While She Sleeps have released a documentary in which they confirm that they are stepping back from touring.
The short film titled ‘The Paradox Of Progress’ finds the band speaking about their history, going all the way back to the turn of the millennium, from meeting at school to forming the first iteration of the band in 2006, to travelling through every era since. It shows just how relentlessly the band have moved over the last 20 years, and ultimately shows the toll that having to keep on moving has taken on them. The highs may have been incredibly high, but the lows have been starting to seep in and take effect.
With that in mind, the band then confirm that they have decided to take an extended break from touring because they believe it is the best way for them to continue. For them to be able to make something that they can stand behind, not just something that keeps the algorithm happy or the momentum going, even if mental health is declining.
It’s a brave move from a band that has always tried to carve out a way of doing things differently, that doesn’t give into societal or industry pressures, especially at a point where they are bigger than they have ever been.
But if it means that While She Sleeps can keep on going for another 20 years, then that makes it all worth it.
A healthy way of functioning comes before everything.
As drummer Adam Savage says at the close of the documentary, “This isn’t about us being a bigger band, this is about us being a band forever”.
Mat had this to say alongside the release of the film, stating, ““The industry wants more music, more often if we want to keep up with the rat race of streaming algorithms, which begs the question of what falls first, the sanity of the artist or the quality of their work? The documentary takes you on a lightspeed journey through the past 20 years, which is often how our career has felt. There have been so many moments where we probably could’ve thrown the towel in, but we always chose to push through, support each other and take the road less travelled to get to where we are. This next step is one of the toughest decisions we’ve ever made. Sacrificing our financial lifeline of live performance, for the wager of what is possible when we press pause on the outside world and ‘rat race’ of the music industry. It’s so easy to spend all your time watching everyone else and think you need to adhere to the same pace, at the sacrifice of your own mental health. We’ve got where we are by doing things ‘our way’ and this is us doubling down on that approach.”
You can watch the full video below.
While She Sleeps released their last record ‘SELF HELL’ back in 2024.
The band’s special Patreon ‘Sleeps Society’ can be found here if you want to keep in touch and keep supporting the band during their time away.
Here is the stunning ‘To The Flowers’.
