Kyle Patrick, now creating under the name PACER and former frontman of The Click Five, is a singer, songwriter, and producer. Fresh off a week of recording sessions in Brooklyn—a city he called home for a decade—Kyle shared insights into his creative experiments, including using vintage synths and work with emerging artists like Stella. In our conversation, Kyle reflects on the songs that shaped him, his deep connection to nature, and how mindful practices, like switching to mushroom coffee and finding “deep breath” moments on California hikes, keep him grounded.
How are you today? Can you introduce yourself and what's currently occupying your attention?
Hi! I’m Pacer, an artist and music producer, and I’m currently flying back to LA from a week of recording sessions in Brooklyn where I lived for 10 years. It's always interesting returning to a place where I spent a large portion of my 20s into my 30s. It feels like I'm finally able to go back to NY and enjoy it as a visitor. The sessions I did were with Stella, a new artist I’m producing and our sessions have been incredible. Our intent was to experiment and capture raw takes and emotion that we then layered on. We are thriving on happy accidents and using old equipment like vintage analog synths, vintage guitars, and tape machines that have a mind of their own.
Can you tell us a bit about this playlist?
This playlist is something I’ve been pulling together for a few years and is a list of songs that I’ve had on repeat at different times in my life. As someone who makes music for a living, I’m often playing tracks over and over again in the production and mixing process, so I often to find it hard to listen to music solely just to enjoy it. But these songs have broken me out of that mindset and brought me back to a place of feeling creative. They hold a special place for me.
Are there any songs or albums that define important moments in your life? How do these influences show up in your work?
The latest Jean Dawson album “Glimmer of God” has done that for me, so I’m including a few songs from that album on the playlist. The album is amazing and it unlocked some sort of next gear in my creativity and comfort with the process. It solidified for me that there are no wrong answers in the creative process and experimenting and risk-taking is key. The album is kind of all over the place, which I love. Lately I’ve been pushing myself outside of my comfort zone, like forcing myself to write in new keys, or write new chord progressions that I don't normally gravitate towards, which is daunting, but it tends to produce exciting tracks.
What sparks your interest the most when creating? Do you have a go-to source of inspiration?
Synths and effects are usually what I’m most excited to pair together to get the creative process started, like putting an old synth through some interesting FX pedals, but it really does change every time. When I’m producing another artist, it's generally completely different every time, which is something I love about my job. I might get inspired by something they say in conversation and we start to build a song around that idea or lyric, or we might start by recording some noises out in nature and sample those. I love sampling vinyl or cassette tapes as well, so I often do that just for fun and it almost always leads to making a track I love.
As an artist, how do you stay grounded? Are there specific practices or routines that help you balance your mental, physical, and spiritual health?
Alone time is key, and spending time away from the craft is key. These two elements, coupled with a set of supplements I take every day, help very much to keep my mental state fresh. My default is to spend countless hours working on a song, so over the years I’ve learned what my limits are and when to step out of the studio to get some fresh air. Coming back to a song with fresh ears after a short break, even 5 minutes, helps gain an incredible amount of perspective. I also stopped drinking coffee about a year ago and that has been a hugely positive switch. Now I drink mushroom coffee, which has lion’s mane and chaga, and only about as much caffeine as a cup of tea. That has really helped my sleep, and my focus, without losing the ritual of the morning cup of coffee. I exercise about 4-5 times a week, which is also a very important physical and mental start to the day. I broke my neck in a motorcycle accident a few years ago, so a shift happened then, and I put a lot of importance on my mental and physical health nowadays.
What’s your connection to nature like? Are there elements of the natural world or your current environment that resonate with your art or music?
I’ve been connected to nature ever since I was growing up in rural Georgia, and my lyrics often have whimsical mentions of nature that stem from my childhood. In the past couple years, I’ve also gotten to see a lot of new parts of California through the activities with my wife and my dog. We take him on hikes near our house which gets us out walking and exercising as well. The hike near my house has incredible views of the valley and ocean, and it provides some great “deep breath” moments I like to call them, where you just take a moment to breathe in the beauty that the earth has to offer.
Where do you see yourself taking your art in the next few years? Are there any new territories you’re eager or anxious to explore?
I’m in the infancy of releasing music under my new project Pacer, so I intend to continue exploring the corners of that artist project through experimentation. I’m excited to remove limitations from previous decades, like “an album needs to be cohesive” or “think about the audience”. Pacer is a project where I can do whatever I want and really explore what I’m capable of sonically, and I don’t have to listen to anyone which feels great. Genre-wise, it’s mostly living in an indie/alternative world right now, but I can see myself entering into hip hop more as a producer, and more dance music, maybe do some Pacer remixes for other artists.
How have psychedelics or other forms of mindfulness influenced your perspective on creativity or life? Can you share a particularly transformative experience?
Going back, anytime I’ve done psychedelics in a larger dose, I believe my imagination became more vast, as if I unlocked access to a different portal of the universe, which unlocked access to a part of my brain that I couldn’t previously access. These experiences created the space to push boundaries and avoid the mundane. Simply put, the thought that we’re floating through space on a rock becomes loud, and therefore, there’s no point in doing anything that’s been done before. Life is short, why waste time on that? Do something unique. So, at base level, psychedelics have inspired me to strive to be unique and that there truly are no limits to creativity. They also help me to see other people’s perspectives and not be self centered, so they usually lead to patience in my life after doing them.
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