Snakehips have taken over the electronic music scene. The duo from the UK have amased over ten million streams from around the globe for their hits like All My Friends from 2015 to their latest single Wavez. When they’re not touring the globe spreading their EDM sounds to large crowds of fans, they’re in the comfort of their own home both relaxing and working on new music. We chat with Snakehips to learn more about their time while staying indoors.
Describe what you do for a living and how youāre adjusting to social distancing.
We are music producers & DJs from London. The social distancing and lockdown situation has temporarily shut down the touring/live side of our project. We were halfway through a tour of the US when we had to postpone a bunch of dates and fly home. Itās just put us in a position where we have some forced downtime, but we have a bunch of music to work on and production that we can do from home so are just trying to use the time productively. I think with what we do weāre quite used to having a hectic couple of months on the road and then suddenly being holed up in the studio for a couple of months after that. The disparity of our general life schedule and stuff means that it hasnāt been too weird of an adjustment just yet! Weāre used to having long periods of minimal social contact haha.
During this time of social distancing, people are leaning on things such as streaming services, puzzles, at-home workout classes, to name a few, what activities are you using to take your mind off of things?Ā Ā
Ollie: Iāve been trying to watch more movies and arts/music documentaries and things like that. There are so many rowdy shows on Netflix about serial killers and stuff like that & Iāve been trying to avoid things that are really moody and just make you think the world is a terrible place haha. Itās easy to watch loads of really trashy mind-numbing stuff, so Iāve been keeping that to a minimum and just getting as much work done as possible and focusing on being productive. The Tiger King show was sick though, I enjoyed that. What a rollercoaster. Shouts to Carole Baskin.
James: Itās actually a blessing that the weather in London has just started to get a bit nicer too so we can hang in the garden and stuff and spend some time not locked up indoors. I think things would be way more miserable if it was winter right now and everything was darker and colder.Ā
What is keeping you grounded/balanced at the moment?
We have a load of new music to finish and are working towards getting new projects out this summer, so thereās constant stuff to focus on and goals to work towards. I think, even though a load of shows and festivals & shows have been postponed, it definitely gives us some time to work on new music and new tracks we can eventually play at those things when they are eventually rescheduled, which is exciting still.Ā
Personally I just recognise how much I have to be thankful for, doing our line of work means that we can take a bit of time off and it isnāt such a huge inconvenience for us. At the moment we can just get on with our music and wait it out. I have friends & family who are in a much more worrying position and have lost jobs, clients and work etc. I think itās important to have some perspective and be thankful for what you have. My big broās wife is working in a hospital ICU unit in London at the moment, and just hearing of some of the things she is witnessing every day is humbling. Just makes me really appreciate that there are people out there doing such selfless hard work throughout all this. Everyone is experiencing this time differently, and Iām aware that I donāt have it nearly as bad as I could, we just gotta stay positive and be there for the people that need us.
How have you stayed connected to friends and family during this time?
Ollie: Itās weird because I guess with everyone being so bored you kinda talk a lot more than you usually would. Been talking on FaceTime to my family most days, and then will do Houseparty chats, and Zooms and stuff with my friends too. Definitely got to the point already where no one has anything new to talk about. Weāll probably meet up after the lockdown and have nothing to say to each other haha.
James: My parents live quite close to me luckily so been able to go round to theirs every week and see them in the garden, sitting a few metres away. Itās weird but itād be whack if I couldnāt see them.
How do you typically start your day? What daily rituals are you practising?
Ollie: Iāve been listening to mad Brazilian music from the 60s / 70sĀ in the morning like Gilberto Gil and Jorge Ben Jor. I swear itās impossible to be in a bad mood listening to that haha, such a vibe. Been trying to get outdoors for a bit in the morning and just get a bit of air before Iām back on the computer all day otherwise shit can get a bit weird.Ā
How are you staying productive while at home? Any useful tips?
Just been playing Playstation a lot and been working through the old Final Fantasy 7 game on the Switch. I canāt believe I never played it before. Been skating in our local supermarket car park too, thatās been fun.
What advice would you give to someone whoās struggling in isolation right now?
Just donāt put too much pressure on yourself to act in any certain way and try to get through it as best you can. I see so many preachy people saying shit like, ādonāt be lazy, use your time to learn something newā etc. which is all good if youāre in that mindset, but not everyone can turn such a stressful period of time into something amazingly productive. Itās definitely good to have distractions, but if youāre finding it difficult then you just need to try and block out things that are making you feel more negative. Itās a weird time and thereās no right or wrong way to cope with it.Ā
What accomplishment are you most proud of while social distancing?
Ollie: Cut my own hair last week and it doesnāt look completely crazy haha. Gonna be interesting to see how itās looking in a few weeks. Probably a lot worse.
James: Done a couple of at-home budget tattoos that have come out ok at best haha
What are you most looking forward to once this is over?
Going out for a thousand beers. Iām looking forward to never using Zoom again too haha.
