We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Patricia Wasy. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Patricia below.
Patricia, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.
They wouldn’t let me quit piano lessons! I started Piano at 5, and at around age 13/14 I was rebelling! I wanted to go out with my friends not practice piano!?!? Plus I was involved in sports, theatre productions, had huge amounts of school work, I didn’t want to ALSO do theory lessons, counterpoint, Piano Exams, Performances at the Conservatory, Festivals. But no matter how many times I complained as a teenager, my parents would have none of it ‘You will not be quitting Patricia’. Once I reached Grade 9/10 RCM, Debussy became part of the curriculum, and I started to see the uh…. light (Ty Clair de Lune). Elton John and Billy Joel were also on the scene and both were so inspiring to me as Piano players. Now I can’t even imagine life without the Piano! I am eternally grateful for my parent’s decision, although at the time……
Patricia, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Since 2017, I’ve released Piano recordings in 3 different genres, Lofi, Electro, & in recent years Neo- Classical. I actually started my music career back in the 90’s in Radio Broadcasting! I still played piano & taught piano at that time, but there was a slight diversion! In High School I was sent on a ‘Radio Station Tour’ and during this excursion, was asked if I’d be interested in reading a script announcing High School sports highlights live on-air. as a rep for my High School. Yep, the anxiety happening when that ON AIR light went red, yeah that was slightly terrifying….. but at the same time I LOVED IT. Something clicked and I suddenly had a new passion. I decided right then and there, I was going to be an Announcer! Hard to believe now, but at that time, there were hardly any female On-Air Announcers on National Radio & TV, so I was game to get busy becoming part of this broadcasting landscape in Canada. I studied Radio Broadcasting at BCIT in Vancouver, and ended up with a 25-year career in Radio & TV. I had such a blast working at Stations including 97 KISS FM Vancouver (aka Patti Williams in the Van About Town), The OCEAN FM 98.5 in Victoria (aka Patti Williams Mid-Day Announcer), CTV in Vancouver and Discovery Channel Canada in Toronto (Nat’l Promo Voice aka Patti Wasylynko). So I was on the other side of the airwaves at this point in my career, with alot of different names… Fast Forward to 2017, I’m still doing Freelance Voicework, but the move to Recording and Composing Piano, began simply through a friend’s son. ‘Limes’ was Producing Lofi tracks in 2017 and was looking for original material. Since I was always playing piano all through this time, I did have compositions ready to go. ‘Somebody’ became my first Release & collaboration, and it’s still going strong at over 700K streams on Spotify alone. After over 40 singles being released, some on Labels others independently, I am planning my first Neo-Classical 9-track Album to release in the Fall, Produced by Dean Capone of 3kStatic. My Neo Classical projects are under the Name ‘The Mayfair Arrangements’ on streaming sites. My music is mainly Instrumental Piano, and characterized by soft, simple melodies that are peaceful. I have really only one thing in mind when composing, and that’s a desire to bring a sense of calm to those listening. The world is a beautiful place, but within the beauty is also alot of suffering, and so many suffer in silence. It’s a small contribution, but if my music can offer some peace for someone, even if it’s just for 2:10 seconds :) then it makes everything so worthwhile. My Neo -Classical music in particular, is placed generally on Playlists made for studying/focus/calm/reading/relaxation/sleep/chill. My Neo- Classical piece ‘Petals’ has been placed on the Pandora Radio Genre Station ‘Calm’ and my most recent Solo Neo- Classical release ‘Winter Glow’ has been a fixture on the Pandora Radio Station ‘PIANO’ since it’s release last year. So grateful for the airplay…. seems I’m back on the Radio and with yet another name, The Mayfair Arrangements. I also really love creating Playlists. This is on a Volunteer basis, just a way to give to the Community. I am always listening, everyday, some days for literally hours :) But I have to say, when I find that Artist/Band with hardly any streams, but are actually AMAZING, they just haven’t been discovered yet, I get so stoked! Top of the List my friend! Just this past spring, after so many years in the Music Industry as a Radio Announcer, and now as an Artist, I am deeply honored to have been selected as an Academy Delegate for the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS), Juno Awards Voter.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
There are so many simple and inexpensive ways to support Artists in Music
On Spotify and other streaming services, first of all just tap on that Follow/Like Button under their Artist Name so they accumulate Followers and add ‘likes/hearts’ on their tracks.
When you stream their songs, it’s vital to stream a track for at least 30 seconds, if it’s less than that, the Artist doesn’t receive a stream count. So, Listeners who stream for at least 30 seconds, know you are so appreciated!
Musicians/Artists want to get on Active Playlists. For Listeners wanting to help the Artists you love, here’s how you can with respect to Playlists:
Make a personal playlist that you regularly listen to, and include your favorite Indie Artists. Share your playlist with your friends and on socials. Add your playlist to your IG/FB Stories.
If you see an Artist promoting a Playlist they’re on, tap on the Follow button for that list (it’s either a check mark or a + sign top left of the list) to help increase the Follower Count for that List. Give it a listen. The more Followers a List has, the more Followers it will attract. End result, an increase in streams for each Artist on that list, and a chance for Fans to find new Artists they can be passionate about and support.
If you’ve been streaming and love a particular song, share the link with your friends/family and on Socials. Word of mouth is crucial for Indies.
Follow and support your favorite Indie Artists on IG, Twitter, TikTok, Facebook, Bandcamp.
Buy their Merch! Many Indie Artists have T-shirts/Caps/Mugs/Hoodies/CD’s/ for sale on their Spotify Profiles or websites.
Go to their Live Shows
Buy them a Coffee
Music Supervisors have a knack for finding Indie tracks to feature on TV Shows/Films, this is a fabulous boon to Indie Artists. A Sync placement is something I think most Indies would appreciate having under their belt, an incredible way for your music to be introduced to the masses.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
I started on X/Twitter, it felt the most like being an Announcer on Radio. My advice for building an audience, you have to be consistent, constant and dedicated. I remember struggling to get that first Follower, and bless all those people who become a ‘first’ Follower. You definitely make someone’s day! At the beginning, I seemed to plateau at about 13 Followers for what seemed like forever! But once you get your stride, and start posting content that is interesting to Followers, they will appear. 7 years in, I’m at 19.3K but it’s taken SEVEN years…..so it is doable to get a few more than 13 Followers, but for me it took time. Just keep at it, and pivot your content until you find what works. I started on X/Twitter before I had released any of my own music, and I initially focused on posting music & news about established Soundtrack Composers. I genuinely wanted to learn more about them & their music, and figured this may be of interest to other people as well. Many of their tracks are now on my ‘Dark Psychological Thriller Soundtracks’ Playlist, but I’ve also added many X/Twitter Musician Followers to that list as well. Once I started releasing my own music, I began looking for Indie Artists and started following them. Gradually, I found a like minded ‘community’ where we could learn from each other. As an Indie Artist, studying other people’s profiles and content, gives you really great ideas on what to do, and what not to do. I can honestly say, I’ve met so many wonderful collaborators and friends simply through socials. Never underestimate a Follower, you don’t know where their journey will take them, how they may help you in the future, or how you may help them.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pwasymusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/P.Wasymusic/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pwasy/
- Twitter: https://x.com/pwasySounds
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiXnJHB7hPswwQLk7a3rpWg
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4guwXRiTCPOTgGeNl7ciFw?si=_O0uFl7vSyeaG0ldhkAwSw
https://linktr.ee/pwasy