PRESSING PAUSE ON 65LABS

HI FRIENDS.

A bit of a different update from 65LABS this month. The short version is: we'll be hitting pause on our Patreon again. You're not going to be charged next month. Take that fiver and go live your best life, on us!

BUT WHY?

After some months of trying to kick this particular project up a gear, we have decided that, for various reasons, it is what is known as 'not a goer'. As much as we appreciate this very-direct, material support from you all, we have not found a good way to keep this subscription switched on without feeling the pressure of making it worthwhile.

BUT WHAT ARE THE VARIOUS REASONS?

The plight of 65daysofstatic has always been somewhat precarious. At the end of 2016, the hype around No Man's Sky had calmed down. We had finished touring our soundtrack around Europe and it became clear that even being tied to something as pop-culturally big as this wasn't going to kick us up a level in terms of financial stability, at least not in ways we were willing or able to embrace. And so we started to recalibrate some things, creating some space so any of us could carve out time if we wanted or needed to find other ways to pay the bills.

As it became less regular for the four of us to always be in the same place at the same time, we started to explore ways of writing differently that made sense in this new context. This saw us entering an era that ended up spanning about five years: Decomposition Theory was followed by A Year of Wreckage and replicr, 2019. Then came the pandemic and Wreckage Systems.

Eventually the pandemic 'ended'. As the world opened up, after years of writing asynchronously it felt like with the infinite music stream of Wreckage Systems this particular arc of experimental, semi-generative, electronics-heavy music had reached its logical conclusion. The general feeling was that it would be good to be 'just a band' again. To be in a room together, making some messy noise, turning it into a record. Unfortunately, after two decades of somehow getting away with it, real life had finally caught up to us.

Creatively it still feels like 65daysofstatic is in a great place. It doesn't feel like our best writing is behind us. We feel like those last Wreckage Systems EPs feature some of the strongest songs we've written, and our various side projects outside of the band are pushing in all sort of new directions that are opening up potential avenues for the band to later explore.

Logistically though, it's another story. Getting the four of us in the same place at the same time is like trying to get a herd of cats to herd some other cats. Blindfolded. It is not only because of actual time constraints (although it is largely that), but it is also somewhat psychological. For better and worse, writing 65days records has never been something we've been able to take lightly. It can get intense, to put it mildly. The 'tortured artist' trope is outdated and unhealthy, so it is not that we feel we have to suffer to make a great album. But we do need to be able to properly sink into the music we are making. To explore the songs we are constructing inside and out, to become intimately familiar with every note and texture.

And it is hard to figure out how to build the momentum to be able to do that together when it's limited to just one day a week, or fortnight, or month, or whenever.

That brings us to the latest, speculative Patreon project. We were hoping to make videos of different live setups, play songs we don't normally play live, find new ways to represent old songs. It was a nice idea and seemed particularly well-suited to Patreon while we quietly try to write new music on the side. Given the current circumstances though, it is keeping us pointed in the wrong direction. It is fun, but it is not exciting, not inspiring. Our time together feels too valuable to spend it tinkering with old material.

And so. Nothing too dramatic - we are not splitting up or anything. But we are putting this project to bed, and will be pausing the Patreon updates and therefore the subscription.

For all our interest in exploring new forms for making, presenting and sharing music, in our hearts, it still feels like we would all most like to do next is make a record, no matter how long that might take. So that's what we'll be trying to do!

BUT WHAT IF I JUST JOINED THE PATREON THOUGH??

Thanks! You're in the club now. There's a vast archive of content here hidden in the various posts. Patreon doesn't offer a great way of putting them all in one place, but if you take the time to read back through them you'll find loads of secret 65 bangers, noise treasure, existential confusion and evidence of us generally over-thinking things to an unhealthy degree. Enjoy! And stick around, you won't be charged again unless/until we switch this thing back on.

BUT HOW ELSE CAN I SUPPORT THE BAND THEN?

Well, that is kind. If you're reading this and not a member of the Patreon, then by all means sign up! You'll get charged once, and then joined everybody else on pause. And you'll get access to the Patreon archive mentioned above.

You can also grab things from the 65daysofstatic bandcamp or, if you already have all that stuff, check our various side projects (Haus Horo / NVLL / Polinski).

Mostly though, y'know, just keep listening to our music, if you like.

BUT WHAT DO I DO NOW THEN??

65LABS is going to be paused until further notice. Please do not unsubscribe.

For the band, this isn't a hiatus as such. There will actually be some nice 65daysofstatic news in the coming weeks as we slowly get our house in order. Expect an email when the time comes!

IF YOU NEED YOUR FIX OF 65-ADJACENT WRITTEN UPDATES, then you really should sign up to Paul's The Komoy Research Unit newsletter. It is entirely free and if you have enjoyed the 65LABS updates, you'll enjoy this. Lots of you here have signed up, but not all of you! So why not give it a go. Posts are mostly weekly, although it's currently in slow-motion-summer-mode. The latest is about how writing sentences might be (or might not be) like writing music and also has a little bit about 65 being on tour a decade or so ago when Wild Light came out.

IF YOU NEED YOUR FIX OF 65-ADJACENT GOTH-DOOM, then keep an eye on Rob's not-so-new-now band https://haushoro.bandcamp.com/. They'll be playing at ArcTangent this year. Did you know one of the stages at ArcTangent is named after a 65daysofstatic song? Pretty cool, huh?! They just announced they're going to be at No Bounds Festival in Sheffield in the autumn too.

IF YOU NEED YOUR FIX OF 65-ADJACENT MODULAR-SYNTH WIZARDRY, then follow Si's NVLL project on his Instagram or Bandcamp. You never know if/when he might drop a noise banger. We're not sure even he knows. A modular synth wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.

There's also still the 65 Discord where you can find solidarity, solace and comradeship from other humans who like noisy music and, of course, the Wreckage Systems live stream, for as long as it can possibly stagger on as it gets slowly worn down by unidentifiable bugs.

THAT'S IT

That's it! Never forever though. OR IS IT??

65.xx