Australian metalcore outfit Patient Sixty-Seven unveiled a brand new single, “Wayfarer,” earlier this fall via Kontrolla Music Group. We asked the band to list five things they learned recording new music during the Covid-19 pandemic.
01) Consistency is key!
One of the most important things we learnt during our recent recording sessions was to stay persistent, stay consistent and turn up everyday! Some days we’d be full of motivation and the ideas would flow – productivity would too. Other days it would be really tricky to get the right balance, and it would get hard. It’s easy to get down on yourself, and easier to kind of get lost within that negative energy, so the best thing we found to get us through that was to stay even keeled. Ride out the bad days and enjoy the good ones – it will all balance out! In some ways the tougher songs to write, would sometimes forge the best moments.
02) Experiment
COVID is the perfect opportunity to try new things. Record that cover you’ve always wanted to, reach out and collab with your favourite artists, and just get a bit experimental. COVID gave us the chance to mix it up and we had alot of fun writing and recording – not just working on songs for our new record, but by using it as a chance to do some different stuff! There’s no reason not to, especially without shows or touring on the cards like it had been previously – you can really connect with people in other ways – and the chance to do covers, acoustic jams, collaborations, just opened our world up in a bunch of different ways. Music can still connect people even without the normalcy of the live element, we made a bunch of friends from around the world just by putting ourselves out there!
03) Be Patient (no pun intended)
While I think it’s important to be present as a band, releasing music and creating content regularly – I think it’s also really essential to plan for the big picture. We spent alot of time locked away working on stuff, with the view to have it released when hopefully (fingers and toes crossed!!) the world is a little more prepared for live music again. We did this with a view of having things we could show people in the short term, but also having an eye on what 2022 might bring! It’s again one of those balancing acts – but really worthwhile because it puts less stress on us trying to scramble through next year. Well, scramble less than normal – music has a way of still proving to be chaotic even when you have everything planned out perfectly! It’s okay to take that longer term approach and map it out, finding ways to maximize what our band is doing and making the most of what we’re able to do in the short term, too.
04) No live shows? No worries!
One of the coolest things our band did during the downtime was take the time to connect with people. Whether that’s through live streams, just talking on social media in the comments or reaching out and sharing our music with them – it’s been so cool to see the response when we let our walls down a bit and just talked to our supporters like music fans. I mean, at the end of the day that’s us too, and using our social media as the main medium to connect (as opposed to previously where it’s been at shows, face to face conversations) has been really amazing! We also decided to record a full live set for our fans a few months back, and it’s premiering this coming weekend! We thought without being able to do the typical touring thing, we would find a way to bring the show to our fans – wherever in the world they might be. The live streaming uptick during COVID has been really sick, so many great bands have done things to engage with people and put on a performance – we wanted to do the same. Being from Perth and so far away from people – like we needed an excuse!
05) Relax
It’s so easy to be your own worst critic! I think we’ve all seen how much pressure bands put on themselves to be great at what they do, whether that’s during the record process or playing live on the road. There’s definitely an element where that can really be good, driving yourself is never a bad thing. BUT! COVID has been so stressful on so many industries, none more so than music – I think for us the idea of just trying to relax a little more, de-stress, unwind and take it one day at a time – was really helpful in allowing us to stay on track. It’s been a crazy time for everyone in music, we had to remember not to be our own worst enemy and remember why we love doing this so much. Take the time to chill, reflect and you’ll avoid burning out. That was the advice we tried to follow, and it definitely allowed us to keep the motivation on hand during the tracking process for our new record. Mental health stays front of mind, and continues to today!
