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 England, liquid drum-n-bass duo Hybrid Minds (aka London-based Josh White and Leeds-based Matt Lowe).
What’s it like where you are? We have had amazing weather, so there still seems to be a fair amount of people walking around outside. I am, however, staying pretty much locked in my home studio and have been for a while. After the initial shock, we found our feet and saw a great opportunity to get in the studio and focus exclusively on making new music. Taking shows, meetings and travel away has been so great for our creativity. I have pretty much woken up, done some exercise, hit the studio all day and then chilled with my family in the evenings.
What kind of income-producing work have you lost? I don’t think this could have come at a worse time for us regarding gigs. We had to postpone our biggest-ever headline show at Printworks in London just days in advance. We had been preparing for months and put so much time and effort in. It was a bit heartbreaking, but we will get another date and it will only be that much more rewarding when it comes back ’round. We were set to have the best summer of our careers, playing all the festivals on our wish list. Watching some of them already getting cancelled or postponed is a bummer. We are staying positive about it all, though, and will get ’round to playing them all, eventually. And, as it stands, we’re still scheduled to play MADE Festival near Birmingham on August 1.
Are you doing anything now that can or will produce music-related income? We have our own label, which generates its own income, so we are super-chilled about the whole situation. I think it will be a really tough time for a lot of producers and the creative industry as a whole. There are so many people behind the scenes that this all affects even greater than ourselves. We are lucky that we are not living paycheck to paycheck, so just feel super- appreciative of that.
What are you doing now that’s ultimately constructive to your music life/career? We have been in the studio working on new music every day since the last show we played. We are making so much music and just hope we can finish a bunch before we are out the other side of this madness and back on the road. We are going to be crazy-busy with shows, so we are trying to take the studio time while we can.
What’s the most surprising thing you’ve realized during this period of social distancing? It has really helped to get some perspective on things. We have been moving so fast for the past couple years with no rest. Not having to worry about gigs and traveling has been quite refreshing. Our heads are back into making music and not worrying about all the stuff that comes with it. It has also been amazing to take a breath and appreciate the last year or so, when you’re mad-busy your head is always a few steps ahead of the moment you are actually in.
Are you doing anything online? This was the first thing on our mind when Printworks was cancelled, but we decided not to jump straight on that. I quite like the idea of social-media distancing along with the physical version. We have a bunch of content coming over the next couple months, so we hope that everyone will still get their fix of new stuff. We may get some kind of streams going if we find the time amongst the studio work.
Any advice on staying sane & relatively positive through this situation? Take this opportunity to be creative and do all the stuff you never had the time for a few weeks ago. Just become a music producer and you will soon realize that isolation is your day-to-day life anyway
To check out more Life in Lockdown features, click here.
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