CH.89: If you were to categorize or describe the style of your music, what would it be and why?

P: That’s always a difficult one. You want to define yourself something unique without falling into obscure and pretentious gibberish. How about Anguish Drone Pop? That sounds down to earth.

CH.89: Where do you draw your inspiration from?

P: The constant flow of music that surrounds all our heads from across the decades. A really good gig can be really motivating to go home and write something a bit like that. But it always ends up sounding like something different, which is a good thing of course.

CH.89: What made you want to start Patterns?

P: The camera view of the crowd from the Pyramid stage.

CH.89: How did the name Patterns come about?

P: It’s a comment on the continuous threads that run through nearly all music. We’ve also put a lot of effort into the visual elements of the band, creating a visual aesthetic, you’ll notice if you see us live.

CH.89: Can you talk a little bit about what your creative thought process is like when starting a new album?

P: We just finished our first album, so its a bit like trying to make the most of everything you’ve made as a band so far. The sounds become more refined as you get further through the recording process until everything becomes more unified and pleasing.

CH.89: What would you want people/ the listener to take from your music?

P: A melody in their head and the urge to play it again. I like the idea of people listening to us walking home from their mates at 4 in the morning.

CH.89: Can you talk a little bit about your lifestyle as an artist and what that is like?

P: Its easy to get caught up in the idea that bands just play gigs all the time and drink, when in fact most of the time is spent writing music at home, with or without drink. Playing gigs is always something we’ve like doing but it can sometimes feel like quite a separate act from most of the time spent on the band. But the traveling is good and we’ve been to some great places and met some awesome people.

CH.89: When starting out an artistic task, do you think it is better to have a particular direction/set plan guiding your way? Or, is it better to act on impulse and go from there?

P: Strokes for folks. We’ve gone on impulse first and found direction within that. Anything else for us would be too forces and lead us somewhere bad.

CH.89: What is one major lesson you’ve learned as an artist?

P: How to talk about yourself without sounding too much of a narcissist.

CH.89: Do you regard personal style & taste to be of highest importance?

P: Thats all we have.

CH.89: What do you consider to be the hardest thing about being an artist?

P: Being on an indie label you’re constantly competing with major acts for the same editorial space. There are so many great small  bands who would have mass appeal if only people knew about them.

CH.89: What is one thing you love about being an artist?

P: Contributing to the same music scene that gives us great times.

CH.89: Is there anyone in particular, any artists that inspire you in any way?

P: Any artists that keep putting out loads of great albums. A lot of effort goes into an album as we’ve just found out. Radiohead springs to mind now.

CH.89: What do you think of technology in terms of being a useful tool for artists today?

P: Technology has changed everything. Anyone can now record in their own home and distribute online.  That freedom means there’s much music to get a hold of and its so easy to find your online niche tastes.

CH.89: Do you think being an artist allows you to view the world differently from those who don’t follow creative paths?

P: Well as music artists we probably think about music in a different way to those who don’t play instruments. But I don’t think we’ve climbed an ivory tower. Sometimes I get sick of automatically trying to work out what kind of synth that bleep probably was.

CH.89: Do you enjoy traveling? If so, do you have a favorite city?

P: I find comparing cities hard. We had a greta time in Paris playing a gig in this dingy basement bar before crashing at some other guy’s bar for a few of the days. The good memories of the people combined with the food put it up there.  

CH.89: Do you have a favorite author or book?

P: I’ve still got the Dummies Guide to Songwriting somewhere from when I was 14.

CH.89: Any future goals or plans for your music?

P: Releasing the album and seeing where that takes us. We’re starting work on new material but we’ll have more of an idea about that soon.

CH.89: What does being an artist mean to you?

P: Its great to have a platform to put music out rather than leave it on a laptop sitting at home. These outlets make us less isolated and more interconnected.

CH.89: Any last words on the aesthetic of your music?

P: Hearing Lady Gaga through a wall. We want to nod to pop music, while doing something a little subversive. Decide for yourself!

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