Music Production and Mixing Tips for Music Producers and Artists | Inside The Mix
If you're searching for answers on topics such as: what is mixing in music, how I can learn to mix music, how to start music production, how can I get better at music production, what is music production, or maybe how to get into the music industry or even just how to release music. Either way, you’re my kind of person and there's something in this podcast for you!
I'm Marc Matthews and I host the Inside The Mix Podcast. It's the ultimate serial podcast for music production and mixing enthusiasts. Say goodbye to generic interviews and tutorials, because I'm taking things to the next level. Join me as I feature listeners in round table music critiques and offer exclusive one-to-one coaching sessions to kickstart your music production and mixing journey. Get ready for cutting-edge music production tutorials and insightful interviews with Grammy Award-winning audio professionals like Dom Morley (Adele) and Mike Exeter (Black Sabbath). If you're passionate about music production and mixing like me, the Inside The Mix is the podcast you can't afford to miss!
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Music Production and Mixing Tips for Music Producers and Artists | Inside The Mix
#153: From Studio to Historic Castle: How to Set Up a Synthwave Festival with Rainer Aschemeier (UAP)
Have you ever wondered if it's hard to organise a synthwave music festival? Maybe you're seeking help on the topics: how to start a music festival, how to create a budget for a festival, or what makes a good festival. Then check out EP 153 of the Inside The Mix podcast.
Can you imagine transforming your synthwave studio project into a live performance at a historic castle in Schloss Bevern, Germany? Join me for an intriguing conversation with Rainer Aschemeier, aka UAP, host of the "Let's Talk Synth... Seriously" podcast, as we explore his ambitious journey from the studio to the stage. Rainer shares the challenges and strategies of coordinating international collaborations with artists like the Martin Brothers from Switzerland and Katie Tich from the USA. We also touch on the often-overlooked power of traditional promotion methods, such as posters and flyers, in the digital age and how these can be crucial in bringing a local event to life.
Sound design lovers, this one's for you! We discuss the art of sound design and the transformative impact of live performances on music production. Drawing from insights from Rainer, we highlight how live shows can inspire more intentional sound choices and elevate your recordings. Plus, hear about Rainer’s discovery of Katie Tich through Landr, and the logistical hurdles he overcame to bring her from the USA to Germany for a concert. This chapter underscores the importance of live mixing and the creative opportunities it opens for artists.
We also dive into the nuts and bolts of planning and executing live concerts. Rainer walks us through his two-year collaboration with Katie, from recording their single "Talita" to the financial and technical challenges of bringing their project to a live audience. Learn how they navigated financing through gig salaries and a Kickstarter campaign, with expert insights from Brian Hazard of Color Theory on mixing and mastering. Whether you're an artist, a sound engineer, or an event planner, this episode is packed with practical advice and motivation to elevate your music projects.
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You're listening to the Inside the Mix podcast with your host, Mark Matthews.
Marc Matthews:Hello and welcome to the Inside the Mix podcast. I'm Mark Matthews, your host, musician, producer and mix and mastering engineer. You've come to the right place if you want to know more about your favorite synth music artists, music engineering and production, songwriting and the music industry. I've been writing, producing, mixing and mastering music for over 15 years and I want to share what I've learned with you. Hello, folks, and welcome to the Inside the Mix podcast. If you are a new listener, a big welcome. Make sure you hit that follow button on your podcast player of choice. And to the returning listeners, as always, a huge welcome back.
Marc Matthews:In this episode I am joined by my friend Rainer Aschermeyer, aka UAP, the host of one of my favorite podcasts. Let's Talk Synth Seriously. It's like my soundtrack to the gym or my runs of a Friday morning when new episodes are released. So in this episode, rainer and I discuss his up and coming event that he is organising in Germany at Schloss Biefen Castle, and I think I pronounced that correctly. He's going to be joined there by the Martin Brothers, who have been on the podcast before, and Katie Tisch, who featured on Rainer's up and coming album, or rather, uap, his artist alter ego, if you want to listen to my chat with the Martin brothers, check out episode 90 of the Inside the Mix podcast.
