“Flow” is a scientifically recognized state of mind where a person is completely focused and immersed in what they’re doing- All time seems to stop, the whole world seems to disappear, and the person is performing and creating at their peak levels. Top performance athletes, engineers and especially your favorite music artists all try to do whatever they can to achieve the State of Flow. Although everyone has their own method to achieve “flow”, factors such as creative workspaces, learning beyond their craft, physical/mental well being, feedback/self evaluation on work, and resting time- help all artists create their best work.
With a career spanning over 3 decades long, German techno legend Chris Liebing talks with SIX AM about how he achieves his flow state, what he does to maintain overall balance in a life filled with clubs and traveling, and what he’s doing to prepare for his upcoming performance at Seismic Dance event.
A creativity-inducing workspace is a very personal thing. Everybody sees it in a different way. I’ve seen artists who really need a completely clean space in front of them, everything needs to be absolutely tidy, sorted and organized in order for them to be able to work. I kind of used to be like that but I introduced a little bit more chaos in my life. So for me a creativity-inducing workspace means first of all a place where I can immediately start working on my ideas without having to go through various motions, to get to the point where I can actually start working. Meaning that I don’t have to clean up anything and I don’t have to put anything away. Everything can be a little chaotic and during the working process things tend to become even a little more chaotic around me. Papers are flying around, cables are flying around, USB sticks to the left, to the right… I had to get used to being ok with this, because now I find creativity in chaos and I have learned to just go with whatever there is in front of me. For example, if some synth is not connected, I just don’t use it. It probably isn’t connected for a reason, but then something else is, so I just head to whatever is working. I let go of previous ideas of doing this or that. I have a certain idea in my head, maybe it’s a vocal sample or maybe something else, so I just grab that and go with it. I’ll go with whatever comes my way. I open the software, there might be a new plugin, and I’ll test it. This I already consider a part of the creative process and not a separate process at all. You might think that I sit down to test a plugin, maybe look into the manual and try to work with it, but this is not how it works for me. Whenever I am testing a new synth or plugin or microphone, the testing is already part of the work. I am learning on the go and I am introducing the learning process right away into the production process as I don’t want to waste any time or ideas that come out of the moment. So there basically is no “must have” in this creative environment. It could just be a laptop, it could be anything and essentially anywhere. You just have to be ready to capture this creative spark.
For me it has always been important to not have this workspace directly in my apartment or at least not in the bedroom. It should be in a different room or in a separate area of a room. During the pandemic I was living in a small apartment in the mountains and I had put all my studio equipment in a separate part of the living room. It has to be a very cozy, comfortable place with good lighting and a generally warm and friendly atmosphere. And again, as I said before, I don’t really care if there is a little bit of chaos around me, because the time will come to clean up my workspace, that’s how I see it. The time will come and the vacuum cleaner will come out when things get too messy! But my main concern in the studio is to get work done. I have spent too many years cleaning up my studio, organizing cables and putting away stuff, too much time which in hindsight I should have rather used to actually work on things.
I should read more and I should meditate more. I think these are two things everybody should do more. Next to studio work I love to be in the outdoors and exercise. That is essentially why I moved to the mountains, because in the winter I can spontaneously go skiing and in the summer I can spontaneously jump on my mountain bike. I find that sitting for longer periods of time in studio environments needs to be balanced out by moving my body in the fresh air and challenging myself in a sportive environment like when I am skiing or biking. Also water sports on a lake, surfing, anything that comes my way, I try it and test it and I try to learn new things. On my travels I am also listening to interesting podcasts of various topics and I am currently trying to learn a new language. I am trying to learn French since three years now, and even though I don’t really speak it very well yet, I know that my brain needs this. But again, I should meditate more, and just sit there and be – without any stress, without doing or learning anything.
