An interview with 6Clicks, a band trying to make people smile, one song at a time.
- Can you tell us a bit about where you come from and how you got started making music?
Danny: I’ve always listened to Frank Sinatra and bands like Skillet, and I never thought I’d be able to make music like they did. One day I was in class and started writing a poem until my friend next to me mentioned that it sounded like a song that a pop artist would write. I tried singing it, but i was really tone deaf. So I decided to start practicing, found out I could write songs and a decent melody, and learned to keep a tune. Then I met Aidan. I realized he could help me with all the things I struggled in and now we are 6Clicks.
Aidan: I started out in music as a pianist, which I still am. I am mostly classically trained, and have been through around 12 years of classical training in both piano and cello. I listen to pretty much any genre of music imaginable, and that’s where I first found my knack for writing music taking inspiration from other bands. I met Daniel over Minecraft and we pretty quickly figured out we were both musicians who could potentially collaborate with each other. And here we are!
- Do you handle the songwriting, production and singing on your songs, or do you collaborate with others?
6Clicks: Aidan Handles production while we both sing and write, I do more lyrical works while he and I both do Instrumental works.
- Who were your first and strongest musical influences?
Danny: Sinatra Hands Down!
Aidan: My first? I don’t think I know that one, but if we are going by strongest, probably Toto.
- What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners?
6Clicks: We feel like our listeners should be able to hear our enjoyment with our work. We don’t really intend to make too much money off stuff like this, so all of our music we write out of just having fun.
- For most artists, originality is first preceded by a phase of learning and, often, emulating others. What was this like for you? How would you describe your own development as an artist and music maker, and the transition towards your own style?
Danny: Well, I listened to a lot of Frank Sinatra growing up and I just sang along, eventually I started writing my own stuff and found out that I enjoyed doing it.
- What’s your view on the role and function of music as political, cultural, spiritual, and/or social vehicles – and do you try and affront any of these themes in your work, or are you purely interested in music as an expression of technical artistry, personal narrative and entertainment?
6Clicks: We never try to put Political statements in our music, Music is our Passion and our Form of expression of how we feel, and besides, politics is depressing.
- Do you ever write a song with current musical trends, formulas or listener satisfaction in mind, or do you simply focus on your own personal vision and trust that people will empathize with your sound?
6Clicks: We tend to just focus on a vision, we try to make music that won’t decay over time, timeless music in a sense. Stuff that listeners 20 years from now wouldn’t go “eh that sounds old” and just find something else to listen to.
- Could you describe your creative processes? How do start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song? Do you usually start with a beat, a melody, or a narrative in your head?
Aidan: Usually so far, Danny Decides that he wants to write a song about a topic, and I brain storm and come up with music while he writes lyrics then we shape it around that, for sail away, he already had the song mostly written and I then rearranged guitar and made a band track where he sang over it.
- What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your career or life so far, and how did you overcome the event?
Danny: For me, dealing with writers block and just times where I just have no motivation
- On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your career so far?
Danny: The first time hearing sail away, it was a moment of “holy crap, I actually did this?” It was something I never felt before, a sort of confidence in my music.
- How and when did the moniker 6Clicks come about?
Danny: So I was a Boy Scout for about 8 years and I had was using a compass and I had found out 6 Clicks is true north, and I thought it was so cool and my buddy Robert said: “That would make a cool band name” and now here we are!
- With social media having a heavy impact on our lives and the music business in general, how do you handle criticism, haters and/or naysayers in general? Is it something you pay attention to, or simply ignore?
Aidan: We take criticism with open minds. We appreciate people who have something to add to our music, but we don’t really like spending too much effort trying to please our audience. Everyone has different preferences, and we feel like making music to make someone else happy is a slippery slope when it comes to mental health and such.
- Which aspects of being an independent artist excites you most and which aspects discourages you most?
Aidan: I feel like the freedom of being able to write/compose anything without someone else being on top of you telling you how to make this and that, cost would be the main issue for people like us. We don’t have a lot of high quality recording gear, most of our processing and my mastering is done in the box and most of it with stock plugins since I can’t afford much of the Waves stuff or nice plugins like that.
Danny: Yeah I feel the same way about the writing freedom, cost is probably the main drawback, its hard being a student and making music that’s quality so it sometimes it difficult with lack of funds.
- Where do you do most of your recording and production work? And do you outsource any or all of these processes?
Aidan: Danny records his vocals over at his place, he has a decent room and a nice microphone (The Warm Audio WA47), so his vocals end up sounding pretty nice. I record my vocals and backing, over at my place, and I have a vocal booth for that. I mix and master in the box using Reaper. We don’t outsource any recording or production work, we don’t have the funds to record at a studio or to get a professional mastering job done.
- Could you tell us something about your latest release, and what the highlights are to watch out for?
6Clicks: We plan on releasing one more single before we really start digging into the album. We want to make a very musically diverse lineup in terms of songs, and we want anyone, no matter what kind of musical taste they have, to be able to find something they enjoy within our music.
- Do you have a personal favorite track amongst your compositions that has a specific backstory and/or message and meaning very special to you?
Danny: Sail Away or my melody, they both mean a lot to me, Sail Away was truly me wanting to be me and not what my parents wanted me to be.
- Creative work in studio environment, or interaction with a live audience? Which of these two options excite you most?
Aidan: Studio hands down. I have no issues playing live, I have a lot of experience being a classical pianist, but I just tend to be so much more chill and work much more effectively in the studio.
Danny: I’d have to say live. I love having an audience to interact with and such.
- Do you have a favorite motto, phrase or piece of advice, you try to live or inspire yourself by?
Danny: My life is my guitar and I’m going to play it to the fullest.
Aidan: I came into this world to play music, and I’ll play music til the day I die.
- How essential do you think video is in relation to your music? Do you have a video you could suggest fans see, to get a better understanding of your craft?
6Clicks: We don’t really think about video in relation to music very much as of right now. The current situation in the world kinda makes it tough to make music videos. Plus we don’t really have the money for that.
- What do you find most rewarding about what you do? And do you have a specific vision or goal set in your mind that you would like to achieve in the near future?
Aidan: Just getting messages from people I don’t even know telling me that they love our music. It makes my day.
Danny: I get to share my truest feelings and People actually want to listen, I’d like to try to get a full album out soon, that’s my major goal I’d like to get to.
Connect with 6Clicks on: SPOTIFY – YOUTUBE – GENIUS – INSTAGRAM – SPOTIFY
