Toyota and UPROXX have teamed up for The Next Gear, a series that puts emerging creatives in the passenger seat of the All-Electric C-HR. Joining the creatives in the driver’s seat is Grammy-nominated DJ, producer, and songwriter Illenium, ready to talk creativity, big dreams, and how to build a career that lasts. Singer, songwriter, and producer Otis Kane left his episode with tips on getting to the Next Gear: how an audience grows city by city, and how you know when a song is actually ready to go out.
“Having time with Illenium and the Toyota C-HR was pretty amazing. There’s something that happens when you’re driving in the car with someone having a conversation. Since you’re not looking at each other, you really get to just open up and you’re not judging each other’s kind of looks and feedback. So I feel like I really got to crack open Illenium’s bag of secrets and get some knowledge. Plus the car was super quiet, so we could really talk and break things down.” — Otis Kane
We went through the entire convo and pulled out every piece of advice worth writing down. Unlike the conversation Illenium had with St. Mary and Toreno Winn, this editorial, presented in partnership with Toyota, is aimed at the creative who is more established in their career. That gray area between beginner and professional.
Here’s everything Otis came away with, from someone who’s already shifted into the Next Gear.
On growing an audience
Streams aren’t always the best measure of growth.
“I would look at streams as an important aspect of things, but my natural focus on the business side became, let’s do a cool new headlining show here and see if we can do the tickets there. That was always my metric of success — growing as a hard ticket act.”
Book smaller than you can fill.
“It’s always smart to play smaller venues than you could. If you think you can go do a thousand people in each major US city, I’d say first go do 500 and just blow them out. I always say go lower.”
Take support slots.
“Go support someone. I was of the mindset at the beginning of my career: get in front of as many people as humanly possible.”
On social media
There’s no trick to it.
“There’s no magic cure or answer for social media. It’s just be on it a lot, and be engaged with those people that are listening to music and buying tickets to shows… So talk to them.”
Value the early fans.
“It’s so important to create those connections, because from a longevity standpoint, those are the people that are going to be there six albums later.”
Be personal, and try to connect genuinely.
“You can really put yourself out there more than ever, and you have full control over it. It’s not being held by someone that you have to please. So try to make it as personal as possible.”
High production value isn’t everything.
“Film all of your studio sessions. Put a camera in the back. Or have someone over who you collaborate with a lot, and just have coffee and put a camera on the side and talk about what you’re working on. It doesn’t have to be put up on a pedestal.”
On knowing when a song is ready
Take some time away from it.
“If I’m in a session and I write it, I need to take four days off… When you’re in the studio writing for ten or twelve hours… you’ve listened to it too much. Time off is really important for perspective.”
Get feedback from your inner circle.
“If everyone is unanimously like, this is a banger… Then I’m in go time.”
Embrace that you’ll get it wrong.
“There’s times where we’ll all think that’s the one, but then it’s not. There’s never a perfect answer.”
On not taking yourself too seriously
Not every show needs to be the emotional one.
“There are times when you take everything really seriously, and it needs to be perfect. And then there’s times where it’s like, let’s just go have fun. I’m a DJ at the end of the day. Everything doesn’t need to be crazy, earth-shattering storytelling.”
Know your place.
“Read the room… at the end of the day that’s the job.”
Working on a team
Keep the team tight.
“I’ve had the same team since day one, and they’re all at this point like brothers and sisters. That goes from creative director all the way to management to agent. I 1,000% would not be here without them.”
Don’t expect a team to be flawless.
“Remembering everyone’s human, and there’s always going to be mess-ups.”
Be involved in everything.
“Sandy [Illenium’s Creative Director] and I are so aligned that it just feels like a partnership… I can never just say ‘go make a cool show.’ I have to be involved in every aspect.”
On finding purpose
Remember why you started.
“Fourteen or fifteen years ago I almost died, and music really helped me get out of it… So I feel like my purpose is just to provide that for other people — whether it’s to provide a crazy show where people can come escape to, or musically provide an album where people can find peace.”
Having a purpose makes the rest easier.
“Every artist benefits from having a purpose. When you take that and think about your brand and what you stand for, that’s really important. And it frees you up to be yourself.”
Getting To The Next Gear
Nobody is going to outwork you.
“At the end of the day, you’re in charge. No one’s gonna work harder for you than you.”
Reinvest in yourself.
“Reinvesting in yourself is huge.” Put the tour money back into production and social rather than taking it home.
Give back by thinking of yourself as a platform.
“There’s so many talented people. How do they break through? I want to figure out some sort of way to do that tastefully, and really be supportive, and bring the next generation up… Over the past ten years of my career, those moments when people that are established take a second to appreciate up-and-comers are huge. Nowadays, with how culture is, I feel like it’s really important, and people need it.”
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