When the coronavirus shut us down, clubs and festivals ceased, and everyone was essentially forced inside with no definitive end in sight, DJ Times wondered: How is our tribe coping? How are DJs getting by? So, we sent out our “Coronavirus Questionnaire” to DJ/producers from all musical genres to find out.
During the crisis, DJ Times will be presenting the questionnaire responses from talented music-makers from all over the world. Here’s our latest installment, this time from South America, the Brazil-based maker of deep, melodic electronica, BLANCAh (aka Patricia Laus Mattos).
What’s it like where you are living? I live in a very cozy neighborhood, facing the sea. Most of my days are very peaceful. Here, we are not experiencing an extreme lockdown. The serious press recommends that we avoid social contact; on the other hand, the government wants life to go on normally to keep the economy going. So today, those who want and who can, stay at home. This has been a very creative moment for me. I’m still composing in my studio and, right now, I’m creating a video clip [for new track “Vast Blue Sky”] at home to promote my new album.
What kind of income-producing work have you lost? I had a busy schedule, traveling every weekend to play. I had gigs cancelled in Berlin, Athens, Panama, and Amsterdam – the whole European summer schedule was postponed or cancelled. This July, for example, I was meant to make my debut at the Boom Festival in Portugal.
Are you doing anything now that can or will produce music-related income? I recently released my new album, Arias of Sky on Renaissance Records. I keep planning and executing some actions to promote it. I hope that this movement will bear some fruit in the near future when things return to normal. But, for now, no profit is coming.
What are you doing now that’s ultimately constructive to your music life/career? My new album is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful projects of my career. We are in the launch phase and all my energy is now focused on that.
What’s the most surprising thing you’ve realized during this period of social distancing? In the past few days, I have been producing a video clip with modelling clay creating some scenes in stop-motion. I have also been painting watercolors.
Have you done anything online? I streamed from my terrace in the late afternoon, wrote some messages and tied them to gas balloons… a symbolic way to take some words to the world. People’s reactions were amazing.
Any theme tunes recommended for the moment? Faithless’ “To All New Arrivals.”
Any advice on staying sane & relatively positive through this situation? I have been looking for pleasure in the little things of daily life… from tidying up the house to attending yoga classes. Music helps me a lot and keeps my mind creative. Making plans for the future, when everything goes by, helps me to remain optimistic. At the same time, I feel it is a time when there is no more room for distractions. For example, parents who used to leave their children in schools all day long are now forced to reinvent themselves as parents. So, it is with all kinds of relationships that we have in our lives. Everything we used to hide under the rug in our daily life is now in our face, and this is the ideal time to review concepts about ourselves. Anyone who can understand this situation as the perfect moment to learn more about yourself will surely come out stronger from this storm.
To check out more Life in Lockdown interviews, click here.
