“What I try to do in music at all times is to create something that is cathartic and so intense that you don’t think you’ll be able to handle it, but then you find a way to be able to sustain and thrive and then return to peace.”
Musical Practice
Holland Andrews is a vocalist and multifaceted performer whose work mines intimate human experiences to find serenity from a deep sense of catharsis. Under the Like A Villain moniker they’ve held for a decade, they’ve released numerous albums, most recently 2019’s intimate and fiery What Makes Vulnerability Good, but this year, they’re striking out under their given name for the first time. Their musical experiences have been eclectic, and in their solo work they unite all the disparate elements of their education and interests: Theater, modern composition, and improvisation to form spontaneous and unbridled music that’s made of bright-hued strokes of sound. Their first full album under their given name was commissioned by Metropolis, and is forthcoming.
New York
Andrews moved to New York in September 2019 after living in Portland, Oregon for 11 years, just before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. They’d spent time in the city on tour prior to moving, meeting other artists in the city and getting familiar with the city’s broader music scene. A highlight of their time in the city has been meeting like minded artists and pursuing new collaborations. It was during that short window of time, fall 2019, where Andrews first connected with composer William Brittelle, who would open up new paths for Andrews’s music.
Connecting with Brittelle has been almost surreal for Andrews. They’ve known about Brittelle’s music for quite some time, after stumbling upon a YouTube video of his from 2009. Now, the two artists have a number of projects in the works, including Andrews’s forthcoming major project with Metropolis Ensemble.
Work with Metropolis Ensemble
Andrews is creating their first full-length album under their own name with a 2020 Metropolis Ensemble commission. They were first connected with the group through Brittelle, whose own album, Spiritual America, was developed and recorded with Metropolis and toured across the country and Europe by the group. In fact, it was Spiritual America that linked Brittelle and Andrews together. Andrews had discovered the album and was immediately struck by it; the two became acquainted, and while talking about their musical endeavors, began to collaborate.
When they looked through Metropolis’s catalogue, they knew it was a group they wanted to work with. “They just operate at a level that is just totally bonkers, in terms of their musicianship, and their artistry and their craftsmanship,” Andrews said. “To make something with them is a total dream.”
The album centers on the idea of reconnecting with self compassion. In life, it’s easy to lose the parts of us that love us unconditionally; Andrews wants to recapture that spirit, channeling this search for inner peace into their music. They channel vulnerability into their sound in order to reclaim the ethos of self-love and find inner power.
“This music requires going deeper into the shadow to heal what was there in order to reveal the love that has been wanting to play back to you your whole life,” said Andrews. The album also explores the ways that experiencing pain is a need and desire to get back to inner peace, and an ultimate reconciliation.
Recent Projects with Metropolis
William Brittelle’s Dido’s Lament (Revisited)
An entirely quarantine-made recording from composer William Brittelle with Metropolis Ensemble, Jenn Wasner, and Holland Andrews. The piece juxtaposes elements of Henry Purcell's famed 16th-century aria with '80's synths and guitars, bit crushed samples, and newly written lyrics.
Metropolis Radio: Live From Carthage
William Brittelle formulates a playlist around the artists and inspiration behind the release of his recent digital single "Dido's Lament (Revisited),” including Holland Andrews, Jenn Wasner, Immanuel Wilkins, Paul Wiancko, Kate Bush, and SOPHIE.
Andrews's Wordless, which is out on February 12, is their first EP under their given name. They like every track on the EP—they're all different, and serve different purposes—but they describe "Mouthful" as the "banger."
Wordless
Andrews will release the first EP they’ve put out under their given name, Wordless, on February 12. Like A Villain never encapsulated the entirety of their practice; it was always siphoned off to the touring and album side of their work, and they’ve done quite a bit outside of the stage name, like composing film scores, working with dancers, and improvising.
“The EP is this fresh start,” they said. It was the first time they worked on every aspect of the music’s creation: Producing, writing, and mixing. The four-song album follows a climatic trajectory, venturing from a place of mystery and wonder into a complete, cathartic opening that eventually simmers back down into peace. Putting the EP together has been an empowering journey for Andrews, one that they feel extremely proud of. In making this album, they were able to free themselves of the fear of recording without a high quality studio, learning that you can make great music with whatever gear you have on hand. They’ll be touring the EP by doing the phone call performances they developed while in residence at ISSUE Project Room to make more personal connections with their audience.
“Within ourselves, we get to have renewals whenever we want,” said Andrews. “And this just felt like the best time to be allowing for this change.”
Artist Residencies
Throughout their career, Andrews has pursued a number of artist residencies. Most recently, they were in residence at Brooklyn’s ISSUE Project Room, where they performed three concerts throughout the course of the 2019-20 season. The first concert was held in-person, but the last two were moved to online platforms due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was here that Andrews discovered a new way of virtual performance that called to them more than livestreams: The phone call performance. In this new method of music making, Andrews sent a link to music to one person at a time, and then called them to sing to them while they listened to it. This way, Andrews was able to connect with their audience on a personal, intimate level—something they sorely missed when performing for a livestream.
Their collaboration with Brittelle recently took them to a small residency program in Cincinnati, Ohio, where, for the first time in nearly a year, they were able to experience the joy of making music with others for the first time in months.
“I forgot that I would do that all the time,” they said. “It was just such a normal part of my life, being creative and weird with other creative weird people and to have it again just felt nice.” During this residency, they recorded with the Cincinnati Symphony and worked on Brittelle’s MetaSimulacrum project (which Metropolis Ensemble is also a founding partner organization), which is an alternative reality consisting of interwoven music, text, video, and wiki system. The MetaSimulacrum Vol. 1 is available for streaming on May 2.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Andrews created a new style of virtual performance: Micro, personalized concerts over the phone. They piloted this performance style during their ISSUE Project Room residency last season, and spoke about it for a feature in the March 2021 edition of The Wire.
Vanessa Ague is a violinist and writer studying Arts & Culture Journalism at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY. She runs the experimental music blog, The Road to Sound, and her writing has appeared in Bandcamp Daily, The Wire, Pitchfork, The Brooklyn Rail, and Tone Glow. She holds a Bachelor's degree from Yale University.