Marc Matthews:So Rainer and I talk about transitioning from a studio project to the stage and the challenges therein, and also how he gets his collaborators involved from different parts of the world. Rainer lets us in on the key steps to organizing the event itself and some of the key considerations in planning and executing the event, and then we talk about Slosh Beef and Castle itself and the surrounding area and the influences the artist influences in that area from Cluster Harmonia and Brian Eno as well. And then we talk about promotion and the strategies that Rainer has employed in advertising and promoting the event and in particular, really interestingly, he talks about the art of physical promotion. It's not dead, folks. We are still promoting with posters and leaflets and flyers as well, and Rainer lets us in on his thoughts and opinions as to which one he likes to use and why. So that's enough talking from me.
Marc Matthews:Let's dive into my chat with Rainer Aschermeyer, aka UAP. Hello folks and welcome In this episode. I am very excited. I'm always excited, I know I say that, but I am with this one because I love getting other podcasters on the podcast, as you well know and I am welcoming my guest today the host of the let's Talk Synth Seriously podcast, my soundtrack to my gym on a Friday when those episodes are dropped Rainer Aschmeyer, aka UAP, the artist. Uap, how are you, buddy? Thank you for joining me today.
Rainer Aschemeier:I'm good, mark. Thank you very much for the invite. I'm really happy to be on your podcast this time, and so, yeah, it's a change of perspective, so to speak.
Marc Matthews:It's always interesting, isn't it, when you're on the other side and you're being interviewed on the podcast?
Rainer Aschemeier:Absolutely, I'm learning so much every time to also to deal with my guests, you know, on the podcast. It's really interesting all the time yeah.
Marc Matthews:And audience listening. I'll put a link to that podcast, um, in the episode show notes, because you've had some great interviewees on there, uh, notably the martin brothers, which is how I found your podcast, and then I had them on this podcast as a result, because I love their music and they're great guys yeah, it's such an inspiring podcast this.
Rainer Aschemeier:Let's talk seriously, right?
Marc Matthews:yes, exactly, you gotta big yourself up, uh. So I'm gonna read a little bit from your bio here, just for our audience listening, who may not be familiar with you. So you started your musical journey in 1990. Uh, you've recorded several albums exclusively for friends and family over the years. You began releasing music publicly on platforms like spotify in 2021 three albums almost gone in 2021. Three albums Almost Gone in 2021, behind the Looking Glass 22, and Transatlantic in 2024. And you've released several singles as well, with City, be your Monster, gathering over 100,000 streams. Well done. And you've been collaborating with your friend, katie Titch I hope I pronounced that correctly. I should have checked From the USA.
Rainer Aschemeier:She's pronounced Tish, because I think her. What is it? The guys who lived before you? What is it in English Parents?
Marc Matthews:Your grandfather and son. Yeah, grandparents.
Rainer Aschemeier:I think they were from the Czech Republic. So that's why she's pronounced Tish.
Marc Matthews:You know what In my head? I was thinking Tish. I should have gone with my gut, because I was thinking Tish, but I didn't. I went with Tish instead. I should have gone with my gut on that one. But importantly, and it's the topic of this episode, you're set to meet for the first time for a concert at Schloss Bevan Castle in Germany on August 3rd, along with the Martin brothers who I just mentioned from Switzerland. I wish I could get along to this, but I'm actually on holiday during that week in Greece. So the topic of today's conversation is challenges and strategies of bringing a studio project to the stage, so coordinating international collaborations, organizing and promoting this upcoming event at Schloss Bevan Castle. So your journey from recording music for friends and family to releasing albums publicly is inspiring, let's say, and so it'd be cool if we could start about your upcoming concert, as we've just mentioned. Maybe you could talk a bit about how you go about bringing a studio project to the stage, especially with collaborators who are located in different parts of the world Switzerland and the US.
Rainer Aschemeier:Yeah, that's right. I mean that's the biggest challenge, or that's been the biggest challenge. Let's say it started when I was asked. It was not my idea to have this concert, because I was very aware there would be a challenge to bring a studio project, like I have it, on stage. But I was asked by the people of Schloss Befern I think we will mention this awesome team quite a few times on this podcast episode and they asked me if I was interested to do a concert with synthesizer music in Schloss Befan for their Atelier Rebpfennig.
