Recording My Debut EP Stage Presence Live With My Band

I’m Curtis Millen, a soul-funk singer based in the Netherlands, and I’m currently preparing my debut EP, Stage Presence. One of the best pieces of advice I was ever given about songwriting was simple: write what’s true for you in that moment.

I’ve released a few songs over the last few years and genuinely enjoyed making them. But looking back, I realised something important was missing - the live feel that sits at the heart of how the audience experience my music.

Working with programmed tracks and MIDI instruments can move quickly and efficiently, but it sometimes lacks the spark that only happens when musicians share the same space. That energy,the unpredictable moments that appear when people are reacting to each other in real time, is something you can’t quite recreate behind a computer screen.

So for Stage Presence, I’m going as old-school as possible: recording the songs live in the room with my band, James Brown style.

The Magic of Recording Music Live

There’s something special about everyone being in the room together, vibing on the songs as if there’s already a crowd standing in front of us. That kind of musical synergy is hard to replicate when each part is recorded separately.

Recording music live with the band gives us the chance to really sit with each song in its full form. We can iron out the small kinks, reshape arrangements, and even create new parts on the spot with everyone present.

The chemistry in the room brings a kind of magic:

• Drum fills that suddenly grab your attention

• Bass lines that give you that instinctive stank face

• Keyboard and guitar chops that grease the wheels of the groove and make the song feel smoother and dirtier at the same time

These little moments are what make live band recording exciting and exactly what I want this EP to capture. Recording this way allows me to deliver the songs in the same spirit they were written: honest, immediate, and full of life.

When I step up to the microphone, I can be fully inside the music, just as I would be performing it live. I can be the storyteller. Conviction is the foundation of this EP.

The Reality of Being an Independent Musician in 2026

Being connected to your truth separates a performer from an artist: someone who can touch parts of people that they don’t always have the words or courage to express themselves. But that connection requires constant reflection.

You’re always asking yourself questions about your mindset, approach, and identity as an artist. Placing too much weight of your artistry on your identity can feel heavy, especially when the external perception of what an artist “should be” starts influencing how you see yourself.

Being an independent musician in the Netherlands also means balancing your artistic ambitions with the practical side of life. Making a living from music here is tough, and until performance fees and/or streaming income become sustainable, compromises are often necessary. You either teach within your profession or take a job that pays the bills but pulls time and energy from your creative work.

It can feel like time is stolen from the soul of your artistry. But for many of us, it’s a necessary stage: working, creating, and preparing for when opportunity finally meets preparation. And there are no guarantees. So the only thing to do is keep going and see what happens when you give it your all against your circumstances.

What Being an Artist Means to Me

Writing this blog feels like my personal journal, a place to realign myself and keep moving forward. So I come back to the question:

What does being an artist actually mean to me?

The answer is simple: to express myself as honestly as I can whenever I have the chance. Joyful or heavy, hopeful or uncertain — my expressions should always be truthful. The goal is to keep creating with sincerity.

There will always be the questions:

• Am I good enough to be seen?

• Am I good enough to be heard?

This is where friends, collaborators, and colleagues become important when they offer honest perspectives and reassurance when the work is being done. Looking around and recognising how far I’ve come reminds me that growth is real. Over the years, my place in the music scene has grown through the shows I’ve played and the communities I’ve joined.

When I stop to look at all I’ve achieved over the past four years and look around at the level of professionalism and companionship there is to be found in those I surround myself with, I come to realise that my internal definition of what it means to be an artist is set in stone. The artist is a flamboyance of your true self. So long as you carry your truth with you at all times, your identity will be solid inside and outside of your art.

Looking Ahead to Stage Presence

Recording Stage Presence live with the band feels like the most honest version of these songs I could make.

• Live in the room

• Real musicians

• Real moments

If this EP captures even a fraction of the energy and truth of playing together live, I’ll know we did it right. And that, ultimately, is what this project is about:

Honesty. Conviction. Trusting the music.

Trusting myself.

Written by Curtis Millen
Singer, songwriter and live performer based in the Netherlands.

Follow the journey of my debut EP Stage Presence here on the blog or come see a show.