Bands using Elk LIVE: Hyperreal & Nils Landgren, Finland

Location:

Finland - Sweden

Style:

Jazz

Use:

Live performance

So a largely improvised jazz performance between two different countries. A real first in so many ways! How did this come about?

Aki: A while back I saw a clip where my drummer Robert Ikiz, was playing together with Nils Landgren using Elk LIVE. In the clip, it just worked so well! So I got the idea to use Elk LIVE for a live concert with the band. I just want to try new things that haven't really done before, in jazz music at least. So yeah, then that idea tuned into inviting Nils to the concert.

Nils: Thank you for letting me do it!

In the video from the concert it looks like you’re playing really effortlessly. How was it? And how did it feel if you compare it to a normal gig when you're all in the same location?

Aki: To me, musically, there wasn't that much of a difference. Elk LIVE worked like a charm from the very first note of the concert. Because everything we played, we heard very clearly and with no latency. It felt just like a real gig, just that Nils was standing on the side of the stage or something if you know what I mean.

And Nils, how was it for you being by yourself so far from the rest of the band and especially the audience? Was it strange performing without them in front of you?

Nils: No. I knew that they were there. I could hear when they were clapping in the background somewhere. Yeah, it was all good! I mean, I did so many streamed gigs during the pandemic. I mean, even at festivals with no audience at all, just the cameras and you feel nothing. You just have to adjust to the fact that there's no audience there. But this time with Elk LIVE, I actually felt them. They were there in a room where something was happening. And that's a big difference!

Aki: Yeah, I mean for us at the club, it was a normal gig with an audience, and I had the impression that the sound of the audience got transferred to Nisse's headphones too.

Nils: Yeah, even though I was by myself in a studio, this was nothing like a recording session or something like that. No. This felt like I was playing a gig, I was playing a concert. And that's a big difference. We took some risks. Risks that you might not take in the studio But it felt good, because the band in the club had support from the audience, and they were in a great mood. It was easy for me to play. I enjoyed it very, very much.

Thank you. We really enjoyed it too! So what's next? Do you see any other use for Elk LIVE besides live shows?

Aki: Of course, we can rehearse, that's is, of course, maybe the main point of the system. Just to try new ideas with people in different countries, and cities. We're going to try it for sure for some gigs in the near future, early autumn. Try their ideas and just go through the melodies. So that's super easy. Yeah. And then there's this ecological side, of course, that you don't have to travel all the time for rehearsals or anything like that. So very good for the future!