Rainer Aschemeier:That is a room where there is place for several arts like painting, sculpturing, poetry, music. They all meet there and it was the former atelier of a painter called Karl Rebfenig, who lived in the castle and who also worked at the castle. And so they asked me and I said no, no way, I can't do this because, first of all, I can't sing and play at the same time. It just doesn't work. My fingers start to stumble when I start to sing and, on the other hand, you know when you've got a studio project in a studio there are no limits. Basically, you can, if you want, you can have 20, 30 tracks in a, in a song and so on, and I like to have many tracks in my songs and so I never thought about realizing stuff like that live.
Rainer Aschemeier:And so when there is this challenge to revisit your own songs and revisit your own arrangements, that's absolutely great and I learned a lot from this and I think my next songs will be better arranged, because I learned, if you break songs down to a smaller arrangement, first of all it works and second, sometimes it's even better and you get to alternative ideas that might be even better than what you've originally conceived. So that was great and that was definitely a challenge. And the collaborators in different parts of the world. You know my my basic intention was to to not have this concert. That I. I said, okay, I'm, I'll be doing this concert, but only when my friend katie from the usa will sing, and I never thought that would happen. And, yeah, magically it happened, and now that she's on board, I said, okay, we can do this concert, and then the Martin brothers joined. But it was another step.
Marc Matthews:Exciting. I wish I could be there for this gig. But just to touch on a few things that you mentioned that I think are really important. The first one is that you declined to begin with, which is because I can imagine I've put gigs on not to this extent in the past and I know the sort of work that goes into it. But I love the idea of this creative castle where you've got all this creativity going on in various formats and then they've chosen sort of synth music as the audio, the music, the medium that they're going to be listening to here. Why do you think it is that they have opted for that? Is it like a pocket of people who like synth music in particular, or is it conducive to the sort of atmosphere and the ambience of the castle?
Rainer Aschemeier:The town of Befan it's not a city, it's a very small town has a certain tradition of synthesizer music Because in a small village very close to Befan called Forst, there were two bands, Cluster and Harmonia, and those two bands were working together with Brian Eno, and Brian Eno actually came over from the UK to record three albums with Cluster and Harmonia. Harmonia was set up of Michael Rother, who also joined Kraftwerk, and Dieter Möbius and Hans-Joachim Rüdelius. They formed Cluster and with Michael Rother they were Harmonia, and then they got in touch with Brian Eno and they recorded all their albums in Befern, in the small village of Forst, and so there was a certain tradition. One member of this Schloss Befan team she was living together with Cluster and Harmonia in an old farmhouse in Forst near Befan, and so that was, like you know, when young in the 70s, late 70s, early 80s, and my wife joined the team at Schloss Befan just for interest in cultural activities, and then she said oh my, my husband is basically doing synth music.
Rainer Aschemeier:Don't you want? You have to live. Do you want to have a listen?
Rainer Aschemeier:yeah, yeah and yeah, that's. That's basically the starting point. They listened to that stuff and they said, oh, that's cool. We didn't have synth music for quite some time, so let's ask him if he wants to do a concert.
Marc Matthews:That was the story that's so cool, so already had. There's all this, there's this history that's already there in this small town, this small area, as it were, and then it just so happens that you're sort of in the right place at the right time. The stars align that's really, really cool, and Brian Eno as well. You've got some great names dropped in there.
Rainer Aschemeier:I must say that, of course, personally I am nothing compared to these guys. You know I was really. It was part of my hesitation to say yes, because these guys were true legends and especially also in Germany, cluster and Harmonia. They were defining an era. If you listen to their music, it was pretty interesting because many people that time were working with Moog synthesizers or Arp synthesizers, which was the gear of the time, and Cluster and Harmonia were all equipped Italian, like Fafisa and the Davoli synths, like really obscure synthesizers these days. So they had a pretty different sound back then obscure synthesizers these days. So they had a pretty different sound back then.
