Andrew McPherson

The story of musical chameleon Andrew McPherson is a curious one, not to mention a road less traveled. Over a 25 year career, his musical compass has favoured subtlety over the obvious, the provocative over the mundane and the progressive over the tried and true. A musical obsessive from as far back as he remembers, his journey to here (or perhaps hear), has been propelled by an endless curiosity, a healthy disregard for what is considered ‘au courant’ and an obsession with why and how music moves us.

His gift, in part, is an ability to hear music in the most unlikey of places: the wobbly clik-clak of a passing train’s wheels, the raga-like drone of a kitchen appliance or the muted polyphony of distant conversation – all bit players in a continuously unfolding symphony of his imagination. With a vibrant career balancing his award winning global music project Eccodek, with work as a remixer, producer, composer, voice actor and DJ, Andrew continues forging a reputation as a gifted listener – a notable skill for his day job.

Beginning musical life in his teens with studies in classical flute, he found the rigid approach of classical instruction constricting. A budding interest in art rock, jazz, electronic and ambient music, in addition to early flirtations with film and cultural music, soon lead him to a journeyman’s life in rock bands and performing groups. It was at this juncture that Andrew stepped through the proverbial looking glass, when he first experienced the laboratory like surroundings of the recording studio. Struck by how music could not only be documented but also distorted and coloured, this creative playground spoke instantly to Andrew’s fertile mind.

After completing a university music degree, Andrew took little time in plunging into the widescreen environment of recording. With a degree in production, he took jobs in small studios, all the while observing the techniques of other engineers and producers. His skills, honed overtime, laid the groundwork for a production resumé that now includes Vieux Farka Touré, Deva Premal, Philosopher Kings, Stephen Fearing, Kate Schutt, gusgus, Natalie McMaster, Burhan Ocal, Jane Siberry, Pidgeonhed, Delhi 2 Dublin among others. Labels like Sony Music, Warner Music, EMI, Modiba, White Swan, Sub Pop, Doublemoon, Columbia, Weewerk and others have all come calling for Andrew’s production sensibilities.

While guiding the projects of others, Andrew has also steadfastly cultivated his own body of original work, first as a songwriter, releasing 3 albums of vocal driven material. Mixing up the Medicine, Phoenix at the Wheel and his newest, Lefty Singer are all guided by his powerful, mellifluous baritone that ably shifts from a hushed delivery to a commanding, almost Bowie-esque swagger. Add to that, Andrew’s ability to play a legion of instruments means the recordings possess a broad musical complexion. Guitars mingle with lo-fi electronica, while violins stumble over harmonium, mandolin, synth bass, all refracted through a peculiar, pop lens. With the producer’s near signature textural approach, rooted melodicism and microscopic sense of detail, the albums are a true barometer of an artist dedicated to the craft.
The second musical paradigm Andrew has built is that of Eccodek, a globally acclaimed world music project he created in 2002 that blends tribal grooves, dubwise textures and bass, otherworldly voices, driving electronica and inspired instrumental performances. Currently signed to U.S. imprint White Swan Records, Eccodek’s 3 releases, More Africa in Us, Voices Have Eyes and the recent Shivaboom have all topped Canadian world music charts, with Shivaboom recently reaching #2 on America’s CMJ New World Chart.

Praise for the production work in Eccodek has been cited in Boston Globe, All Music Guide, BBC, Global Rhythm, Ottawa Citizen, ABC News.com, Toronto Star, Popmatters, Now Magazine, eye weekly, San Francisco Bay Times, Alarm, CMJ, Flaunt Magazine, and many more. Eccodek’s musical reach seems to expand with each release with inspired and soulful collaborations rooted in the music of Mali, Turkey, Fiji, India, Nigeria and Rwanda building lasting musical bridges and erasing borders. Presented also as a full 6-piece touring configuration, Eccodek in performance is a propulsive and dynamic live band.

Never brimming too far from the surface has been Andrew’s interest in longform instrumental work, particularly music for film. Having often joked about film making as a second career if music soured, it’s safe to say that Andrew has always seen and heard music. A recent collaboration with fellow producer, multi-instrumentalist and Eccodek electronics whiz Deliveryboy has left a few crumbs on the trail of possible new artistic avenues for Andrew. Commissioned to create an original score to accompany Fritz Lang’s 1927 dystopian classic Metropolis as a live performance, the pair’s arresting 2 hour score of classical, breakbeat, dub, ambient, post-rock, jazz and found sound has attracted bountiful attention from film festivals and societies. They have just completed the recording of the original soundtrack, titled Metropolis Re:scored.

And so the road less traveled brings us to the present, where Andrew’s production schedule continues to expand with compelling writers, collaborators, inspired performers and envelope pushers and the muse never takes a day off.