 Hey, I'm Anfa. In this video I'll show you a short interview I've done with Nils Hilberist, the man behind Sonya Convention. I think it's a very interesting look into why he created this event and also, hopefully, they'll give you a little taste of what it feels like to be there. If you've missed it, I've already published a video with my 2019 Sonya presentation about the vital. I'll put a card in the corner right now. Anyway, enjoy the interview. Are we recording? Yes. OK. I think about 10 minutes. Hey, it's Anfa and I'm here with Nils Hilberist, who is the creator of Sonya Convention. This is the third one. It's 2019. How do you feel about this year's convention? Very good. So, we had very good talks and amazing people here and yeah, everything went well. No bad stuff, no injuries. So it's perfect, yes. No one got hurt. No one got hurt and you are here, of course. I wanted to ask you what made you decide to start this whole thing in the first place? So I like the scene, as I will explain later, I think, but it's a very online community normally. And there was only one event, which is called the Linux Audio Convention, which is a bit more academic and technical. So I wanted to meet people. So if nobody organized an event, I had to do it myself. And I also had the experience by creating this local group, the Open Source Audio Meeting Cologne, and so I already knew it would work and we had the rooms. So it was actually an easy decision. Thank you. I also wanted to ask, I know already, but many of you might not know, so I wanted to ask, what is your personal connection to music and also open source software? Because that's what the event is all about, right? Yeah, I make music myself since I was four years old. I started playing with the piano and I'm also super interested in computers. So I got my first computer when I was eight, I think, so that was in 1991. That's the year I was born. And ever since, the combination started later when I was about 20, but it's natural progression. And so now I'm a music teacher, and so I have this private part where I have a private connection that I make my music myself and also that I teach music in a school, so I need some tools that help me to teach. Yeah, that's my connection with Open Source. So in the end, I started programming myself as well, but I still feel like a musician deep down. So you're a musician first and you're making some software second. Yeah, right. What would you like to see in the future regarding the open source music making community? I think more, more connection would be better. So more, more centralization, more the separate, smaller communities working more together, even merging together. So nobody feels out of the loop. I think this is such a small community, or at least the visible part is so small that I think it would be better to join in fewer places. So in the end, I think that means that more people will realize they are not alone. So many people here actually came to me and said, oh, I have nobody to talk to about this, and I feel totally isolated in my interest, in my hobby, and even with the online communities. So this is, again, why the Sono Commission is so good, because there's a personal connection here. But also I think this can be, the whole whole community can be brought closer together, at least until there's so much, so many people, so much momentum, so much interest that it makes sense to create subgroups. But right now, I think we will greatly benefit from more social connections. I also felt pretty separated, so I didn't hesitate to answer to your invitation and come here. And I felt right at home in this crowd. Yeah, you're welcome. That's the intention. What do you personally think is the most exciting part of the Sono Convention? And I'd like to ask this in the context of every year's edition and also this year's particularly. That I mostly have no clue what's going to happen. So that's for me personally the exciting part. Of course, I know a bit what the speakers and talks will be. And I know, because people register as visitors, I know who will come. But in the end, I really don't know. And so there's so many surprises and so many people. I didn't even or topics, not people. I didn't even think about in the first place. So this is so everyone gets so excited and motivated to be here. So pumped up that they bring every little piece and last piece of conversational and conversational topics and content and their own music and programs they bring here and get ready for the last minute. And yeah, that's you can feel this year that even before the Sono Convention actually starts, there's an online activity, an increased activity in the community. And I like that very much that this is an effect of this event. Thanks. I also like experienced this myself. I get very excited when like it's the week before and I just I can help myself up to rights everywhere and like talk to people I know will be there and are you ready? We're going to meet again. As it should be. Yeah, I think that's that's a great aspect. And you can really feel we're we're happy to be here together. So is there anything else you'd like to say to the community, to my audience on YouTube, basically? Like, share, subscribe. No, you already are. Smash that like button and buy our merch. Yeah. Yeah, do you have it? Of course. By the teachers and come to the Sono Convention next year and try to stay informed even without our convention. Try to find online communities like LibreMusicProduction.com or the multiple chat channels that are out there. There are several mailing lists. Try to find them and try to use them and don't be alone. I'll write that down and I'll put it on screen or in the description of this video so we can just click and get there. Thank you very much for this interview. I'm really glad to be here and thank you. My pleasure. So that's it. Thank you for watching. I also want to thank Niels for creating this annual event and inviting me to it, as well as to my wife for being the camera woman. Also, huge thanks to all the fine people who support my work financially. Because of them, I was able to go to Sonoy to give my presentation and also to record this interview. So if you would like to join them and help me make more of this stuff, please go to patreon.com.anfa or liberapay.com.anfa. Now go and get your tickets for Sonoy 2020 or we'll make some music together.