Rainer Aschemeier:And maybe that also attracted Brian Eno to some extent, and it is reported that Brian Eno brought a CS-80 Yamaha to Forst and so they joined Forst basically and created really a sound of their own. So these were absolutely inspiring artists and so I was really hesitant to say okay, and now UAP. But I don't, I don't see that anymore like that. I think it's just nice to have a good concert there. We do what we can basically, and we present the sound that we got. I'm very well aware that I'm in a very different league, but it's just a fun evening basically, and maybe we can draw a little bit of a light to this 70s tradition and maybe bring up the interest to that again.
Marc Matthews:Yeah, most definitely, and I'm sure you'll do it justice and, like you say, I'm sure it would be amazing regardless. So I'm sure you will, I'm sure it'd be amazing regardless you know um.
Marc Matthews:So I'm sure you will, I'm sure I'm sure you will, I, I know you will, but there's a, there's a couple other things that you mentioned in the preparation for this. So I know what you mean when you say singing and playing at the same time is hard. As a guitarist, when I was performing, the last thing I wanted to do was sing, and hats off to anybody who can do it, but maybe it's my proficiencies as an artist. I probably should have learned how to do it, so I know exactly what that's like.
Marc Matthews:But you mentioned, and importantly, in the studio we're only limited by our imagination and what we can creatively conceive, really, and processing power to an extent, but that's becoming less and less evident. But you mentioned there about how you had to change your music or rearrange it and reduce abstract elements of it so you could perform it live Across your sort of catalogue. Were there any commonalities across the board that you noticed in your songs that you were removing? And then, because you mentioned that it's also influenced how you're going to write or song, write going forward as well. Is there anything in particular you're thinking, ah, I don't need to do that anymore, or I need to do less of write going forward as well. Is there anything in particular, you're thinking, ah, I don't need to do that anymore, I need to do less of that going forward.
Rainer Aschemeier:Yeah, one thing in particular is um sound design.
Rainer Aschemeier:I would say, um, we I can only speak for myself, but I I think it is a common problem that many people just go for presets and they settle with that, they are content with that, and then they write their songs and they think, oh, I need a piano now and those, so they go for their usual e-piano preset or I need a lead synth now and they, they just look for a lead synth preset.
Rainer Aschemeier:But when you play it live and you don't have all the power from the DAW, like EQ or like compressor or so, and you really need to do this with your fingers and maybe a velocity setting, then you think twice really about the sound choice and sometimes you say, okay, I'm opting for a different sound on stage and then suddenly it sounds better because probably you've erased another track and you have a different sound which is a bit fuller, to substitute that track and to make it sound full, and then you realize it would have been better in the first place. Like that, and seriously I wish I could record my very recent album again with the experiences that I made with rearranging the tracks for Performing Live, and I am absolutely sure that this will affect my songwriting for future singles.
Marc Matthews:Amazing stuff, and it reminds me of a conversation I had on the podcast and it's probably about 18 months ago now which was with, uh, an engineer called mike exeter, um mix engineer producer as well. So he's worked with black sabbath and and some others as well, and he he mentioned that one. A really good way of getting to grips with mixing is to mix live, and I think that is sort of echoing what you say there about when you transition your music to a live setting, you can quite quickly pick out bits and pieces that you may need to change. So sound choice and sound design is a really interesting one. I'd love to do that myself.
Marc Matthews:I think it's a really good exercise to do and it's great to hear that it's going to influence your songwriting going forward and your productions as well. So I'll be listening out to see if I can pick out those differences in the up and coming sort of music that you release, and this is quite a nice segue into my next question about your music. So maybe if you could tell our audience about your collaboration with Katie Tisch and how did you manage to bring her, or how you are managing to bring her from the USA to Germany for this concert. What are some of the logistical challenges you're facing?
Rainer Aschemeier:Yeah, I mean first of all about Katie and how I met her. It was like pretty exactly two years ago when I wrote a song which I couldn't sing because I managed to write it in a key where the vocal layer was too high for me. So there were two options I could have just transposed it to a different key, but it didn't sound right. And the other option was what I always wanted to just look how my songs would sound like with different vocalists. And so I thought I'm looking for a female singer. I wanted a voice that had a folk aspect to it, like folk pop, folk rock, you know, if you want and so I decidedly looked for folk singers and for some reason, the very first vocalist that I asked was Katie, and I found her on Lander. You know, lander is my distributor and they have this, this platform where you can just ask and book people to help you with production or with certain parts in the song and so on, and then that's where I found her, so I called her.
