Two concerts in one day, a starry sky above the stage: newcomer Baumgart at the Pop Culture Prize – what a dream feels like for the indie artist from Hamburg.
We meet the indie artist Baumgart on an exciting day: he has two gigs coming up on June 21st – a free & outdoor concert as part of the Fête de la Musique in Berlin and an appearance at the Pop Culture Prize under the dome of the Zeiss Planetarium. Between the open-air show and the award ceremony, the newcomer takes a few minutes to cool off with us from the mid-summer temperatures in a cinema hall at the planetarium.
Baumgart only started releasing his songs at the beginning of the year, which build their own world between hip hop, pop and indie. He jumps across genre boundaries unashamedly and lightly. The fact that he gets to play twice today – including in front of a bunch of industry people – feels surreal for him: “I’m a fan of people myself” – maybe one or two idols will be there that evening?
The “Boy in the Moon” – under the stars
The Pop Culture Prize is now being awarded by the Association for Pop Culture for the tenth time and almost fell through this year. Thanks to the commitment of the club members, hard-working supporters and donors alone, the event was able to be realized within just a few weeks. This also offers Baumgart a unique opportunity as a guest act.
For him, the performance fits like a glove: he gets to play his song “Boy in the Moon” at the awards ceremony in the planetarium – it doesn’t get much more astrological than that. He’s particularly looking forward to the wow effect of the light show above the stage: “I haven’t seen the starry sky at the sound check yet – but it would be crazy if there was a starry sky. It’s just a crazy location. When do you ever have the opportunity to play in a planetarium?”
A 180 degree turnaround in six months
The last six months have been a 180-degree turn in the life of the artist from Hamburg: interviews, performances, promo – all with only four songs released so far. Meanwhile, time flew by a bit. “I started releasing songs this year. It’s unbelievably awesome that I can play here – it all feels so absurd.”
If someone had told him in January that he was playing here, it would have been hard to believe: “I generally only believe things when they happen. Before that, there can always be something, a cancellation or something like that. Only when it happens, then it’s: Okay, awesome, wow, I’m really standing here now. But no, I probably wouldn’t have believed it. I probably wouldn’t have realized it yet. But now it’s become real.” A dream that becomes reality – a great feeling for the boy, who had to fight against being an outsider for a long time during his school years: “You always dreamed of being able to do that, and now everything is becoming more and more tangible.”
No two songs are the same
In any case, the excitement curve today is like a roller coaster ride. Baumgart had such a busy day that there was hardly any time for stage fright: “It’s kind of ups and downs today.”
Between two appearances, sound checks and an interview, the artist is shooting some content for his new song “Tomorrow Morning,” which was released on June 19th. The bundle of energy jumps around between the cinema seats, dances and sings. He admits: “I’m just a party animal, that has to be said very clearly.” Compared to the new release, his previous songs were more introspective and melancholic. However, he wants to show all facets in his music: “My voice is the common thread and the music is the art behind it. Other visual artists do the same thing. I don’t take the same picture 15 times. There’s always something new. Everyone has their own signature, like I have with my voice, but every picture is different.”
Baumgart doesn’t really want to reveal what we can expect from his next musical steps. “You can always look forward to new music from me, I would say. Wherever the path goes musically – well, I’ll keep it exciting. You never know what kind of song I’ll come up with anyway. No song is the same as the other.”
A shining new star
So we remain curious about Baumgart’s next steps and what stars he still reaches for. During his appearance in the planetarium, he gets to play “Boy in the Moon” under a huge moon projection, so that you don’t know where to look: at the shining new star – the “Boy in the Moon” on the stage – or up, at the moon in the sky.
The 22-year-old has an encouraging message for everyone who sometimes feels alone in the universe: “You are cool the way you are. Don’t let anyone take that away from you.”
