As gigs are on pause, Home is the new Backstage. Get behind the scenes with cleopatrick this week.

Celebrating the release of their massive new single THE DRAKE, we caught up with Canadian duo cleopatrick to chat about Radiohead, yearning for live music, and how lockdown impacted the recording process of their new material.

Did you come across any surprises, whether pleasant or unpleasant, while recording your new single?

I think we were both surprised with how dope it sounds, especially the second verse… so hard.

Were there any particular events/stories that sparked the inspiration for the single?

THE DRAKE is about a show we played at The Drake hotel in Toronto a few years ago, where a past highschool bully showed up and started fighting people in the middle of our set.

What advice would you give to your pre-lockdown self?

Hey man – the next year is going to be a huge bummer, but your album is going to rock.

How, if at all, did lockdown impact your music making and producing process?

It gave us a lot more time to hyper-analyze our new tracks. It stretched out our timeline and made us feel more comfortable re-working and re-thinking certain songs. Overall I think it made our album much stronger.

How would you sum up your 2020 in one sentence?

Radiohead every day – vsauce every night.

If you had a quarantine character, what was it like?

Quiet, self-reflective, and sometimes self-destructive guy that keeps youtube-ing “craziest facts about outer space.”

Name 5 things that got you through lockdown.

My op-1.
YouTube.
My family + partner.
Walking around outside.
Bubly’s (canadian sparkling water beverage – think La Croix but with more class).

What’s the most interesting thing you discovered over lockdown (could be a revelation about yourself, a new TV show, a new hobby)?

Ian and I both started playing online video games with our friends again. We hadn’t done that since high school. It’s been so much fun.

What are your hopes and dreams for 2021?

Release our debut album.
Play a show with a mosh pit.
Riz Ahmed DM’s us and says “yo you guys rock.”

And finally, slightly cliché but what does music mean to you?

Music is the most primal, most universal, and most magical form of escapism. It’s ethereal and endless and I am grateful for it every day.