Arriving at the venue a couple of hours before the start of his next show, Lido, an artist from Haugesund, Norway, was ready to create an engaging and complex set with vocals and instruments that shook the floor.  

Though headlining his own tour and relying solely on himself may seem exhausting to others, Lido’s energy and drive for music seems normal to him, he said.

“I had a genuine passion for music and a general love for it,” Lido, whose real name is Peder Losnegárd, 23, said.

Losnegárd’s passion for music began on his second Christmas when his parents bought him his first drum kit.

“I beat it to pieces by New Year’s Eve,” he said with a smile.

It was then that Losnegárd’s parents knew he would be a musician.

Losnegárd taught himself to play the drums, practicing for for six or seven hours each day. Once he felt confident in his skills, he moved on to creating his own music. By the age of 12 he was producing music. 

“I didn’t have anyone around me who was doing the same thing,” he said. “I figured everything out on my own. I developed my own signature through that because nobody said this was wrong or this was right.”

Losnegárd did not have a teacher or peers to make music with, so he did it alone. He would sing his songs then mix and produce the end results, adding in his drums when necessary, Losnegárd said.

“I became used to having control over everything and learning how to do everything out of necessity,” he said.

Years and many projects later, Losnegárd has established himself as a producer, song writer and artist. Given the name Lido by a nine-year-old boy from Nairobi, Kenya during an exchange project, Losnegárd has worked hard for his success.

He produced Halsey’s debut album BADLANDS, worked with Chance the Rapper and remixed “Drowning” by Banks and  “Left Hand Free” by alt-J, which gathered millions of plays on his SoundCloud account, all while working on his own album.

Under various stage names, Losnegárd collaborates with artists to produce different styles of music while maintaining secrecy about rumored aliases, like Trippy Turtle.

“I start stuff all the time and I think it’s because when I grew up I didn’t have have anyone telling me ‘This is cool,’ ‘This is lame,’ ‘This doesn’t work,’” he said. “I have a need to create a lot of different music. When I go to the studio in the morning I have no idea what is going to come out of it.”

The aliases are for the crowd, he said.

“All these projects are me-very much me-but I have no idea how to put all of me into something that people can feel like they know,” he said. “I’m just trying to keep things a little less complicated but then it makes things a lot more complicated.”

Losnegárd used complex elements and sounds in his show to make a unique performance.

Throughout his set, his hands were constantly moving. He  would bang out a solo on his drum pads, play a couple keys on his piano or start to remix and add more beats to the songs.

Losnegárd does not shy away from experimenting.

Each track he played, he would build up the anticipation by adding different elements into the music before the crowd could recognize the song.

Regardless of the crowd’s reaction, Losnegárd is comfortable in his craft and tells the audience to do what they want.

“I’m not going to jump around and tell you what to do. That’s not going to happen tonight,” he said as his hands glided over the keys of his piano.

“I need you to do whatever the fuck you wanna do,” Losnegárd said. “I’m going to be doing whatever I want to do tonight.”

From performing his hit remixes to his own recent collaborative EP, Passion Project, with Santell, he kept the attention of audience members. Losnegárd might not mind what his crowd does but his music controlled the energy in the room.

Each song constructed a new vibe, from heavy drum focused or soft and sensual, the heads would nod and the bodies would dance.

Such a response is why some of the concert goers attended, like 17-year-old Chae Wohn from Fairfax,Virginia.

“I’ve seen his live performances and he is not typical EDM in that he sings, he plays his own instruments,” Wohn said. “He’s really unique and he’s a true artist, which you don’t really find these days.”

The vibe from D.C. is one Losnegárd enjoys, he said.

“I’ve played here a couple times under different names and D.C. is good. The crowd is lit for sure,” he said.

That same passion that destroyed a drum kit at age two was still present as he performed on stage. What started out as a slightly isolating approach to creating music has built up his confidence.

Now, Losnegárd tells his friends to give their kids drum kits.

“You are sort of allowed to be part of that magic of creating music and at the same time enjoying it without overthinking it,” he said.

And such magic appeared for many as they watched the flashing windmill shaped lights dim down as the last part of “I Love You” fade out.

Featured Photo Credit: Norwegian hip hop and R&B artist, rapper, producer and songwriter, Lido, got the crowd moving with his energetic performance at 9:30 club. (Cassie Osvatics/Bloc Reporter)

Naomi Harris is a junior journalism major and can be reached at naomi.j.harris01@gmail.com.