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<\/p>\nIn a world increasingly defined by fractiousness and divisiveness, the music and world view of Western North Carolina multi-instrumentalist Andrew Reed is a welcome restorative. Though Reed \u2014 who\u2019s been releasing albums since the 1980s \u2014 works in a variety of styles including progressive rock, his most recent solo album, If All the World Were Right<\/i>, has more in common with breezy, tuneful and acoustic-leaning FM radio pop of the 1970s. That style is well suited for the upbeat, positive (but not preachy) messages found in his lyrics.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of my work tends to be in a major chord,\u201d he says, speaking both metaphorically and literally. \u201cI believe the only logical way to go is positive, because being critical and negative doesn\u2019t tend to move the world forward.\u201d But Reed emphasizes that his perspective isn\u2019t one of a dewy-eyed dreamer. \u201cI\u2019m not so naive to think that it\u2019s all golden sunsets and daisies every place,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Yet like a good, introspective lyricist, Reed does wax philosophical. \u201cYou have to go through this world of dense matter,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd that\u2019s just part of the journey.\u201d He believes that while we can\u2019t always change our circumstances, we can choose how we experience them. \u201cOften, that\u2019s really the only alternative we have,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
On first exposure, many listeners might not even realize that If All the World Were Right<\/i> is a conceptual work. \u201cAlmost every album I put out tends to be a concept record of sorts, with some unifying themes,\u201d Reed says. He readily admits that the idea of a concept album in 2018 \u201ccompletely flies in the face of modern convention.\u201d But he follows the muse where it leads him.<\/p>\n
Reed outlines the record\u2019s unifying theme as one built around a prodigal character (\u201cnot that there\u2019s any religions reference,\u201d he notes) who went out and sowed his oats in the world and was initially defeated. \u201cThere\u2019s only one \u2018boy-girl relationship\u2019 song on the entire record,\u201d he says with a chuckle. But If All the World Were Right<\/i> is tuneful and accessible enough to please even those who don\u2019t pay close attention to lyrics.<\/p>\n
The central idea for Reed\u2019s latest album wasn\u2019t something he labored over. \u201cWhen I was growing up, people thought I was slow and stupid. And in my teens they thought I was on drugs,\u201d he says. \u201cThere\u2019s always a lot of challenge when you\u2019re just a little bit of that oddball, but the truth is that my music comes out of what I guess you\u2019d call these high vibrational states.\u201d He elaborates, describing an experience halfway between wakefulness and sleep. \u201cWhen I can keep myself in that in-between place,\u201d he says, \u201cmost of my music comes from there.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tricky part, he says, is capturing those ideas. \u201cBecause when you come out of that state, they vanish. They\u2019re just fragile things, so I have to have either have a recorder or something to write on nearby,\u201d he says. And after the musical and lyrical ideas have been harnessed, it\u2019s time to commit them to the recorded medium. \u201cThen it\u2019s about being a good producer, choosing what works and doesn\u2019t works, and bringing in the best musicians I can get my hands on,\u201d says Reed.<\/p>\n
While Reed has definite and specific ideas about how his music should sound, when he\u2019s in the studio, he encourages his session musicians to bring their own creativity to bear on the music. \u201cGetting beyond static and very rigid thinking is where creativity and great things happen,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Since its release, If All the World Were Right<\/i> has been earning positive critical notices and significant chart action for an indie release. So at present Andrew Reed is placing his focus on supporting the new album. But that doesn\u2019t mean he\u2019s not already thinking about his next project. \u201cThe next album will take a little bit of another direction,\u201d he hints. \u201cBut it still comes out of that same \u2018stuff,\u2019\u201d he says. \u201cBecause I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s good to fight against what comes out of that state.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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