In a rapidly digitising world, artistry born of the internet is inevitably met with
questions of authenticity. For Delhi-based producer trick/switch, the lines between
honest self-expression and curated performance blur seamlessly. His debut mixtape,
Butterfly Paralysed, is a striking exploration of this tension—a blend of electronic
R&B, emo sensibilities, and internet-fostered nostalgia. At 19, trick/switch embodies
a new archetype: the chronically online bedroom producer, shaped more by virtual
spaces than by physical realities. The mixtape, created over two isolated years in his
bedroom entirely via GarageBand, captures the loneliness and self-reflection that
accompanies life spent perpetually online. Identifying as “internet music” (even
“trash / noise” on Spotify), it channels a generation raised by the glow of screens,
shaped by algorithmic tastes, and comfortable only in digital anonymity. Yet beneath
the recognisable sonic references and stylised melancholy lies a deeper truth: trick/
switch’s music is not imitation but reinterpretation, collage as catharsis, self-curation
as survival. Each track feels like an emotional time capsule, a documentation of
feelings first experienced and filtered through screens, then meticulously
reconstructed into beats, samples, and lyrics. While the project openly wears its
influences—from Travis Scott’s synth-infused hip-hop to the moody introspection
reminiscent of Frank Ocean and Lil Uzi Vert—its power lies in its candid
acknowledgement of this inheritance. The mixtape doesn’t seek originality through
rejection, but rather through conscious acceptance and thoughtful reassembly. Here,
trick/switch reflects candidly on isolation, influence, plagiarism-as-tribute, and the
quiet rebellion of simply making music that feels real—even if, perhaps especially if,
reality itself seems mediated entirely by pixels.
On naming the mixtape after a lingering childhood memory
The mixtape’s named after a Yung Lean song called “Butterfly Paralyzed”. I heard
that song when I was a kid and that phrase kinda stuck in my mind since then. I tried
to figure out why I felt so strongly about it but I couldn’t…It just incapsulated how I
viewed myself as an artist.
On finding identity and comfort in digital anonymity
I was raised by the internet. I don’t identify myself and my music with places where
I’ve lived or the culture I was raised with at home. The only space where I feel a level
of oneness is the internet and that goes into my music. From the references I write
about or the sonics, it’s made to purely exist on the internet. There’s also a level of
anonymity and comfort in not having to face people when my music exists online
which lets me make whatever I want to. I need people to know trick/switch’s music
and not me even if the lyrics are autobiographical, and the internet is the only place
where that’s possible.
On solitude as both circumstance and creative necessity
Isolating myself wasn’t an inherently good thing. It was just what my circumstances
were and so it’s what I wrote about. I’ve reached a point now where isolation is the
only zone where I can make music. It allows me to switch my brain into trick/switch
and forget about being human. It’s not that I sit and try to figure out why I’m feeling
a certain way. I just know I do and I try to make something that resonates with that
without thinking about how it’ll be perceived.
On music as emotional survival rather than a mirror
My relationship with music started as a means of survival so I don’t do anything
stupid and it still is but eventually I got good at it and its became my chance to be
remarkable at something. Making a song doesn’t bring this sudden wave of clarity but
it does make me feel a sense of direction which is comforting sometimes. I don’t try
to understand the “why” behind my music and lyrics, it just gives an opportunity to
feel something real when I’m making or performing it.
On references as personal creative vocabulary
The name “internet music” came about since my music is the product of all the media
I’ve consumed. I’ve heard a lot of diverse music, watched a lot of films, opened a lot
of random YouTube videos and all of these shape the way I create. For me, the
privilege to consume media and collage it to sound like what my brain is interesting.
There are certain ideas I have that others won’t and a certain way it’ll all sound even
if it’s the technical s*** of how I mix, I know it’s coming from my mind.
On sampling as personal context and playful rebellion
I love sampling. It’s probably what I’m best at as a musician. I even like just calling it
plagiarism because it used to piss of purist musicians around me. All my favourite
music is plagiarised to a certain extent. The samples I use whether it be songs or
movie clips or random sounds like cement mixers or a PSP powering on, it’s all stuff
that’s important to my personality. Stuff I experienced didn’t happen in silence or in a
dark room. These sounds are the context for what I write about. There are one or two
lines in the mixtape which are directly picked up from other songs which I heard and
I thought, “f***, he said it better than I could”, and so I used them in the song itself.
All the music is through a filter that is my ideas and how I use these samples and
references which nobody else will.
