"The Last Time I Was Really Anxious" - Illy, Muki & more reminisce on their 'Sweaty Palms'

A few weeks ago internationally regarded DJ/producer shared a really honest INSTAGRAM POST about a random shitty DJ set he played, making a nice change from the constant bombardment of how awesome artists are doing ALL THE TIME! And so with Swaty Palms festival hitting Proud Mary's tomorrow with a stackedddd lineup, we hit up a few of the artists playing to find out the last tim they were really anxious i.e. had sweaty palms - GET IT.

Anyway Illy, Cosmo's Midnight, Muki and Citizen Kay gave us some really awesome insight into when things sometimes aren't going fully to plan. Check out their reponses below, and head HERE to get the full skinny on Sweaty Palms.

ILLY

I remember headlining the triple j one night stand in 2014. It was the biggest show I'd played at that point, and it was being broadcast live on TV and radio. There were cameras swooping around the stage, so I could never disconnect from the thought that A LOT of people were hearing this all over the country/world. I was terrified of forgetting a lyric/falling over/anything, for the entire set. It was only once I got to the last one or two songs that I was able to enjoy the whole thing. Never been anywhere near as nervous since.

COSMO'S MIDNIGHT

We have little message for artists starting out or those who haven’t quite found the success they hope for yet: please don’t compare your success to others, especially not on social media. Social media is intended to be a window into the lives of people we follow - however this window is not transparent. Social media pressures everyone to curate and 'cherrypick' highlights to portray an image of constant, linear success and progression. Let us tell you right now that success is not linear, you don’t have to smash milestones every week ~ everyone has bad days, feelings of self-doubt and failure, and that’s totally okay! Keep your head down, work hard and be positive.

MUKI

I can get anxious about even the simplest of things, like a phone call, a performance or someone not replying to my email (maybe that is impatience...but you know what I mean). Most recently I got anxious about filling out an application form (because who the fuck has time for those) and I lost my shit for absolutely no reason. My mental health is something that I have tried to protect the most throughout this crazy ride to *cough* world domination... But in all honesty no matter how hard I try, those sneaky doubts and thoughts still occur in my mind, and I can’t always protect myself from being afraid of failure or freaking out. But I have gotten damn good at walking through it and coming out the other side. I have a few techniques up my sleeve that I got from my psychologist that help me to calm down. They are very simple; taking a moment to assess and distinguish between what is reality and what my inner drama queen is saying (often they will be two different realities), I breathe and calm down, and then I strategise how to get through the next hour, or situation, or whatever it is that I am stressed about. I also use an app called headspace that my psychologist recommended and that helps me also to take a moment of my day to centre myself.

CITIZEN KAY

It’s pretty tough sometimes - I mean…people are paying you to make other people have a good time. It’s a little scary when I think about it that way. I feel as if I’ve begun to gain a bit of a reputation as the always happy and smiley dude which is cool cause 9/10 times I am. But that 1/10 when I’m not makes it extra hard to feel as if I can really deliver. Logically I know not EVERY show or performance will be amazing but every once in a while I seem to get in my own way.

I recently played a show where that happened - for whatever reason I just wasn’t feeling that energy, y’know? I was forcing smiles and pretending to have a good time when I really wasn’t and I began to get in my own way. I felt as if the audience could also feel that I wasn’t really there in the moment. At a time like that, when you’re on stage in front of a bunch of people, it’s not really a possibility to just be like “yeaaah, naahhh not feeling it guys so I’m just gonna wrap it up”. You gotta force yourself through that whole set. It’s disappointing to get off stage and feel as if you haven’t given people (or yourself for that matter) a great performance.

It’s simply part of the whole experience but particularly with social media we are always trying to showcase that our lives are awesome and we’re killing it at everything. It’s refreshing to see a post like Tiga’s where he wasn’t only honest with himself but was honest with his fans. Definitely not a side of your favourite acts that you see often.

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