Some people noodle all their lives – Evenings spent doubled over a well-loved guitar turn into early mornings scratching final edits into a spiral notebook full of lyrics. Before music editing programs put self-produced albums within reach, it’s possible that some of the most interesting music never made it past a musician’s bedroom door. Enter the digital age when musicians don’t need to sign a record deal to get their work onto a stage and the niche fan market is instantly global. Accessibility like this is what inspired Jason Andre to start recording again after years of leaving the songs to swim around in his head.

 “My first experience recording was with a high school punk outfit, Milk Fed Veal. We hung a microphone from the ceiling of an old shed, turned our instruments up really loud, and I hit record on my dad’s 1985 Casio double recording deck keyboard,” Andre recalls.

Now, in a custom home studio, Andre thinks back and says, “It was way simpler [sic] and we were young enough not to care how it sounded.” If quality comes with age, Andre has spent his time well, traveling the world, amassing instruments of all kinds, and enjoying the opportunities he’s had to learn from masters of their craft.

“I was in Turkey to visit family and spotted a beautiful saz in a little music shop there.  The shop owner insisted that he teach me to play, so we arranged to meet the next morning. Hussein introduced me to his son, an amazing musician, who showed me how a saz could be played and then Hussein taught me the basics.”

 Andre fell in love with didgeridoos after a semester in Australia, manned the djembe for performances with African drum master Cheick Sissoko, inherited bagpipes and an accordian, and had to buy a duombek after sitting in on a drum circle in a Sydney street market. “I’m a collector of instruments…I’m not an addict, but I definitely have an obsessive-compulsive condition when it comes to hearing a cool instrument and wanting to learn how to play it.” 

 The amalgam of these influences is clear in Andre’s first full LP, The Phoenix and the Fish.  True to the imagery of the phoenix, the songs build from delicate melodies to multi-layered rhythms woven through with darkly introspective lyrics.  Andre did a brief tour for Phoenix & the Fish, and soon turned his attention to writing commissioned pieces for friends’ projects.

“Tapping into a community of artists is key,” Andre explains. “It’s how you stay fresh and grounded at the same time.  I have incredibly talented friends all over the world and love when collaborations work out.”

You can hear more Jason Andre compositions in the following:

"He's Got the Whole World" - Series video for Port City Community Church

“Gum For My Boat” – a documentary about the Bangladesh surf club by Russell Brownley

“Red Fish Can’t Jump” – a documentary about the NC state fish, the Red Drum, by Luke Pearson, Seth Vernon, and Josh Eddings

“Global Warming” – a surf film by Steven Maloney

“Rabbit and the Bear” – Josh Garrels ‘Jacaranda’ 2009

“A Tale of Entanglement” – a PSA for ThePlasticOcean.org

Jason has also worked for:

Warner Bros. "One Tree Hill" - ADR/VO audio engineer, second boom, set/props assist, talent extra

NC Planetarium Omnimax, Raleigh "Jeepers Creepers"/"Magic Tree House" - Sound FX/Post Sound Mixing Assistant

"Music of Ireland - Welcome Home" - Post Sound Mixing Assistant

Discovery Channel: Military Channel "Modern Sniper" - Sound FX/Post Sound Mixing Assistant

Oprah Winfrey Network: Snackaholic Productions "Surfer's Healing" - Production Assistant