Currently doing shows in Ibiza, Chris Liebing is set to come to our sunny shores later this year for earthcore festival. While it’s a quick trip, Australia is a place he wishes he could stay a little longer at.
Hi Chris, thanks for taking the time to chat with Forte Magazine, how are you and what are you up to at the moment?
I am doing amazing and I’ve been based on Ibiza for the whole month of August with my kids, which is a great place to be.
Looks like we’ve caught you in the midst of a pretty busy schedule, how are the performances going?
I always feel the busier my schedule gets, the better the performances get. Sometimes if you play six gigs in one week, the sixth gig is one of the best ones you play. I believe that´s mostly due to the fact that you tend to “do” rather than to “think” what you need to do. For making music this always helps – less thinking always helps.
And you’ve been driving most places too, how has the roadtripping been?
Well summer is always the time for festivals at weird locations and off locations, so you either are lucky and fly to small airports close to the venues, or you get to drive through beautiful landscapes that you would normally never see and you just hope you have a nice car and a nice driver. But that´s part of the job, and actually this is the part that I call “work”. So far it has been good!
We’ve always heard about Tomorrowland being such an incredible show, what’s the vibe like when performing? Is it quite an intense experience?
Tomorrowland does have a great production, but due to the fact that the stages are so big and always get filmed for some reason or another, you are usually very alone on the stage, and that is a little downside of Tomorrowland. I like to be close to the people and even have a party behind the stage, but of course it is an amazing experience to play in front of such a diverse crowd and to people who come from all over the planet to this one festival.
You’re no stranger to the festival scene and you’ve been announced as one of the artists performing at Earthcore in Australia, is this your first time at the festival? Looking forward to it?
It is definitely my first time at the Earthcore festival. I have rarely played any festivals in Australia, so far I have only played clubs, so I am very happy that I finally get to experience more of the festival scene of Australia. I am very much looking forward to that!
Given you’ve performed all over the world, how do us Aussies compare? Do we know how to party?
Oh yes, the Aussies know how to party. Australia is such an interesting place, such a beautiful country on this planet, and you really feel disconnected from the rest of the world in a good way – which I think makes Australia this nice, odd peoples place, where I sometimes wish I could spend more time at.
Out of everywhere you’ve performed, who has been the craziest crowd?
Hands down I would say people are crazy everywhere, but the Italians are probably the craziest. I think Italians are experienced party people from over 2000 years and they pop up everywhere in the world. So wherever you are, you can count on some really friendly, crazy Italians that make every party more alive. I really love Italy and I really love the Italian crowds too.
Have there ever been moments where things have gotten too crazy, or do you thrive off that?
Well, yes I do thrive off it and it has never gotten too crazy, it just sometimes gets crazy because of the schedule and the travelling, but as I said, the more travelling I do and the more gigs I play, I always feel that it even gets better. So yes, I probably thrive off the craziness.
Thanks again for the chat, any last words of wisdom you’d like to share with our readers?
Stay open-minded and listen to any new music that comes out. Try to find out what you like yourself and don´t be told what you have to listen to or what others listen to, and that this is what you have to listen to as well. Develop your own style and don´t be afraid to show it. I am learning that too!
When & Where: earthcore, pyalong – November 26-30