One thing that challenges my mind is getting my head around music production, mixing and mastering. What are the latest plugins? What do they do? How do they sound? This is a field in which I put quite a bit of time and where I am always learning new things. Of course they are music-related, but this is just what I like. I don’t think that I have to force myself to do something that is not in my real interest or that does not come easily to me. There are definitely some things you should tackle even though they don’t come easily to you, or exactly because they don’t come easily to you, but then they should really have quite a benefit for you. Always try out new things because you never know what will be beneficial or challenging, what will come easily and what not! Sports are definitely an incredibly important factor in the balancing of my studio work and all the traveling I do as a DJ.
I maintain my physical health by exercising very, very regularly. You don’t have to exercise a lot. You don’t really have to invest two hours a day in a gym. There are a lot of exercises you can do at home. You could for example start your day with a little yoga/stretching routine. Freestyle, there is no need to follow certain rules that various areas of exercising might have. You can do your own things and just move your body. I am a passionate skier, I am passionate on a mountain bike, I am passionate at water sports and I am trying to do these things in the fresh air as much as I possibly can. If you are living in a city and you can’t do it there, maybe you want to consider moving out of the city, or you just find activities you can do there. But if you don’t stay healthy on a physical level – and obviously on a mental level as well – your work will suffer and your creativity will suffer. Finding a good balance is the key. And again, I can’t stress it enough that doing nothing sometimes is also very important. I always loved the expression that “we are human beings and not human doings”. So just to sit there, meditate and do nothing; that is very important as well.
Actually, due to all my travels I do not have the issue that I am too much in front of my computer or that I spend too much time in my studio. I actually think that I spend too little time in my studio. I wish I had more time in my studio and could work more. So for me it’s not the case that it gets too draining, because the longer I am in the studio, the more I enjoy it. I get in a flow when I am multiple days in a row in the studio without having to do anything else and I am improving my skills when this happens. So I don’t really come across the problem of spending so many days in the studio that I get sick and tired of it. How I maintain positive thinking and mental well being once more comes down to a good balance. I would say that my mental well-being results to a major part from my outdoor activities and the sports that I mentioned in the previous answer. Just getting outside, meeting with friends, doing something that is fun and active and puts you in the moment. For example, climbing on a climbing wall or really any kind of activity that requires a singular forced attention to it. If you are climbing or you are up on a mountain skiing or mountain biking, you basically have to be in this moment and you have to be in it exclusively. Your mind is not distracted, it has to be focussed on this one thing and it is so important to cut it loose from everything else while you are doing these things. So find yourself a hobby which forces you to be singular focussed and does not allow you to think left and right and what do you still need to do, what have you done and so on. The time to think about these things is important, but it is also very important not to think about these things. Sometimes you just have to give your mind a rest to not tire out.
And how do I achieve or maintain positive thinking? I recently came across a really amazing quote and it’s so simple that it almost hurts: “you become what you think about”. If you catch yourself thinking negative thoughts like “you are not enough here, you are not enough there, this is not working, I am not respected there, compared to this person I am not as far with the achievement of my goals…”, you become what you think. Change your thinking and you change your life. That’s almost as simple as it sounds. Obviously we are often distracted and start to doubt ourselves, but if you continuously doubt yourself, it is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Again, you become what you think, so maybe write down what your goals are, write down what you want to get to, define it as clear as possible. And if you end up in a hole again because you are tired or hungry or you are a little bit depressed, remind yourself of your goals and remind yourself of how you want to get there. And you only get there if you think about it and you are really serious about wanting to get there. I heard someone saying that a ship is never leaving the harbor without a certain destination. It’s not going to just wander around on the sea. It has to go somewhere, and without that destination it will not even leave the harbor. So it’s most important to have that goal in mind, and then you can basically take off. Then the whole trip is just about the way to get there, because you know for sure that you are going to get there. And if you are thrown off by negative thoughts, you just have to find ways to catch yourself and to remind yourself that this is not the way to approach things. You should always remember that you become what you think. So find those goals and write them down, draw them, look at them every day!