Rainer Aschemeier:We recorded the single that was turning out to be Talita, to my point of view, still one of my best songs. We had so much fun in the process and I just thought it would be really a pity if that would stop now. So I asked Katie, would you be interested to continue to work with me with a long-term goal of having an album? And that's just what we did for two years now, and now we have that album. And when the concert came up, I just called Katie. Katie, you won't believe what happened. They asked me if I would be interested to do a UAP concert, but I said no. And she said no, why are you doing this? This is a concert in a castle. You should really do it. And I said, yeah, there would be a way, but you would need to sing, you would need to come over to Germany and you wouldn't do this right.
Marc Matthews:And she said I'll do it Amazing.
Rainer Aschemeier:And so then of course, the next challenge was how to get Katie over to Germany, and we had a salary for the gig, and we invested all the salary into Katie's flight ticket, and we got a little more with a Kickstarter campaign that we started a while ago, and that whole concert really went bigger and bigger, and we just met so many aspects in the process where costs were involved, and so first of all was financing Katie's flight ticket, so that we could really surely say to these people, okay, we're doing it. And the second thing was this and that, and we got that sorted with the Kickstarter campaign, also because of the album amazing, amazing.
Marc Matthews:So just circling back there. So you were looking for a vocalist, because you realize the limitations of your singing range, as it were, and I can't sing at all, so I always have to outsource vocalists. But, interestingly, you mentioned about Landa. When you say Landa, are we talking about the same platform here as in online mastering, as well as other bits and pieces, or is it a different one?
Rainer Aschemeier:no, it's the same but I don't use the mastering service, but I use the distribution service. They have quite a range of services and so on, and they also have this platform like fiverr. Basically it's pretty much the same thing, but it connects people who are already distributed by lander, which I find kind of handy. You know, when you're on this platform and you see somebody who you find interesting as a vocalist or as anyone, you can be sure that she or he is on lander, so the same distributor that you're using, and so that's pretty handy most definitely, and because that sometimes as a producer, as a songwriter, etc.
Marc Matthews:Finding the right vocalist can be quite difficult. Um, so, having a platform like that is great. Because my question was going to be how did you source or how did you contact her? You mentioned that using that lander platform, because it can be quite tricky. So, because there are platforms like I've used it in the plow in the past, like vocalizer, which is where you can put your project out there and then artists or singers top liners as such can submit a top line and then you can select from those and you end up paying them and going down that route. So it's really interesting there and I didn't know lander had that facility.
Marc Matthews:I'm gonna have to have to look into that because I'm gonna get back into the actual releasing and writing of my own music in the second half of this year, so I need to find some more singers, as it were. So that's uh very interesting. You mentioned there about the flight ticket as well and how you uh how you pay for the flight ticket using essentially the salary for the for the gig, and I've been in these situations myself. Have you managed? This might be a bit of a prying question have you managed to stay within budget at all, or is there like any? Has there been some flex, and is that why? Is that why the kickstarter was then created?
Rainer Aschemeier:yeah, of course we didn't say in the budget no, I mean, the flight ticket itself completely bombarded our budget and, um, it was not quite enough for the flight ticket, but there's not not much more to spend for the flight ticket. But then there came so many challenges. You know, when you're starting to put that studio project on stage, there are quite a few technical hurdles or obstacles to get over. And also we wanted to have an album before that, so that we could really say there is an album now and we are taking this album to set up this concert. And so that, of course, course was also a big cost factor. We have brian hazard color theory as mix and mastering engineer for that brilliant yeah he's been on the podcast.
Rainer Aschemeier:We had that album produced, yeah, and so we had that together with the live situation and covered by a Kickstarter campaign that we started, and we met a few very gentle people who realized our Kickstarter campaign.
Marc Matthews:Fantastic. That's the beauty of a Kickstarter campaign, isn't it? And something like that, where you can put it out there and then you can get people involved and share their passion for what it is that you're doing. And it's great that you've got Brian involved as well. I remember chatting to Brian now, probably over a year ago a year or so ago as I love his production style and his mastering is great and he's a very good person to talk to when it comes to mastering in particular, very, very knowledgeable bloke. So, yeah, very good choice in that one. For a moment then I thought you were going to say that he was going to be playing at the gig as Color Theory.
