It’s not about perfection – Indie artist Plagu in interview

PlaGu is a Berlin-based musician, songwriter, and music producer with a love for the streets

Having grown up in a musical family, PlaGu passionately engages with the world through street music, valuing its reflection of experiences. He explores personal growth and the concept of mindfulness, while finding fulfillment in composing his own serene, melodic indie tracks.

indieRepublik: Tell us a little bit about your musical background

PlaGu: I started making music when I was 9. I was very lucky to grow up in a musical family, so I came into contact with instruments at an early age. My first instrument was the drums. Then my parents gave me Logic 9, a music program from Apple, which became my absolute favorite game. I remember days when I spent hours into the night producing music.

When I came to Berlin at the age of 23, I had a huge urge to get out of my studio atmosphere and take my music outside, which eventually led me to sell all my studio equipment and start making street music. Today I’m still making street music and have slowly and organically rebuilt my studio.

indieRepublik: You do a lot of street music around Berlin. How do find the audience when you play street music, how do you find the experience of playing street music, and what’s the difference for you between a gig in a venue and a street performance?

PlaGu: The audience is always the best! That’s why I like playing street music.

There are days when everything goes like clockwork and people celebrate everything I do and then there are days when nobody seems to care what I do and that’s okay too. In general, I’ve only had positive or neutral experiences with street music and negative ones very rarely.

Playing a gig is always the highlight for me. When I get a request, it gives me the feeling that I’m on the right track. That’s why I personally always prefer gig requests. But of course also because it’s not entirely legal to play street music and I like to play where it’s “allowed”.

indieRepublik: How do you find the music scene – especially for independent musicians – in Berlin?

PlaGu: I don’t have many other places to compare but my gut tells me “I’m absolutely in the right place!” It’s just lovely how many lovely people I’ve met here in Berlin and how little competitive thinking takes place here. Everyone does their own thing and doesn’t get in each other’s way. On the contrary, we help and support each other. In the circles I move in, it’s not about perfection but much more about encouraging each other to keep going.

indieRepublik: You released your last album, the wonderful Ton für Ton – in 2022 I think – and you’ve recently released a single, Don’t Believe Her. When can we look forward to new music and maybe a new album?

PlaGu: I’m glad you took a look at my Spotify. Thank you! That’s all true, new music is on the way and lots of it! Since I released the album “Ton Für Ton”, the writing and producing has continued seamlessly and there are currently 16 new songs on my computer that are completely finished. Only a few covers are still missing, but they will be ready soon. Even though it would be the size of an album, this time I want to release the songs as singles because I want to give each of my songs special attention.

My songs are my babies. All the songs will be in German, because it’s more fun for me to write in my mother tongue.

All wrapped up in relaxed, cool and melodic indie beats, and all self-directed. I’m looking forward to it.

indieRepublik: If your music was a movie, which genre would it be in?

PlaGu: Probably an emotional love movie

indieRepublik: Tell us a secret about yourself.

PlaGu: I still listen to “The Three ?”

indieRepublik: How do you feel about covering a song?

PlaGu: It depends a bit on the intention behind it. Personally, I only cover songs that really move me. I remember the very first song I ever covered was “Don’t Think Twice” by Bob Dylan. I love this song and practiced it for hours and listened to the original over and over again. It was great fun because I learned so much, especially about singing techniques. I always see covering songs as an opportunity to learn and also to make the songs your own work of art. But in the end it’s always about my own songs, I just love creating songs.

indieRepublik: In ten years you look back to today and think:

PlaGu: I hope that’s what I think

Street music was the best school of my life! It picked me up and gave me perspective at the same time. And I learned an incredible amount about music and people. I don’t regret a single day. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to start my musical path so freely.

indieRepublik: How would you like to see the music industry changing?

PlaGu: I think it’s hard to say what the music industry actually is. Especially for me as an independent musician, it’s about building my own system in a way that works for me. I think the changes that have taken place in the last few years are incredible and I’m grateful to be living in this time. Nowadays, all the tools to make and market music are available to everyone at almost no cost.

If there’s one change I’d like to see, it’s that more people who enjoy making music take the step to turn their hobby into a career and not be unsettled by major label structures. I have the feeling that this is often the case, either you are signed to a major label and everything is taken care of or you have no chance. But I think that’s a big misconception.

indieRepublik: How would you define indie? What do you personally think it means?

PlaGu: When I talk about indie, it definitely means heart music to me. For me, indie is calm, relaxed and also a bit sad. Until a year ago, I didn’t even know that I was making indie music. I always thought it was pop and sometimes people will agree with me.

Phu, hard to define, but I definitely like it!

Go to the Plagu Linktree