State of Mind have acheived a lot since they formed in 2004; three albums (with the third due for release tomorrow), loads of gigs and the creation of their own record label, SOM Music. Patrick Hawkins and Stu Maxwell are State of Mind, and they answered these questions for muzic.net.nz:

What can we expect to see from State of Mind over the next year?

We've just finished our third album 'Nil By Ear', so for the next few months we will be touring the record pretty heavily. We will be heading to Europe for 4 weeks in April to coincide with the release over there and then when we return we will be doing a full tour of NZ. As far as production goes, we will be working on a few 12 inch releases for a couple of overseas labels. We'll be doing a 12 for DJ Friction's Shogun Recordings, Gridlok's Project 51 as well as a host of remixes for other labels.

What advice would you like to give to other aspiring musicians?

The most important thing when making music is to always stick to what you believe works. A lot of artists tend to follow what ever the 'flavour of the month' may be in any sound. We've always thought the most important thing to do is make the music you want to make, whether it's in fashion or not. If you follow trends, you'll never be an innovator or find your own sound. 

What will State of Mind's next release be?

Our next release will be 'Nil By Ear' (out April 11 released on our label SOM Music). It's our third album and features vocal collabs with locals P.Digsss, PNC, Thomas Oliver, MC Woody, Sacha Vee and American vocalist 3PM. We also have some production collabs on the album with dutch producers Nymfo and DNME, as well as American producer Subsonik. We'll be releasing a vinyl EP of remixes in a few months which will feature remixes by overseas artists such as Chris.Su.

What can you never leave home without?

Clothes. =P

What is your favourite NZ venue?

At the moment our favourite venue would be Sandwiches in Wellington. We've played so many crazy parties there over the last few years. Parties we would never forget if we could only remember them... =P

What is the best part of being a musician?

The rewards of writing and recording new material. There is always such a sense of achievement whenever we write something new. Also the idea of constantly evolving. It's always fun to look back at some of your oldest tracks and hear how much you've changed.

What is the best gig you have ever performed at, and why?

We've played loads of amazing shows, but I guess the big festivals always stand out as favourites. The Big Day Out will always be memorable to us, as it was a gig as youngsters, attending the festival, we always dreamed of playing one day. Getting the chance to play to a packed out Boiler Room was awesome. 

How do you keep in contact with your fans?

We try to keep in touch with people via our State of Mind Facebook page.

What rumour would you like to start about State of Mind?

We are currently resident DJ's for Charlie Sheen's parties and rumoured to be producing his debut album '7 Gram Rocks'.

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