Truth x Lies had a blast joining us at the Philips space during the Nexus Lounge Miami edition. It’s exciting to hear about their musical journey and what they have in store next, and their Take 5 series segment added an extra layer of fun!
Truth x Lies is like a musical yin and yang, with Ian Bertles and Ryan Howard embodying the clash between honesty and deception in both sound and persona. Blending Ian’s engineering prowess with Ryan’s classical music background, they craft two distinct vibes: a dark, intense tech house perfect for late-night raves and a lighter, modern tech house with a refined touch. Their live performances are a rollercoaster ride through the underground, featuring boundary-pushing bass lines, synths, and beats that captivate all types of listeners.
Truth x Lies has been dishing out infectious tech-house tunes for nearly a decade, starting as local promoters in NYC. From 2012 to 2014, they experimented across genres, packing venues with eager fans and friends and creating a buzz wherever they played.
After deciding to focus solely on house music, Truth x Lies’ journey started as a slow simmer. They hustled to score local gigs, but their big break arrived when they clinched the Insomniac Discovery Project in 2017 with their debut original track, “City Lights.” That same year, they also triumphed in BONNIE X CLYDE’s Bass Jam Remix Competition by reworking the Wanted EP. Since then, their rise in the tech house realm has been meteoric, dropping tracks on renowned labels like In/Rotation, North of Neptune, Sink or Swim, Techne, Night Service Only, and hau5trap.
As Truth x Lies saw their dreams materialize, they boldly chose to decline gigs in NYC, shifting their focus to music production and shedding the “local DJs” label. It was during this pivotal time that they settled on the name Truth x Lies. Their concept-driven style of music production led them to understand the intertwined nature of truth and lies; one cannot exist without the other.
Today, Truth x Lies comfortably stands among the rising stars of the tech-house scene. Their impressive catalog, which includes remixes like Afrojack’s “Polkadots” and Tita Lau’s “One of a Kind,” alongside originals like “What I’m Sayin” and “Think About It,” has racked up over 25 million streams across all platforms. On Spotify alone, they boast a dedicated fanbase of over 200K monthly listeners.
In June 2023, their collaboration with CID titled “Caroline” soared, garnering over 1.6 million Spotify streams and landing them at #10 on Beatport’s Overall Top 100 chart, #3 on the Tech House Chart, and #1 on both the Hype: Tech House and Hype: Overall Top 100 charts. With every new release, they’ve become a fixture in Beatport’s Top 10. They are currently ranked as a Beatport Top 20 Selling Artist in the Tech House category.
After completing a whirlwind tour of 26 cities across the US in the last four months, Truth x Lies is gearing up to refocus on releasing new music. "We spent the last two months just writing, writing, writing. We have a big stack of tunes right now. Everything's coming out in the next six months. So, it's going to be a very exciting year."
During the interview, we couldn’t resist asking Truth x Lies what animal they would choose to be given the chance, and they both agreed on an owl. Expanding on this, Ryan and Ian shared, “You put me in a club; I just sit there and observe for the first half hour. I’m just looking around and trying to figure out what’s going on. We’re those guys who are in the background listening to the music. You know, just kind of like analyzing.”
To learn more about Truth x Lies, including their favorite movie soundtrack, listen to our full interview below.
