Before hitting the stage at this weekend’s Panorama Festival in New York City, hip-hop and dub-step electric violinist (and former American’s Got Talent contestant) Lindsey Stirling sat down with Adorama to talk about getting burnt out on classical music, finding inspiration in other genres, and the artists that inspire her the most.
Adorama: You have such an individual sound. What were some of your biggest influences in creating boundary-crossing music?
LS: “I guess I was originally inspired because I started searching for my passion again. I was a classical violinist that had just gotten burnt out. And so I started playing in indie folk bands, and messing around in a rock band… and then I fell in love with EDM music, and so by trying all these different genres I just kind of took my favorite pieces of all of them and combined them into what is now my sound. And it’s always evolving, but I think originally it was Skrillex that inspired me. I heard Bangerang and I was like ‘What is this crazy thing called dub-step and how do I be a part of it?’ And from there I followed some of the EDM trends and just kind of continued to evolve.”
Adorama: You are no stranger to rejection, having received harsh criticism from the judges of America’s Got Talent. What advice would you give other musicians starting out and facing rejection or criticism?
LS: “My best advice for anyone who is persuing a passion is that you are going to have to fail several times. It’s just a part of the process, and its’ how you learn. And no one that ever succeeded got there because they didn’t fail. The people who succeed are just the people that know how to rise from their mistakes and their disappointments. Keep trudging through! That’s not the advice everyone wants to hear, but it’s a part of the process and everyone had to go through it.”
Adorama: You enjoyed great success on YouTube thanks to your music videos with cinematographer Devin Graham. How does the visual process work with music creation? Does one inspire the other in your process?
LS: “When I first started my channel, for the first year, I worked with Devin Graham. Now I work with a lot of different directors. I would say it’s kind of a give and take. Sometimes I think of a great video idea, or I see something visual that makes me want to tell a story, and I’ll write a song so I can make the video. Other times I’ll be in the studio writing a song and as I’m writing, all of a sudden I’ll get a visual, like, “Oh my gosh, this is a song about pirates.” I’ll even tell the producer we’re going in the direction of “this is a pirate song.” And it’s really fun because they kind of work together to inspire the music, the music inspires the visuals.”
Adorama: You have some impressive dance moves on stage, all whilst playing your violin! How much prep goes into your choreography before a gig?
LS: “Oh gosh, before we go on a tour, I’ll spend a good three weeks working with the dancers and choreographers learning all the dance moves, and then I’ll spend another, at least, week, preferably two weeks, to continue to get it all locked in on my own and practice the playing with the dancing. It takes a lot of time!”
Adorama: You will be performing at the Panorama Festival this weekend in New York. Who are you most excited about meeting/seeing during the weekend festivities?
LS: “I’m excited to see X Ambassadors for sure! But, I would say the one I’m the most bummed that I’m not going to get to see is Sia. I am a huge Sia fan and I’ve narrowly missed her several times at different festivals. And sadly, we were on tour so don’t get to stay for the whole festival. But someday I’ll catch Sia. But I’m so jealous of all of you guys that get to see her!”
It won’t be all hard work and no play for Lindsey however, as she shared that after her interviews today, she would be renting a bike and exploring New York City. Says Lindsey, “I really love biking and that’s something that I do on tour, especially when we’re in Europe. If we have a day off, I’ll rent a bike and I’ll just ride around and get lost in Berlin…It’s a great way to sightsee and really feel like your actually experiencing that place.” She will have a lot of exploring to do the rest of this summer and fall as she starts her world tour to promote her new album, Brave Enough. The album will be available on 8/19.