My most trusted outside source of feedback is the audience that I am playing for. Any music I make will be very honestly criticized by the people on the dance floor – and even more by myself. I think I am always quite objective about my own work. Obviously, when you just finished something, you are very glad, you are very hyped, for example about having finished an EP, but time will tell if it really works as you wanted it to do. If it really has the effect on the dance floor you wanted it to have, or on the mood and the vibe of the people. From this you will learn to make things differently when you do the next one. This is what I call the learning curve: create, learn, repeat. It is an endless cycle, which can be so much fun, because it’s never ending and you are continuously learning. Be open to negative feedback. Don’t dismiss it, as in “oh he just does not like me, or she just does not like me”. Be open to that, yet still follow your heart and follow what you want to do. Other than that I don’t really give much on critics like magazine critics or people who write about your music – I only like it if they write something nice! If they don’t write anything nice I try to see if they have a point, but it does not affect me too much. Again, my biggest feedback-giver definitely is the audience.
I love to cook and I take my time to cook. If I am sitting in the studio and I get hungry, I just take a break for two hours and cook a curry or something else. And I am listening to completely different music while I am doing that. Anything I feel like. I let my mind wander around and concentrate on the cooking. I feel that this really provides some proper rest. If I am getting tired I have learned to realize that I get to a point where I am not improving anything I am working on anymore. And then I just turn things off, go to bed and get a good nights sleep. Sleep is like the most important rest you can get, so get enough sleep, get as much sleep as you can.
How do I not let myself over work? By just being aware of the state I am in. There is no point in continuing to work if you are mentally and physically fatigued and exhausted. The result won’t be good. Again, go and get a good night’s sleep, go outside, exercise, get some fresh air and good food. Very important, eat healthy and then try to stick to a good balance, whatever that is for you. It’s so individual for each and everyone… so individual. If you have never worked out, try it, take little steps, do five minutes a day. You should work repeatedly on it and make it a habit. Those five minutes could for example turn into ten minutes of stretching every morning, and those could turn into a half hour of exercise, maybe a run, maybe even a ten minutes run… You just put your shoes on, you run around the house one time, you put your shoes off and come back in. It does not have to be a one hour or twenty kilometers long run in the beginning. It’s these little steps and it’s basically just giving your body the signal that you are taking care of it, and if you do this, it will eventually reward you.
Usually half an hour before I get picked up, I try not to watch any television. I try not to be on the internet and I try not to listen to any music anymore. I try just to be there, basically in a meditative state, clearing my mind of all the noise. Being completely open minded regarding what is presented in front of me, ready to tackle and make the best out of it. Reaching this flow state in a performance is a beautiful thing, it’s the most beautiful thing that can happen. Forcing it won’t work, sometimes you just don’t get into it and you have to accept that fact. You are not a robot, you are not a machine, but you can do everything in your power to get to a point where you reach the flow state in almost every performance by basically keeping a good balance between all the things you do. It does not have to mean that you have to let go of fun stuff. It does not have to mean that you can’t drink or that you have to go to bed right after you are done DJing. No, not being too hard on yourself is a very, very big factor as well. I think allowing yourself to have fun and allowing yourself to let go is also part of the key. It should also be okay not to be in the flow state or not to have the best mood. The best you can do is to stress out less and less about things you can’t control anyways, and you are much less likely to stress out if you are well rested. So once more I come back to all of my previous answers: eat well, sleep well, take care of your body and do things that you enjoy. Whatever that might be. And don’t be too hard on yourself. Basically have fun doing what you are doing and do it a 100%. Give a 100% of yourself to what you are doing and do it with passion!
Global Vibe Radio 284 Feat. Chris Liebing (CLR)
You can find Chris Liebing get into his state of flow for his upcoming performance at Seismic Dance event in Austin, Texas, later this May. The two-day Seismic Lite Edition will employ a one stage outdoor format where fans can properly celebrate the return of warmer weather in an even more intimate environment than Seismic’s flagship November festival. Known for fostering a tight knit community of underground and electronic music lovers, the one stage and one shared experience of Seismic Lite only further cements this status. Tickets are available now and can be purchased on the Seismic website here. And for a chance to win free tickets to the event, find out how to enter the give away here.
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