed, I felt like I learned a lot from that place. I think I have played in almost every room there, both DJ sets and live. I had space to experiment, which I’m grateful for.

You released four albums on four different labels. How do you choose the right outlet for each project?

upsammy: For most of them, it is coincidental and organic: knowing the people behind the label and having a good relationship with them (most of them are Dutch, too). For my first album, I was already working with Nous’klaer. Sjoerd was the first person to release my music, so this felt very natural. After that, I released an album on Dekmantel which is also close to home, and having played there, it made sense. With PAN I actively reached out, because the music made sense for me there – it was more challenging and conceptual than the music I made before.

Your sound is often described as “futuristic” and “cerebral.” How would you define your own musical identity?

upsammy: It is definitely not a fixed identity, it is very fluid. It can be a lot of things, sometimes it's playful, sometimes it's contemplative and introspective, sometimes analytical and precise. For me, it's very important that music comes out in such a way that it feels like you are discovering or uncovering something, like it just happens to take shape in front of you, instead of it being formed by a certain mold. “Curiosity” is a word that comes to mind when I think about my music.

Can you walk us through your creative process when composing a track? Do you start with a concept, a sound, or something else entirely?

upsammy: I usually start with a sound, so I could be sampling from my collection of field recordings or vocal snippets. Sometimes I also start with molding a sound into something I like from scratch, for example on a modular synth or something like Operator in Ableton. I can also start with playing a melody on a keyboard, so there are many different starting points.

I feel that the sounds that I choose eventually translate a concept I’m exploring, but this is more subconscious. The initial start of a track is just a certain flow that I try not to interrupt. After this, I start adding elements in such a way that the track feels exciting to me. Most of my tracks end up being an interaction between natural sounds and more synthetic sounds, sometimes human voices. I like to look for contrasts between clean and dirty, smooth and rough, fast and slow. Keeping it playful. At the same time, some tracks turn out quite stripped back and minimalistic, more meditative with a focus on intertwining melodies. It’s really just what flows out, and sometimes it is key not to want to add too much.

How do your surroundings – urban, natural, social, or digital – influence your productions?

upsammy: My physical surroundings are my main inspiration when it comes to making music and sound. The same contrasts I look for in my music also catch my eye whenever I’m on a walk through the city or discovering a new place. Places that are rough and dusty but also beautiful at the same time, and I mean this more on a very small, zoomed in level. It can be contrasting materials, something metal and silver next to something organic, flowering. For me sound and visual material have a big overlap. I like to look at sound as a material, something that can be sculpted. And the other way around, too. What are the sonic qualities of certain materials? This is also why I take a lot of pictures and field recordings, to archive different “materials.”

Do you approach producing music differently than preparing a DJ set?

upsammy: Yes, usually when I make music, I don’t really think of a club or a stage. It also does not have to be danceable. With DJing of course I envision the place where I will play, the time, what the crowd will be like, etc. I look more for a common language here. But with producing, I don’t think so much about who will listen.

How do you curate your sets for different environments, like a club, a forest rave, or a gallery space?

upsammy: I try to envision what the space is like around a certain time – whether it's more ravey or requires a more subtle approach, or the type of soundsystem. But a lot of things depend on the moment, so I try not to decide too much beforehand.

What’s one moment behind the decks or during a live performance that you’ll never forget?

upsammy: Waking Life 2024 was a really beautiful moment. It felt like the perfect synergy between the sound, crowd and environment. Cathartic. Also playing at the bottom of a riverbed at Kolorado Festival was very special, it felt like the perfect setting for my live set.

Do you think DJ culture still leaves enough room for experimentation and subtlety?

upsammy: Yes, I think experimental and adventurous DJing is more of a thing now than when I started. People are more open to surprises and I feel there are quite some festivals and parties that cater to this. Of course, there is big commercialization on the other side of this, but I feel there is a lot of counter-movement now.