Rainer Aschemeier:I don't know.
Marc Matthews:Does he perform live as Color Theory?
Rainer Aschemeier:No, as far as I know, I mean Brian is a good friend of mine.
Rainer Aschemeier:We email almost every day, so there is really a good friendship since three and a half years or so. And he runs, wrote me. He played live in the past but he completely stopped it. I think he simply doesn't enjoy it. It's probably it's not hi-fi enough for him. But he also mentions that he's always trying to protect his ears. And when you're in a live situation, probably with many acts, there's not always a possibility to do so. And you know, some people are born for the studio, some people are born for the stage. I pretty much enjoy both situations. I'm also playing keyboard in a rock band. I pretty much enjoy both situations. I'm also playing keyboard in a rock band, and so I like the stage part and the rehearsal room part and being together with the band and with the guys basically. But I also enjoy the studio thing where I'm completely on my own and where I can really live up to my own creativity.
Marc Matthews:Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. I've thoroughly enjoyed the performing live part of things when I was in the band over the eight or nine years that I was doing it. And I do miss it, playing live and that sort of camaraderie that you get, being with your friends and then your mates and then going out and gigging and whatnot, regardless of sometimes we play gigs when we were playing to the sound guy and his mate, but we still had a laugh. Um. But yeah, like yourself, I do enjoy the other side of the glass as well. So being in the studio, so that sort of happy medium, it's great. It's great that you talk to brian on a on a daily basis as well.
Marc Matthews:I wish I knew the episode number so I could signpost the audience to that episode. Um, I want to say episode 120 something, but they'll be able to go find it anyway, um. So this kind of segues nicely onto my. My next question so we've we've been through sort of the budgetary side of things and getting katie tish over. So organizing event as we've we've outlined so far is is no small feat, it's challenging. Can you maybe walk us through the steps you took to organize the concert itself? What are some of the key considerations in planning and executing the concert, the event, yeah, you know.
Rainer Aschemeier:I was asked by this team and so there was a good starting point and I would recommend this to everybody Look out for other people If you want to start a live concert. And if you want to start a live concert and if you want to not only do like the concert in the next club, but you want to do something special at a special occasion or at a just a special event, maybe with several artists or so, look out for other people who can help you. I mean, it's it's the same advice like with studio work. Look out for other people who can help you. I mean it's the same advice like with studio work Look out for other people who can help you and who can really take a few aspects of the job, you know. And so with this team from Schloss Bifern, we had very good contacts into the authority level, and that is probably the next thing that I would absolutely recommend.
Rainer Aschemeier:Don't forget about authorities. So when you want to play in a place like in a courtyard of a renaissance castle, you have to deal with authorities who think it's stuff by the devil really. I mean there are definitely people who say, oh my god, there are, there's a guy with such a big sunglass and crazy music that sounds like pop music from the 80s devil stuff, you know and he wants to play our renaissance courtyard. Which people are going to come there? Right? Are they going to drink beer? Are they going to puke in our courtyard, or something?
Rainer Aschemeier:You have to deal with stuff like that and I would say plan this early. Plan to speak with mayors, plan to speak with people at the venue, plan to speak with people at the venue, plan to speak with authorities, plan to be as honest and authentic as possible, but also just tell them it's just a concert with music, it's not something subversive, you know, and the problem is still there. Definitely, you have to explain what you're doing. So and we you have to explain it a year in advance. We started this whole thing one and a half years ago and even in November last year that means November 23, there was the deadline for the Catalogue of Cultural Activities which was prepared and printed for Schloss Bifern in 2024. So you really have to make up a bow which is really covering a big time span. Basically, you have to plan early if you want to do something special.
Marc Matthews:It's definitely. It's sort of that for want of a better way of putting it sort of bureaucratic red tape that you need to take into consideration, because I think you can quite easily get swept away with the excitement of talking to the artists, getting the artists on board, arranging the stage, the show, the lights, getting everything, getting the sound and getting all of that set up, and then totally forgetting oh, we need permission to actually do this. We need permission from the powers that be to do it. And I've been in a similar situation myself.
