Hey LYOD! How are you and what have you been getting up to since releasing your latest single ‘Ricarda’?
Hey guys!! I am good, very focused on making new music and playing more live shows.
How did you first begin producing?
I started producing music when I was 13 years old because I wanted to express my own feelings in my own songs. I bought Logic Pro and started experimenting with the program. At that time there were nearly no tutorials on how to produce a song or online loop libraries like Splice. So I had to try out a lot and teach myself how to produce music and dig through the sample banks on my friends‘ hard drives to find new sounds.
Is there one album or artist that influenced your journey and sound today?
There are a lot of artists that influenced my sound over the last couple of years.
I wouldn’t stick to one specific album. Some artists influence me in how they choose their drum sounds, others in what harmonies and melodies they use, others through the character they give a song and some artists in how they use samples and find new ways of doing things. Diplo, Skrillex, Fred Again, Paul Kalkbrenner and Avicii are definitely some of the artists who have influenced me a lot.
How has your sound developed from your early production?
I would say my sound has become more mature, more reduced and minimalistic to focus on the important things in a song. But I love to experiment and try out different genres. I want my music to be listened to at home, having a chilled day or when they are going to a party. Even though my sound is more club focused right now, it doesn’t mean that I will not go back to more emotional deep songs. It always depends on the mood I’m in and what I’m feeling the most at that moment.
Your new single ‘Ricarda’ dropped recently, can you tell us a little bit about this new release. What was the process and story behind the track?
Me and Alexis were sending ideas back and forth over the last couple of months.
He found this catchy latin vocal sample and I started building a song around it. It was so much fun making this record and it all came together very quickly. I always wanted to make a song with a latin vibe and so it became “Ricarda”.
Can you walk us through your creative process when crafting your high-energy dance releases? How do you best capture that dance-floor energy when you’re producing?
Trial and error I would say. There is no correct formula. Most of the time I start with an idea centered around a strong vocal or a great and emotional melody. If that works and sparks something inside me, I try to build a strong groove around that. Groove, emotionality and production are what, in my opinion, make a great dance record. When I have a strong idea and start to mix a song, I often do this when I am working on the song,
I reference my songs with great records and try to understand what they did in order to get a great groove and why their kicks and snare hit harder than others. Of course with time you find a workflow and know how to balance a song but I always learn so much new stuff with each song I finish. Sometimes it’s a burden, because as soon as I release a song I suddenly understand what I should have done differently.
You’ve always maintained a really strong sonic identity. Is there any advice you would give someone just starting out and finding their sound?
Thank you! I love the idea and the concept of an album when I start writing new music. Doesn’t matter if it will come out as an album in the end. That way I can focus more on the sonic identity of all songs and how they should sound like and not just on one song at a time. But there is also no correct formula. Finding “your sound” takes time and you have to write a lot of songs. One advice I would always give is try to be yourself and don’t do what everyone else is doing. Always try to make it your own and bring something new to the table.
What exciting things have you got lined up for the rest of 2024?
Over the next few months I will be releasing a lot of new club songs and in early 2025 there will be a full length EP. I’ve also started hosting my own event called “LYOD LIVE” in different cities to find a way of sharing new demos and unfinished songs with the people, and I am very excited to push this forward.
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LYOD, known offstage as Niklas Heidkamp, hails from Cologne, Germany, and has been making waves in the music scene over the past years. He accumulated over 100 million streams, reached the 1 million monthly listeners mark and has over 40.000 followers across his social media platforms.
Last September, LYOD dropped his eagerly awaited debut album “Forgot How You Dance,” a sonic journey that solidified his sound and showcased his distinctive style, blending emotion, warmth, and soul into dance music. Several tracks from the album went viral on TikTok, earning massive support from Spotify, Apple Music, and top-tier DJs like R3hab, Sam Feldt, Moguai, Francis Mercier, Will Sparks, Don Diablo, and Will Clarke.
On top of that, LYOD has been officially backed by Beatport, featured in numerous interviews for global magazines and blogs, including a “Get to Know” piece with mixmag, and created an official remix for star DJ Sam Feldt.
After countless studio hours and his debut live shows in 2023, LYOD is ready to conquer the live scene. Kicking off with a sold-out show in Cologne, LYOD is launching his own electrifying event series, “LYOD LIVE.” Alongside this, he’s unveiling his latest project, the “Nightfall EP,” which promises a darker, more mature soundscape crafted especially for his live performances. Get ready for a year-long journey as these tracks drop throughout 2024 and into early 2025.
