We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jeremy Levin. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jeremy below.
Synova, thank you so much for joining us. You are such a positive person and it’s something we really admire and so we wanted to start by asking you where you think your optimism comes from?
Interestingly enough, my optimism came from a long time of feeling quite the opposite. The glass half-empty vs. half-full saying teaches us that situations are all about the perspective from which you view them. At some point, I realized that while the many things in life are of my control, my reactions are what matters. This is the part where I am in control.
I’ve been releasing music online for about 12 years now. The first 4 of them were spent in high school in a rural town outside of Pittsburgh, PA. I didn’t look like the other kids at school, I didn’t act like them, and I don’t think I shared one common interest with them. While many were into sports, all I wanted to do was get home so I could open up my computer and write more music. I wanted to talk to my friends that I had online.
This made school very rough. I was bullied constantly as I was an easy, outlandish target. Getting up at 5:30AM everyday was the hardest part. I knew what I was about to endure just 2 hours later. My attitude at this time was entirely negative. I truly didn’t feel much purpose in life. Though something changed one year as I discovered an artist from Australia named “Just A Gent”. He was slightly older than me, and within a few months of becoming a huge fan I read an article about him dropping out of school to pursue music and tour. I think this is where the optimism started.
While school & other people’s silly attitudes were out of my control, making music was in my control. Posting that music online was in my control. Meeting friends who lived in different countries, signing a record deal, and gaining hundreds of thousands of streams at the age of 16 were in my control. And that’s exactly what I did.
Every day forward became a perspective shift, a positive day. Every single day I found something to smile about. In 2022 I went on to release my debut album with San Holo’s record label “bitbird”. That album is titled “look for the good in others”, and carries a lot of themes around this mindset. It’s my friends that keep me there.
I never attended college, that was also in my control. I instead decided to move to LA about 5 1/2 years ago and have been supporting myself there ever since. These days I’m making music & touring full-time, looking forward to what life brings next.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
My name is Jeremy Levin, I’m a DJ/Producer/Musician currently based in Los Angeles, CA. I grew up just outside of Pittsburgh, PA, and am currently focused on releasing electronic music & touring full-time.
Over the last 2 years, I’ve released my debut album, a mixtape, and 10 independently released remixes online. Most of 2023 I spent on the road playing as many shows as possible. I’ve played everything from a tunnel under a bridge to the Avalon in Los Angeles with 1200+ people in attendance.
My method is to perform anytime, anywhere, any genre, in any condition. The world is currently very focused on how we can divide ourselves and oppose each other. As a performer, I have the ability to bring people together and smile. If that’s 2 people or 2000, it’s worth it to me. I will put on just as good of a show in every environment.
Music brings unites us, and that is my one true mission in life.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
1. Attitude
As mentioned in the question about optimism, you must look for the good in every situation. Sometimes you can’t see it immediately, but I assure you it’s there. At the very least, if everything has gone to smoke, you learned what not to do next time. Give things your all EVERY time.
2. Adaptation without compromise
Ask yourself, how can you be of help in every situation possible without burning out? I think about this a lot when I’m opening for another artist. How does the vibe of artist X compare to artist Y? I might need to shift what I play in this set tonight to make sure I strike the right chord. At the same time, I don’t want to play things that don’t sound like me at all, I still need to undoubtedly be myself. If you can’t find a way to do adapt without compromising, that environment isn’t for you.
Open-mindedness keeps you ready to take opportunities, while a healthy bit of stubbornness keeps you true to yourself.
3. Learn to improvise (This one is going to be specific to those in the world of DJing)
I used to get on stage and have every moment planned out to perfection. In some methods of performing, this is key, but in the world of DJing, this has hindered me more than it helped.
These days when I step on stage, I don’t have one clue what I’m going to play. At most, I maybe know the intro. Being able to read the crowd and entirely improvise my set gives me a better performance every single night. This comes with lots of prep ahead of time to be able to improvise, but the performance itself is 100% unscripted.
– If you notice that the crowd likes a particular vibe, or tempo, keep doing that. Some crowds I play love to hear dancey pop remixes, others are thirsty for extremely fast tempos & loud bass drops. Both of those are extremely fun for me, and I’m ready as a moment’s notice to adhere to what the crowd likes most.
– Remember, touring is taxing. Improvising your set makes each night entirely different. I’ve done 50+ shows this year. If the show was always the same, i’d be ridiculously burnt out
– Improv is less pressure than planned. Planning your set makes it key that you hit every note perfectly. If you mess up just a little, it’s nearly impossible to recover. If you improvise, you can find happy accidents and avenues to walk down. Mistakes are rare for me these days.
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
This is an interesting one because you can develop this into happening less with changes in attitude, perspective, and structure. It’s still bound to happen, but you can be prepared to react to it properly.
I work the following into my routine as much as possible:
– Take an honest break
– Visit nature
– See your friends
– Drive around with no intention, visit somewhere new
If you’re into any art form try these:
– Try a new genre
– Try a new art form entirely
– Move your workspace (bonus if it’s outside)
– Collaborate
– Listen/Consume art differently than you normally do
Contact Info:
- Website: www.synovamusic.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/synovamusic
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/synovamusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@synovamusic
- SoundCloud: https://www.soundcloud.com/synovamusic
Image Credits
@haleylan
