Lostboi Lino

When Lostboi Lino was preparing to play his first shows in 2022, it was just him and the drummer Michi - who would operate the system - on stage without any technical crew on tour. Therefore this project required us to come up with a simple and cost-effective setup that could run backing tracks and also had AutoTune capabilities. For this, we designed an Ableton session with a one-button-workflow, making it easy to operate and automated as many aspects as possible. This way Michi could focus on performing while all the sounds triggered by his drumpad switched automatically and the AutoTune was always on the right setting or disabled when not needed. After consulting with us, they purchased the necessary gear and put together the rack and cabling. We then helped them get the software set up correctly remotely. Once we showed Michi the workings of the session and explained how to make any necessary changes, they were up and running for the upcoming festival shows.

In 2023, the first tour was coming up. For this Anna joined the band on guitar and therefore an update to the system was needed. A larger Apollo interface was installed in the same rack, offering more backing track outputs and AutoTune channels, but since we wanted to maintain the workflow Michi had gotten used to, the basic operation stayed the same. Since Karan is also involved as the MD of the show and composed it to have flexible part lengths, we added loop capabilities to the Ableton session and used varying click sounds to make this easy to work with for the band. We made sure there was a separate Click channel for Lino because he doesn’t need a continuous click at all times. Anna’s Kemper floorboard was given a MIDI connection to the performance system to automate all patch changes but also to enable us to program morphing automations to expand the creative possibilities of the guitar rig. Since they were still touring without a sound crew, we installed XLR patch panels for all connections so connecting everything was simple and self-explanatory for the band and the local techs despite the growing setup. And in case any equipment or connection ever acts up, the Live Set was set up to include backups at a button’s press - luckily this wasn’t needed once on the tour.

Shortly after the tour, another rebuild was needed because Lino and the band wanted an own In-Ear monitor mixer, making festival changeovers quicker and less dependent on local sound crew. Chris assembled and configured all the mixer components and cabling and since there was no space for a bigger rack, everything needed to be integrated with the performance system components. Once again, the basic workflow stayed the same for everyone but setting up Ableton was simplified even further so that only one cable is needed to connect the laptop to the entire system. All in all, it’s a tight fit but resulted in a compact yet powerful system that maximizes the available space and enables Lino, Michi, and Anna to give their best performance.