Multi-instrumentalist and producer Andrew Scott has been making music within the context of a band and on his own. Today he discussed with us the differences between working in and a band and working solo and the process he goes through in making an album.
Andrew Scott has been playing music seriously since he was in the fourth grade by teaching himself how to play saxophone on the Internet. After learning music theory in school, he switched over to guitar and bass and he got serious about playing in bands and recording new material when he was in high school.
“I make stuff that I would classify as post metal and post rock/progressive,” Andrew said. “I also dabble in electronica and dance music. I like to blend styles together to create new genres and hybrid genres. My music shifts genre rapidly, an aspect I am fond of.”
Andrew has two albums that are out now. The first was “In Depth We Find Solace” which is an instrumental, experimental metal, progressive album inspired by Star Systems and Wide Eyes that was compiled together from recordings that spanned seven months. The second was “The Beach Arcade Dream” which is more experimental in nature with inspiration from Cloudkicker, This Will Destroy You and Of Montreal.
Andrew also worked with some of his close friends to create the musical project Numans where he played bass.
“I met the vocalist of the band who showed me rough demos of songs he had been working on, while he didn’t think they were much good I thought they were dope and after a night of partying we rehearsed the next day and within a week were playing open mics,” Andrew said.
Numans were known for playing loud live and having a high-energy, hype stage presence. Andrew described the band’s sound as bordering on punk rock.
“Our rehearsals consisted more of just kicking back and joking around and smoking a bowl or two than playing music, but when it came down to business we made sure to push ourselves to make good stuff,” Andrew said.
The band liked to play around with time signatures to try and create a sound that was different and abnormal.
“We ended up playing with some super cool bands such as Oberhofer and Mutemath which was sick,” Andrew said. “By the end of Numan’s tenure the creative energy was literally pouring out of us and we had an LP worth of material ready to be recorded. It is very possible we will make music again but as of now many of us have been scattered around the U.S. pursuing college and work.”
Now that Andrew is releasing music under his own name, he has found it liberating to make music on his own because there is less creative friction so he can sculpt the songs any way he wants.
“However, this sometimes means my ideas aren’t as interesting as they could be,” Andrew said. “Bouncing ideas of others makes me work harder and write better. I also love other people’s musical input as it brings new dimensions to my songs.”
When it comes down to making an album, Andrew said he mostly record ideas on guitar or piano and fleshes them out into songs by adding layers and different sections. Once he has about 10 or 11 tracks, he starts to assemble an album.
“I do not sit down one day and think ‘I need to write album material now!’” said Andrew. “If I like an idea I usually track the parts over a period of three or four days, with an additional few days dedicated to mixing and tweaking parts and arrangements. Sometimes a song will fight me and I may sit on it for weeks before I change or mix it the way I like and bounce it.”
Andrew said it usually takes him about five to seven months to put together an album, sometimes writing three songs that have a specific sound and the returning weeks later to record recording songs with a completely different feel. After doing this for awhile he starts to form a tracklist and he thinks about he wants to arrange the songs so the album will have a cohesive feel to it yet still be varied enough to provide dramatic changes and movement.
Three songs have already been written for Andrew’s next album. For now, he is just brainstorming ideas with the idea of forming them into an album soon.
“Expect another compilation within six months,” Andrew said. “The next one will focus on more technical compositions!”
Andrew is in the process of releasing an album of older material from a metal core band known as Axiom. Fans can expect hard hitting production and some serious drumming and bass work form Andrew Antony and Ariel Horeter on that record. To stay up to date with Andrew Scott, check out his Soundcloud page and find him on Bandcamp.
Enter The Venture 