The past time has been difficult for live musicians, singers, DJs, actors and many other professions in the creative industry, but fortunately things are looking up again! Maybe one or the other has already forgotten what it's like to be on stage or are planning their first performance right now.
So that you are well prepared for the coming festival seasons, I interviewed a musician who already has experience on stage and gives us 4 important tips for your own performance!
You want to stay up to date? Follow us on Instagram or Facebook so you don't miss anything! Are you ready? Here we go.
Your first performance - singer LMXX gives 4 tips for the stage
Q: Hey LMXX, nice that you have time so spontaneously! In this new format we give musicians and producers a look behind the scenes of the music industry and I'm really happy to have you with us because today's topic is refreshing: performing live on stage. Would you briefly tell our readers what you have experienced on stage in the past and what impressions you have gathered?
*laughs* First of all, thank you for allowing me to do the interview with you today and for being able to share my experiences! Well, I've been around for a while, my musical career kind of started in 2010. You were young, you were hungry and you just made a lot of music. Back then everything was a bit harder - producing, connecting to social media, organizing concerts and such, but I still tried to move the masses with my boys at every performance. We dropped our first English single back then and just did our own thing.
Q: Did you try to play concerts with your first songs?
Yes, well we wanted to see how far we could get and got two cool gigs at the same time. We broke up so much live that our organizers said we were even better live than on record! *both laugh*
Then a little journey began. We didn't always play our own concerts, but we were often booked as the opening act for big artists from the USA and Germany. The bar was already extremely high. Today I only perform as a solo artist and will soon be playing my own concerts again in Hamburg. Of course, the experience from the past few years is of benefit to me.
Afrobeats paired with pop melodies. German mixed with English. Everything brought together like milk and honey results in AFROPOP of the latest generation.
Africa reconciles with Europe in its most beautiful form.
Nobody does all this better than LMXX. With his latest project, Sonne im Norden, he breaks down all fronts between German pop culture and African rhythms.
Q: I can imagine that you have a lot of respect for the crowd before such a performance, after all, the expectations are high when you go to a concert by a popular US artist. As the support act, did you also have experiences on stage that changed your sound or your existence as an artist in the long term after you saw the performance of the main act?
Definitely... I think that's a very good and important question. It's really not easy; you're in demand and booked, but at the end of the day you're the opening act for someone who's really at the start. The expectation is really high. I think you can only score if you present your passion and leave a lasting impression.
People must be like, "The show was so awesome, I want to know who this artist is." That should be the motivation for every artist.This is just an opportunity for you to get to the next level, after all, live performances are still the main source of income for artists
in many placesQ: How do you actually deal with the nervousness before a show like this?
Well, I personally saw every show as my own. Every performance was THE performance for me. The highlight. THE main show. And I didn't care who performed before me or after me.
I've gone to these shows with that attitude, mostly even with songs that the crowd doesn't even know. That means you have it even harder; the artist is very well known and has a sold-out hall.
As the opening act for Busta Rhymez, Trey Songz, Ace Hood, you have 5,000 to 10,000 people who are there and don't know anything about you. I always wanted to prove to these people that there is a real artist standing in front of you on stage and that he just really entertained you!
That was my formula and that's how I got more and more gigs. Organizers approached me and called me directly when any artists flew over to Germany. It was awesome, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Berlin, o2 Arena, Alsterhaus, Große Freiheit 36, Docks - I just took everything with me and participated.
Q: Cool! So you kept in direct contact with your organizers and sorted out your appearances yourself?
Every artist who is in the music business and wants to achieve something with his music is responsible for himself. Even if I'm working with a record company or something, it's my job as an artist to get where I see myself. And no matter what others do for me, I have to do more!
For me it was natural to call the organizers alone, sometimes I gave something to the management, but I always made sure to make progress.
Of course it's better to set priorities beforehand and plan accordingly: I wanted to get to know new people and present my music in front of an audience.
I mean, these days you put out a single and you don't know what people look like, how they react, how they rock live. And that's what I wanted to find out. - LMXX
Q: Thanks for these insights! Give us three tips that singers, instrumentalists or producers/DJs should consider before their (first) performance.
The first tip I can give you is: Be aware of what you are doing this gig for. For me it was always to leave a lasting, positive and authentic impression on the audience. If you know what you're doing, then the concerns will fall away by themselves.