Marc Matthews:I remember we recorded a music video on an abandoned airfield and we thought I'll be fine, it's abandoned, Nobody's going to worry about that. We set up all our gear and start playing and somebody just turns up and he's like what are you doing? And we're like, oh, we're just recording a music video. He's like have you sought permission? And we were no, but I think we gave him 50 quid and he disappeared. But it just goes to show. I mean that was much smaller scale of a risk there, but you do need to get permission. So it's incredibly good advice in that respect and also finding help, and I think, like you mentioned there, about knowing when you need to outsource and get help because you're, I don't know about yourself. I do this less myself now, but thinking I can do everything. I know my limitations and I know when I need to get other people involved and I think that's. Maybe that's something comes with experience, you know.
Rainer Aschemeier:And when? I might add that there are definitely points at such a concert that you can't do yourself, for example, insurance. What do I know about insurance for a live concert? Right, we are playing there open air. It could be a thunderstorm, it could be a brick coming down from the old castle falling onto somebody. Somebody could have a beer too much and fall and break a leg. All that stuff. You need to have insurance for that, and I don't want to do that myself because there are way more qualified people who have done events like that all the time, and so that is what you want to definitely think about. Also, security. You want to have somebody at the entrance who says to somebody who probably had three drinks too much already when he came probably not such a good idea to attend the concert, maybe you want to sleep at home, stuff like that. That is something that you should really look out for qualified people and probably not do it yourself, because it can be a cannon shooting it yourself. Basically.
Marc Matthews:Yeah, most definitely. I hadn't even considered public liability insurance, what you mentioned there and then security. So even then I'll be like, okay, well, that's two more things that you got to add to the list. So that's quite some feet to organize and you definitely need a team in place to do that Because, as you say, I mean, there are people that do that for a living. In terms of, like, public liability insurance, it's not something that you can really go onto YouTube and sort of. I suppose you could. You could go on there and try and learn it yourself, but I think you're much better just getting somebody else to do it. But, reino, I'm well aware of the time here. These episodes always fly by. So I think the final bit I'd like to go through with you with regards to this sort of gig, this event, is the promotional aspect of it. So, as we all know, as promotion is key to these events, how do you go about organizing the promotion for the event, for the concert? What sort of channels and promotional activities are you undertaking?
Rainer Aschemeier:yeah, I don't tell a secret when I say, okay, social media and stuff is always a good way to go for, but I would say, don't underestimate the traditional, good old local newspaper. For example there's, especially when you're in smaller cities. I mean, if you're in Berlin and I would call the local newspaper and say, oh, we're doing a concert in a castle or so, they would probably fall asleep. But if you're in a smaller city you can always just call the local newspaper and say, hey, we're doing something different. This is Synthwave. Have you ever heard about Synthwave? I'll explain it to you what this is and what we are planning to do there. And it sounds a little bit like I don't know, miami Vice soundtrack or you know what everybody knows, so that the local newspapers have something to write. I give you one example In winter last year we made the third prize at a song competition in New Zealand and I just thought it was just.
Rainer Aschemeier:You know I had 10 minutes of time. I time. I thought, oh, I write the local newspaper about this and I I said local artist uap from holzminton wins third prize at song competition in new zealand. Next day there was the local radio calling at my place because they had read it in the newspaper. Then the next day, state radio was calling because they had heard this in the local radio and in the end we had a five minute tv feature at the local tv station about this crazy prize in new zealand. So I would always say don't underestimate the traditional media. And I think that some people are not even thinking about this anymore. They just say, oh, I got a Facebook, I got a Instagram and I got an X account and I post as much as I can and probably even invest money for promoting this. But just pick up the phone, call your local newspaper. That can be a good idea. Also, posters. We have 150 posters hanging around here in the area. I think that this is still a good way of promoting a concert.
Marc Matthews:Yeah, it's the old school way of doing it, isn't it? And I love that you mentioned posters at the end. I remember going around and putting up posters in my local area when we were putting on gigs and it does work. It does work. And what you mentioned there about the newspaper um is something that I hadn't, or just news avenues or outlets of some form in your local area. It's something that I just totally written off and I'm thinking to myself actually it's probably something I should do in my local area because, with the podcast and other bits and pieces that I do, I'm thinking, actually there's probably some interest in it in the local area.
