When did you first realise that COVID-19 was going to have an effect on your career?
Pretty much immediately, although the extent of the ramifications weren’t immediatelyapparent. It was pretty obvious immediately when gigs were getting cancelled andeverything was getting closed, and I just knew that any plans of going out to play and/orconnect with music lovers would be derailed.
Initially, what was that whole situation like, and how did you overcome/react to it?
I like to think I took it in stride; I mean, there’s not much I could have done about not being able to play live so I just focused on the things I could control. I tried to stay sane, focus on my mental health, and be as creative as possible in the hopes that the world would open up again and I’d be able to share new material.
How has your creative process changed over the last couple of months?
I’ve had to channel other sources of creativity compared to the pre-lockdown life. Pre-lockdown, I really enjoyed going to gigs and open mics, getting exposed to different genres and styles, and discovering new things, techniques and musical ideas that I didn’t even know were possible. All of that went away during lockdown, so I tried to engage more in online communities. I also tried to leverage the extra time – time that I would have spent going out to music venues but now couldn’t because of lockdown – to create, write songs, practice and explore new ideas. Other than that, I’ve been pretty fortunate to be in a position where I’ve stayed reasonably creative 🙂
What’s been the hardest part about writing/doing music this way?
I’ve had absolutely no problem writing music. Recording/producing on the other hand has been a bit of a drag because of lockdown and studios being closed, social distancing, travel limitations, restrictions with meeting people, you get the idea. I was able to get some valuable recording time in between Lockdowns 1 and 2 (in the UK), so it helped that I had some new material to go into the studio with 🙂
What bands/artists have you been listening to over the last couple of months?
I’ve discovered a lot of new music, both locally and mainstream, and I’ve also dug into the back catalogues of some of my all-time favourites. Lisa Canny, Larkin Poe, Jackie Venson are some of the new musicians I’ve found online this past year, while I’ve been(re)listening to some of my old favourites like Stevie Wonder, Jack Johnson, Madeline Peyroux.
So, what do you think you’ve learnt the most from being a musician through COVID-19?
When life gives you lemons…just kidding. Seriously, COVID-19 has pulled back the curtain and exposed a lot of unsavory practices and inequalities in our societies and the music industry. On the flip side I’ve been able to identify a lot of opportunities that are worth exploring. Whether or not it’ll help remains to be seen, but it is knowledge I’ve acquired, and I like to think that no knowledge is wasted 🙂
What kind of effect do you think that it’s had on the music industry all together, and how excited are you to see it return to normal?
It has affected a lot of people in the industry no doubt, and I’m looking forward to a breath of new life in the industry as we weather the pandemic storm. However, I’m not sure I want things to “return to normal”, because I’ve realised that the old normal was pretty broken. I’d like us to build a better, fairer, new normal rather than just simply returning to the old ways of doing things. What this looks like exactly, I’m not entirely sure, but I have some ideas…
What tips/advice would you like to give to other artists who are also going through this?
Keep the faith, it’ll get better. It may get worse first, but it’ll get better…it has to 🙂