99,9 Radio Interview Jim Liogy

Jim, you have taken over the name "Liogy" from the furniture brand founded by you a few years ago?

Yes, Jim consists of the first and last letters of my first name Joachim, and Liogy is a neologism that I use for my furniture brand.

"Liogy" is thus a pure fantasy name?

Not quite, with a little imagination the Liogy Lounger resembles a leaping lion, at least the big Liogy Lounger made of wood. Therefore, our first name for this lounge furniture was "Lioness". Unfortunately you could not use this name as a brand name worldwide. So we found a creative name where "lion" is included anyway. Liogy is a composition of "lion" and "gym". The "gym" expresses the ergonomically healthy component of the Liogy Lounger. We have been lucky that for the kids furniture brand the name Liolu was also suitable for worldwide trademarking. Liolu is the name of the little lion who also works on the Liolu website. Liogy for the luxury brand and Liolu for the kids brand, that fits perfectly together (laughs). It was a welcome chance to use this protected name as an artist and producer name, for my other name is relatively long and difficult to pronounce in many languages. In addition, there are synergies for marketing.

You have worked many years as a scientific consultant and ghostwriter for corporate executives and politicians, and in this position also for a minister of an EU - country, amongst others. What brought you back to music?

To music and photography, you mean! (laughs). Both areas have the same significance for me. What are people looking forward to all week during the day in the office? What makes them happy? In many cases the pleasant anticipation of a concert or entertainment show, which they will visit on the weekend alone or with friends! Music has a large social component in our society. Concerts are a social event, you can meet people, you can date the new girlfriend for the first time, or meet with friends at concert venues. Each of us is happy to attend the long-awaited concert of his favorite artist. Great singers give so much joy to the people. Also, a good speech can touch the heart and enrich the intellect, but music is still more powerful, even if the lyrics are often simple: Each listener enjoys the music according to his individual inner emotions and dispositions: The more feeling and emotion one has inside, the more one can be stimulated by music and resonate. But I should come back to your question: As long as the selection of top politicians and directors of international corporations are not made by character and intellectual evaluations , but rather by considering political interests only, consultants who wish to bring scientific ethics and reason into the systems, will  fail. Therefore, it is better to generate beautiful art and great music that audiences can enjoy, so they have the strength and creativity to develop new ideas for the wellbeing of our society.

Is music the most powerful language?

It is, but I feel very displeased about the constant stream of music everywhere in our world. Starting with public transport, shopping centers, hotel elevators or fitness centers, this inflationary use of music in all these places many people have been conditioned to shut their ears, and this intentional avoidance costs energy. The same with parties, much too often loud music kills any verbal communication. Of course, there are studies showing that music in the store lengthens the visitors stay and increases turnover rates, but the counter reactions of how simple beats are annoying to people, have been evaluated less carefully.

Back to the topic, where do you see the commonality of music and photography?

At first glance, there are two different things: Music is the art of time. Music needs time and space to develop. A musical theme develops in the temporal length of the piece. A photograph is two-dimensional at first glance and in a sense timeless because it freezes a moment. But this is true only in very superficial observation or for not touching photos or pictures. Great images or photos are, as well as music, works of the art of time. A good photo has an entry point where one begins a journey of discovery through the eyes. A good photo always offers more possibilities of association. It also allows the viewer to think about what happened before and after shooting.

Do you believe, that the act of photographing, the ideal moment for the correct shooting also has similarities with musical creativity?

To some extent, yes. In a really good photo many things fit together very much. Managing camera technique is by far the easiest part. Technically perfect photos, correct exposure, white balance, sharpness, etc. is definitely the most simple thing with today's cameras, even with medium format cameras. An average gifted person needs no longer than a single day with a good coach to learn all the basics of the technically correct operation of a professional camera.

A single day?

Yes, a maximum of one day to understand the effect of aperture, exposure, white balance, depth of field, and all of these things implementing into your shoot. Of course it takes much longer until you gain the experience to make consistently good photos. But technically speaking, photography is extremely easy in comparison to filming or music production. Film and music are much more complex. The programs for image processing are very simple, compared to the post-production in film or music, but that's also logical and easy to understand.

On the other side, there are people who can indeed operate the camera perfectly  but the choice of the viewframe and all other factors that make a great photo, require artistic skills from a top photographer. Much harder than the mastery and understanding of camera technology is the use and handling of light, which at least in outdoor locations constantly change. Additionally important is the the feeling for the composition, the proportions of the picture, the correct camera angle, and much more, which can only be learned through experience. These are all points that have a certain resemblance to a musical composition in any case. The staging of a great photo has a similarity with the creation of a melodic idea. Beautiful melodies are basically the human emotions moving ratios of vibrations. In music, there are vibrations in the air, in photography - and of course in paintings - it is the length and proportions of the motif. Incidentally, the term "motif" is used both in music and in photography!

Your project "sexy eyes" is an example of how different shooting angles may change the appeal of a person.

Nice, that you  address this, I am still very happy that I got this domain sexy-eyes.com. And also the domain stunning-ladies.com! sexy-eyes.com is probably one of the best domain names, which you could want as a photographer when photographing sexy eyes (laughs).

And the experience that you collect in connection with your own photo projects, then in return benefits your shooting with performance artists?

Yes of course, routine would be most dangerous. I know many former top photographers who make only average pictures, because they work in a mechanical routine only. I try to get the absolute maximum at every single shoot, and I am still learning with each single photo. Anyone who stops learning and being curious, is dead.

I recently listened to a keynote from you, there you also mentioned "curiosity" as a main topic and backed this with very impressive examples. This chapter seems to be very close to your heart?

Yes, it is important to note that the school system no longer - as nowadays - kills the curiosity of children. Too many people and self-proclaimed experts speak of "learning methods" only. That's bullshit. To convey something in an exciting way to others, you need fewer methods but rather in-depth knowledge. If you have this knowledge and talk about it, then you carry on the fire of knowledge automatically, no matter which "method" you use. The method can only be supportive. But the self-proclaimed "education experts" see the solution of education issues in the methods themselves. This is comparable to a fisherman who has the biggest and best nets, but unfortunately is just standing in the Gobi Desert. The super nets are of quite low usability there. "Methods" are all right, but first you have to be in an environment where you can apply the methods. If there is not a rich knowledge and experience to talk about first - which must come from the teachers - then you will not be able to capture much even with the best "methods", to phrase it this way. Luckily, there are many young people who still keep this curiosity. But on the same degree there are many more young people whose general attitude is fundamental and general disinterest in everything, as a consequence of this knowledge-free, method based teaching philosophy. It is also related to poor role models. Have a look at some of these stars in the music biz, who seem to be proud of their drug addiction problems and stupidity, and thus even make PR out of it! I would chase them away if they would knock on Masterdream Productions doors. Unfortunately, many young people believe it "cool" to be such, and then they run around with T-shirts with extremely vulgar slogans etc., merely because these fools yell it on stage. Of course, the responsibility also lies with the parents. One must also make it clear to the kids that there are also intelligent life opportunities, which are "cool".

Your mission, to bring some sanity in the society is also a reason why you love to keep keynote speaking?

Yes, together with my boxing training, keynote speaking is a wonderful balance for the artistic activities with Masterdream Productions.

These are all very different areas ...

Yes, I need the variety of these different worlds. From the one I get my strength and inspiration for the others. Otherwise, I would be bored, in one world only. (laughs)

You seem to never be bored, focusing on the many things you do…

I think, I was never bored in life.