Are there any new sonic directions, collaborations, or formats you’re eager to explore in the future?

upsammy: At the moment I am starting to do a new ambient A/V liveshow. For the visuals, I am working together with Tharim Cornelisse. He has designed a VJ software that manipulates my image archive and responds to my sound. Environments start to morph in and out of each other, a sort of digital hypernatural world with mysterious patterns. Gamelike, in a way. It is really nice to see my sonic and visual world collide in this manner. During these performances, the focus will be more around these visuals, almost like they are the artist.

Alongside that, I have been working on an album with percussionist Valentina Magaletti. We have already started doing shows and will do more in the upcoming year. I have also been working on a new project with Piezo, resulting from very deep brain-tickling sessions in Amsterdam and Milan: our first record will be released soon and I’m eager to explore what else can come from this collaboration. Finally, I am keen to do more film scoring projects.

Does any other art form influence your musical practice?

upsammy: Yes, this can be my own photography practice, but also literature, sound art, field recording, walking art, land art, drawing. I like to use books and poetry to come up with track titles and to imagine possible environments that my tracks could mimic. Sometimes I go for long walks, taking pictures and making field recordings, drawings, visual scores, gathering everything in a diary. For me, this is also an art form.
 
How did you select the tracks for your Carhartt WIP Radio show?

upsammy: I wanted to create a dynamic and narrative mix, combining my more ambient tracks with club tracks and field recordings. A journey through different textures, materials, scales, environments.

As someone known for a nuanced sound, what do you think the music scene needs more of – slowness, complexity, or more quiet?

upsammy: I like contrast. Listening events and listening stages at festivals are becoming a thing again, which I like. Inviting a different kind of listening, or a sense of contemplation. Maybe a place where you are drawing while laying on the floor. But I also enjoy chaos and something more noisy, dirty, something that demands you listen, instead of something passive. I think we can have more of that. Regarding complexity, I don’t think this should be an end goal, but more of an intuitive, messy complexity.

What role do you think electronic music and club culture play in shaping social or political movements at the moment?

upsammy: I have to think about a moment on the dancefloor some weeks ago. I was listening to DJ Marcelle at a party called Goodness at Fold in London. She was playing a cathartic and punky set, very physical, mixing vocals chanting “this is clearly ethnic cleansing.” It was very powerful, how she brought the current situation into the club. Everyone started applauding and you felt a sense of understanding among people. I do think music can voice a form of resistance. Clubs are micro-societies in a way, where people create new rules and interactions. In my opinion this can affect people outside of the club, too.

How do you mentally and physically maintain balance in such a high-output, travel-heavy profession?

upsammy: This is not always easy. What helps me is to exercise and see friends, limiting screen time, saying “no” to things sometimes, and planning studio time. On the road, I try to go for walks or runs wherever I am and bring a nice book.

Outside of music, what brings you joy or clarity? Any rituals, routines, or lesser-known passions?

upsammy: I enjoy gardening. Last year, my partner and I moved to a house with a garden completely covered in tiles. Bit by bit, we are growing a garden here and it is beautiful to watch it take shape. Next to that, long walks or runs, and also drawing. Something that compensates being on a screen in the studio.

What is your relationship with fashion? Do you use it as a form of expression?

upsammy: It is very intuitive. I pick items with a certain color, or pattern that attracts me. I look for contrasting materials, something more cotton combined with something more technical. Certain organic shapes, graphic elements, or symbols often resonate with my music, how I feel, and what interests me. A combination of more boy-ish elements and more fitted items. It is a nice way to express yourself without words, like signaling a message the way that some animals do it by changing color or pattern.

What is your favorite account to follow on Instagram?

upsammy: At the moment I try to stay off instagram as much as possible, but one of my favorite people I followed there has luckily also moved to Mastodon, Peretsky. I enjoy his reflections on the state of the music scene and where we might be headed. Also, a person who impersonates trash on the street: @litteredmvmnts