Musical bands on "not letting the art die" during coronavirus pandemic | Feature

The world may be in chaos, but the creative flame is still burning – bands’ tactics and struggles during Covid

What are you doing right now? Are you currently sitting at home in front of your laptop or phone screen? Or perhaps you’re social distancing on public transport going somewhere you need to be? Wherever you are, one thought that must be present in your mind is that social life is not the same. We can’t go out in the same way we used to; we should only travel if it is essential, and mass gatherings at clubs and venues are completely forbidden. It feels like the world has been placed under a one giant curfew. But has anyone wondered, how are musicians doing? And what are their tactics to stay afloat? According to some UK-based underground bands, the pandemic has been both a blessing and a curse.

Brighton-based HANYA is one of the underground bands trying to stay afloat during the pandemic. Starting as a duo known as Post Heather, the band was formed more than five years ago after drummer Jack bumped into singer and guitarist Heather on his way to work at Toys” R” Us. After meeting bass player Jorge and guitarist Ben, they merged their sounds and found that they fitted together like pieces from a puzzle. Their sound, a hard one to pinpoint, has often been described as psychedelic, dream pop and even Britpop by their fans.

HANYA | Source: Jordan William Rose | Instagram: joro115

Despite the struggle of not doing anything at first, HANYA found that lockdown was actually the trigger to creating some of their best work, including recently released ‘Texas’ – a personal track about chaotic romance and having to have “the talk” with someone before splitting. Although there was a sudden change in the way they made music, social distancing forced them to develop other more productive ways of working. Making demos and working separately by sending each other ideas back and forth has been a refreshing way for HANYA to keep content flowing. “In the past, we would always write everything in a practice space all together, which is amazing but can also be quite difficult, and it can take a little bit longer”, says Jack. “But with these demos, I think we’ve been making better decisions, and we’ve been more focused on the writing than when we would usually be in a practice room. It’s been a nice change.”

Similarly, Brighton-based band LibraLibra have found their lockdown journey to be somewhat optimistic. Despite not being able to gig, they say it has been the perfect time to release music. Vocalist Beth, drummer and producer Joe, bass player Guy and guitarist Martell describe themselves as “very loud and in your face” and define their musical inspirations as “weirdo pop people who think outside the box.” Coming together in 2017, LibraLibra’s sound mainly consists of angry pop music containing heavy rock elements. They are your unconventional underground band whose aim is for those who listen to their music to be “whoever they wanna be.”

LibraLibra | Source: Jessie Morgan | Instagram: jessiemorgannnnn

When it comes to creating, LibraLibra’s Joe believes that there shouldn’t be any obstacles for musicians to make music and the problem more so lays with the fact that gigging and touring is currently a no-no. He says: “I know there’s loads of people that have just cancelled what they were doing and I think that’s worse. Right now, loads of people are just sat inside looking at their computers, so releasing things right now isn’t so bad. The only bad thing is that you can’t go gig it afterwards, which stops you from being able to spread the word so much.” LibraLibra are thriving, as they have so far released a whole EP during the first lockdown and are currently recording another EP to be released in 2021.

Yet, the writing process for musicians during lockdown hasn’t been all unicorns and rainbows, and there have been times in which pandemic stress has also got to the best of some lyricists. “There have been days where I’ve felt like I didn’t know what to do and simply just didn’t have the energy and the drive”, says Beth, “but you have to keep going, and I think that’s the main thing. Keep writing, keep coming up with your creative ideas and just don’t let it burn out because of what’s happening, even though it’s easier said than done.” Nonetheless, the most important piece of advice the vocalist has been sticking to is to “not let the art die”, as that is the fuel which keeps the creative flame burning.

What about social media and digital skills? The truth is that these could become the saviour for many musicians to maintain and attract listeners, especially during dubious times brought by Covid. Manchester powerhouse girl band Hot Minute explain how if the pandemic continued, social media would become an essential tool to keep fans engaged and keep the ball rolling. Singer and manager Keely, guitarist Bella and producer and synths player Courtney are a powerful trio who bonded “over the similar sexism issues faced at the hands of the male-dominated music industry” and became Hot Minute in 2018. Their glittering yet dark synth-pop sound and inspiring feminist outlook are not the only things that give Hot Minute a unique edge, as they are also entirely independent, self-managed and self-produced.

Hot Minute | Source: Sean Taylor | Instagram: sean_taylor_photography

When asked about the strategies that bands will need to develop if lockdowns continue, Hot Minute respond with: “new and exciting social media content such as vlogs, TikToks and something that gives people an angle that wasn't available before. During this time, it’s been a great opportunity to connect with an audience and keep it real and demystify the separation between the consumer and the artist because everyone is struggling.”

Not being able to gig has so far been one of the most significant setbacks for many bands, as no gigging means no promotion, especially for those who are still currently climbing the popularity ladder. Lockdowns continuing remains a significant worry clouding the minds of bands such as HANYA, as they believe that there will be a time where digital interaction with fans will lose effectiveness. “Everything has been moved around and rescheduled, and you don’t get the same chance to release something and then gig it properly. Instead, you’re writing stuff, releasing it, and it feels like you might lose momentum. We’ve done lots of live streams, but, I mean, there’s only so many times you can do that before you think everyone’s a bit over it now”, says Heather. However, according to LibraLibra’s Joe, a positive aspect is that there could be a boom in the music industry once the pandemic is over, with people excited to go to gigs and festivals after having such a big break.

So, what can we expect from bands in 2021? It would be a good idea to keep expectations low for the time being to avoid disappointment over shows which might continue to be cancelled or rescheduled. Will we ever get the full-on experience of a proper gig again? Or will live-streamed gigs and socially distanced shows become the future? These are questions that remain unanswered as the uncertainty brought by the pandemic continues. However, one thing is certain is that we will continue to be blessed with exciting new music and digital content from many of our favourite bands who continue to keep their creativity flowing despite the worldwide turmoil.