Q: And tip 2?
You have to know what kind of sound you have and what your own vibe is. This way you can better transfer your energy to the crowd. Are you more of a party type? What do you have to visually support your party sound? How do you want to perform your songs? If you then play your great party song, but perform it in a really mellow way, then that somehow contradicts itself.
To go back to that "knowing your own sound" thing. By that I also mean knowing myself. What you like, what you don't like. Knowing how to transport what you like into the music. This is how you create your own sound over time. It's also not something that comes overnight. This will need time. That must live, learn and develop.
Q: So in order to find your own sound you have to regularly listen to, analyze and rehearse your own songs?
To a hundred! I go even deeper: If you listen to my songs, then you know how I talk and behave. So the listener gets an even more direct connection to what I say or how I feel.Going much deeper into the vibe and trying to stimulate compassion through sensitivity is what helps me
Q: That sounds nice! Tell me, is there another tip 3?
The crowd is king. I think you have to be flexible because if I go somewhere as an artist and I do my thing but the crowd doesn't feel the vibe, then it's my job as an artist to find out what vibe actually works here. And that's exactly what I drop!
That's why you shouldn't always have your picture-book set, go on stage and say “Digger, I'm going to do my thing. Track 1. Track 2. Track 3” but to be live and feel this moment.
If people don't celebrate track 1 and track 2 that much, but you still have tracks 7 and 8 up your sleeve that you didn't really want to do, but still bring a twist to the crowd, then you can still do that tear rudder. If you want people to follow you or take seriously what you do and love, then I think it's worth the effort and it's the right path.
Q: Sort of like a good DJ in a club! He also knows when it's time to play something else to get the guests off the dance floor and to the bar. Being flexible is definitely something some people forget. Good point!
I remember that from my early days. As a musician, you couldn't always afford your own DJ or have a homie who can do it. If you then appear in a club, you might get the DJ who is there, but in general, especially in a club, it's always better as a singer or rapper if you perform with a DJ you know. who knows your vibe Who might be able to bail you out if people don't go off. Then your DJ plays something a few BPM faster or throws in some effects.
That's a whole other level of art! But it's also a luxury. *grins* It's definitely something to work towards.
Locations with different soundscapes:
- Club
- Beach Club
- open air
- Festival
- Concert Hall
- Arena
- Live TV
- Radio
- Live, playback
Q: Since you've already addressed DJs and music producers on your own, I have one more question: Can you share a fourth tip for producers with us? Let's be honest, a DJ has experience with an audience, but many bedroom producers have never been on stage. How can producers prepare for their first live gigs?
It is important to know what kind of performance this is. Is it a concert hall? A club show? An open air? And above all, it is important what role you play, i.e. whether you perform with the artist on stage or whether you are more in the background or just take care of the sound.
When you play with the main act, it's important that you know your technique but also be flexible. That goes for the DJ too, because when everyone's on the ball and you want to start dancing, it's cool if the DJ knows what he's doing and maybe changes the set list.
If you're supposed to be in the background as a producer, then of course it's very important how the sound is received. So how do the PAs (speaker boxes) sound in the venue? How is the artist currently performing the song I produced? Does the beat sound great or is the bass still booming somewhere?
Most of the time you're allowed to do a sound check and I think that's the most important time for the producer, because then he can check his sound and the room and talk to the sound engineers on site. If you have a good sound, then you're already halfway there!
Q: So the first appearance doesn't necessarily have to be the best.There can be many more great moments on stage if you keep working on yourself!
You can also leave a lasting impression if something went wrong! People should go home and say "Hey, this LMXX watched something interesting, maybe I'll hear from you again sometime".
Q: Thank you LMXX for these insights and the great conversation. Before we get to the end; tell us when you will have new music! Is there something at the front door? You mentioned a gig in Hamburg?
In the night from 22.07. to 23.07. my new single came out. This is the first single from the forthcoming Afrobeat album due out later this year. It's called "Sun in the North".
On 24.07. there was an open-air concert in Hamburg. The event is called ROOTS and you could see me performing live again and check out the new vibe.
I also have a YouTube channel where I present young and up-and-coming artists. Anyone interested in the movement is welcome!
You want to learn more about LMXX? Follow him on Spotify & on social media!