On translating intimate music into collective experience
The live set is essentially my chance to f*** around. It’s more about the whole
experience. I’m never going to ask the audience to clap or sing along; the audience
serves more the role of a witness. Listening to music is a very intimate experience
between the music and the listener, each person having a different interpretation. The
show is where I get to show my relationship with the music, and how it sounds in my
head. The mixtape will sound the same forever but the live version is my way of
showing my working essentially. The show is a chance to expand a mixtape into
something larger.
On disregarding the role of criticism in creative practice
I don’t pay attention to any art or music criticism. Music is subjective and if all art
was to fit a mould of “good” music then it would be wildly uninteresting. I want to be
able to make whatever I want to as long as it feels right; something that a critic,
however educated and learned about music will not understand. Most of the artists I
look up would never be recognised by platforms guided by formulaic critics or
audience scores and so I never really aimed to make the “greatest album of all time”
or win awards. It shouldn’t impact the careers of artists the way critic opinions do in
today’s industry. In my brief interactions with critics, I’ve found them largely
pretentious and non-perceptive to how creatives do what they do. No interesting
music came from critics or the audience asking for something, it was created and
people caught on or they didn’t.
On persona as the truest form of self
For me, personally, trick/switch is the most honest and real I get actually. I tend to
disguise more in real life and that’s why I make or think about music almost all the
time because it’s when I get to be real with myself. I’m a reclusive person and that’s
why I like the idea of my music existing purely online so it’s less about my general
attractiveness and more about the music. The “persona” as such is just the rawest
version of myself.
On writing raw emotion without ornamentation
My main insecurity as a writer is that I don’t write very poetically. I’m very on the
nose about what I’m talking about. I’m not a good writer but I am an honest one. I
make music to feel something and if I try to think of fancy words and metaphors then
it becomes less about decorating and more about disguising. There are artists like
Sufjan Stevens who are very good at writing essentially poetry in their songs, I’m
afraid I’m not talented enough. If I am talking about suicidal thoughts then I can’t use
a fancy word to make it sound pretty cause it’s not pretty. I have a problem with
making turmoil sound sexy because it’s not what goes through my brain at the time.
On music as something felt rather than understood
I want all my music to be felt more than anything. I’m not sure if I completely
understand the album but I know how it makes me feel and thats more important. It’s
not a source of clarity but a source of solace. I never really contemplated how I want
my music to be perceived however. To me, the music is made purely for myself and I
know how I perceive it, hence why I see it as existing on the internet because you
don’t realise that there people on the other end, it feels like its just me and the music.
On visuals capturing the abstract landscape of inner life
I’m a very visual person. So, it plays a massive part. The film we made for the
mixtape was created with the aim of essentially depicting how my mind looked when
creating it, rather than explaining it. There’s no storyline, no explanation, just colours
and shapes and lit cigarettes.
On the reluctant significance of metrics and streaming numbers
All my aims around my music are creative oriented: I want to build a a discography
I’m proud of, I want to be able to continue making whatever I want, I want to do a
tour across exclusively dingy basements. The only numbers related goal I have really
is that I want to be able to make a living off of purely my music. However the reality
is that to be able to continue to making music and get opportunities to do shows I’m
proud of, I need to reach a point of success with regards to numbers and that scares
me but I know the music deserves the world and I’ll die trying if it gets to that.
Sometimes I think about all the great artists who I never got to hear purely because
they didn’t have the numbers to continue making music and it gets overwhelming.
On what’s missing from the indie music ecosystem
I think the Indian music landscape has amazing diverse and interesting music. I think
the problem is with what surrounds it. There isn’t actually an underground scene. A
scene implies that it’s accessible but for artists who are not easily definable or
marketable it’s difficult to get shows and coverage, speaking from experience.
There’s a lot of music that people deserve to be exposed to but it’s not reaching them
cause this music doesn’t get a platform largely because those with influence want
something polished and complete, which is not what the young artists with their basic
set ups are making. LISTEN TO THE KIDS ON THE INTERNET, THEY KNOW
WHAT’S UP.
On the definitive sonic statement of the project
It would be I’m Getting Happier Pt.2. I don’t even have a pinpoint reason, it’s just my
favourite thing I’ve ever released and covers what Butterfly Paralysed feels like. This
is why it was in the trailer.
On the freedom and privacy of anonymous art-making
So, I have a separate anonymous artist name where I have put out music already
which is wildly different but nobody’s going to find out about that anytime soon.
Even Butterfly Paralysed wasn’t really impacted by the thought of people watching.
For one, when I was making it there was nobody watching. It’s not that I don’t feel
pressure or get nervous, I’m actually a deeply anxious and reclusive person but I
know I’ll end up making and releasing whatever I want because otherwise I’ll feel
even worse and music is one of the only things I have a pure relationship with and I
can’t f*** that up no matter what.