Marc Matthews:But social media obviously does work, but you've got to think as well. With your following. I don't know about yourself, but I know, with the podcast and my producer, instagram in particular, there are followers from all over the world and, yes, the message is getting out to them, but is it getting out to the right people? Because you are at the mercy of the algorithm and, in terms of the algorithm putting it in front of those eyes, yes, they're going to support it, they'll probably like it and share it and comment, but are they actually going to attend the gig. So I love that you're using the old school boots on the ground sort of approach of putting posters. Are you doing flyers? Are you doing the classic flyers in the windscreen, on the windscreen, wiper?
Rainer Aschemeier:yeah, we are doing flyers, but not the windscreen kind of way yeah, we're having flyers actually, but to be honest I think posters are the better way, because flyers they are small, they are quickly in the dustbin and so on. So I'm not quite sure if this is the right way. But we have the good situation that Schloss Bevan was taking care of the flyers, so of course we did that, and they have a newsletter of regular attendees of their activities and they all get these flyers sent by mail, by a post, you know, letter, fantastic stuff like that post wow, there we go.
Marc Matthews:There's a blast from the past, isn't it? A letter in the post really old school.
Rainer Aschemeier:You're really retro right yeah and um, yeah, sorry when.
Rainer Aschemeier:I might add one thing when you're on instagram, you are one of thousand synthwave producers, but when you're in your local town, you might be the only one.
Rainer Aschemeier:So if you call your local newspaper, you might be something special or someone special, and when you're on instagram and you reach out to a synthwave blog or something or a podcast like yours, you will always be in the need to explain why you are special and different from the thousand other synthwave producers. Also, you want probably a lot of people from the local region attending your concert and even if they prefer to listen to jazz or to metal or whatever, you still want them to attend your synthwave concert. So you need to explain them that this is just good music and that they would probably like it, and also that you're really caring about do stuff live there and that it is not all coming from a backing track player. So you know, I mean, I have a backing track player on stage, but I really care also for playing live it's very true, you, you are, you're right there, and I never actually thought of it that way.
Marc Matthews:In terms of uh online, you are sort of one of many, you're a drop in the ocean, but in your local area you may well be just one of a handful, or even the singular individual who's doing that particular sound or that activity or that creative medium. So yeah, very wise words indeed for the audience listening. Uh reyna. We're approaching the end now, so maybe if you could just do sort of one last plug for the event itself where can I'm going to put links in the episode description for the audience as well but maybe one last plug for the event and what's happening.
Rainer Aschemeier:Yeah, I mean you have learned a lot about UAP and KD Tisch and the concert that we're planning here, but we forgot a little bit of the Martin Brothers. They are so cool. I always think they sound a bit like Nico Santos. You know the pop guy that we have from Germany there and they are really good. And so there's three good artists in the Hanover area, central Germany. If you happen to be there 3rd of August, just come to BFUN, join the concert. 400 people are fitting in that courtyard. So if you want to be one of those, just come and join us. It's 15 euros. It's not the world.
Marc Matthews:Yeah, that's an absolute bargain for what would be a fantastic event. And you're right about the Martin brothers and I was actually chatting to both of them I think it was yesterday and they mentioned about how they're having a live drummer. This might be an exclusive here, and also, I think they may be singing on a track or two or they're going to be going forward. So, yeah, I love that. I think their music sounds fantastic and I probably listen to at least one of their songs on a given day, so I love the stuff that they're doing. But, reina, it's been an absolute pleasure having you on the podcast today and I wish you all the best for the gig. I'm sure it'll be amazing, as I know it will be, and you'll have an absolute blast. So, yes, a big thank you for today, and I'm sure the audience will get lots out of your experience of putting gigs together, as I know there's a lot listening who do it themselves. So a big, big thank you.
Rainer Aschemeier:Thank you as well, mark, it has been my pleasure as well. And, yeah, such a great podcast, and keep on the good work. Thank you very much.
Marc Matthews:Thank you very much. I'll catch up with you soon.
