St. Louis, MO Triphop artist Modern Andy has released their newest single, the very chill “Demonized/ :Reimagined” featuring electronic duo Lowlegs. The song itself is an ambient vibe, sure to be popular amongst the ever-growing genre of similar soundscapes. It also features a selection of vocal samples which give the track a thoughtful if not almost unsettling at times through-line.

We had a chance to catch up with Modern Andy and Lowlegs to discuss the song as part of our Refrain Interview Series.

Refrain Music Blog: Thanks for taking the time to do this interview. You have a new
single out now. Tell us about it? What’s it called?

Eric Tutskey of Modern Andy – Modern Andy (Eric Paul Tutskey) and Lowlegs (Joshua Evans and Ross Martin) decided to team up for a collaboration to make a song together. We didn’t know what it would be or what it would sound like however “Demonized: /Reimagined” is what came to be.

RMB: What’s the single about?

ET – Demonized:/Reimagined is meant to be BIG. Big sound, big feelings and a big payoff.
The story I wanted to tell is one many have battled, which is feeling unheard in a moment of
need. Feeling lost in a crowd of people, trying to scream but you can’t. I used the vocal
samples to display that exact feeling.

Joshua Evans of Lowlegs – The single doesn’t have vocals, beyond the samples, so it’s hard to say what it’s about. I needed a way to identify it when I initially sent the idea to Ross and I liked the word “demonized” so it became the song title. It’s my lazy method of starting lyrics. I clear my mind and wait until a word comes to me. The original demo was recorded in 2018 when the dozens of news articles I read every day were about marginalized groups being demonized by those in power. That was very likely where my head was when the word came to me.

RMB: What’s the story on how it was recorded?

ET – Modern Andy & Lowlegs – We are all multi-instrumentalists who will play anything you put in front of us. We play Guitar, Bass Piano, Drums, and Drum programming. When Lowlegs came to me with the demo of the idea of Demonized I could hear what parts I wanted to add. I could hear how big of a sound it could be. We would send each other updated tracks and program files via file sharing and what we eventually landed on is what you hear today. It was a great collaboration in these futuristic times since we don’t all live in the same state or even time zones. From start to finish the song was created within about a week.

Ross Martin of Lowlegs – Put short, we heard what Eric did to it and automatically knew it was something special, something that we could have never done to it on our own.

JE – Ross and I had the demo for Demonized on a hard drive for years and it would pop up occasionally but we could never make it work for Lowlegs. It’s too downtempo. Eric, took the demo, spliced it, recorded more, lengthened it, and transformed it into a certified banger. I was going to re-record my keyboard but he had already essentially finished it. So there’s going to be some of my atrocious first-take keyboard layered in there. It was incredibly quick once we got started. Eric is a maestro. I had very few notes from what he initially sent so I immediately knew that this was going to be a fruitful collaboration. Also, one good story is that Ross and Eric have never been in the same room. I brought them together. I’m a musical matchmaker.

RMB: Tell us a little about Lowlegs.

RM – Josh and I make up Lowlegs. We’ll try to make music out of anything. I guess most of our music comes from synths, keys, or drum programming, but we try to pull in odd or organic samples where we can. One of our upcoming releases started with recordings of Josh banging on the side of a piano that I turned into some percussive patterns. Josh plays sax on that one too. So yeah, we’re all over the place.

RMB: How long have you been together? When and how did you form?

RM- Josh and I have been playing music together basically since we were youngsters. We’re from the same tiny town in Missouri and played in a band there. I stepped away from that band a number of years ago, but the musical ideas never really stopped. Things really got more serious when I moved to London to go back to school. I was exposed to all this new music and just got so inspired. Instead of really digging into my studies, I probably spent too much time learning production and noodling with new ideas. Some of those initial ideas are still floating around today and being shaped into new songs.

RMB: And as for Modern Andy, tell us a little bit about yourself. When did you start pursuing music?

ET – I grew up in a bluegrass/folk family with my dad being a guitar and banjo player and mother playing piano. If my dad wasn’t playing guitar after work, the stereo was on. I learned a lot about different chord structures and melodies growing up listening to folk and bluegrass music. My music says that there is something for everyone to enjoy. My music is melodic and purposeful music. It is meant to make the listener think and feel all while they get to create their own story rather then being told what to think, as in most POP music. I am not POP, but I am Modern Andy.

RMB: Who are some of your biggest musical influences?

ET – My musical influences are a sweeping range of artists from DJ Shadow, Nine Inch Nails and Portishead to The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Glen Hansard and The Shiny Ribs. Not only being a musician but also a trained Audio Engineer, receiving my BA in Audio Engineering from Webster University in 2003, I realized early on I needed to be the best of listeners when it came to music and to find appreciation in all music so that I could help fulfill dreams of other artists and musicians by producing and providing quality recordings.

RM – One of the first things that drew Josh and me together was our equally diverse musical tastes. We could both go from listening to old Charley Pride records into something like Brian Eno or Aphex Twin. I’d say I get as much out of each of those ends of the spectrum.

JE – My biggest musical influences are always evolving and cycling back. At the moment, I’m listening to a lot of Alice Coletrane, John Prine, Hélène Vogelsinger, and Boards of Canada.

RMB: What’s the one thing you are most proud of in your careers so far?

ET – Having Modern Andy songs being listened to in 6 of the 7 Continents. (If anyone in Antartica wouldn’t mind listening to Modern Andy we could make it all 7) To be listened to world wide as an indie artist is humbling and very rewarding.

RM – Just that I’m still doing it. I think that a lot of people hit a wall when those early musical projects don’t have the impact that you’d hoped for (or any impact in my case). It’s great to see some people coming around what we’re doing. Even if no one listened, I’m still proud of the music that I’m making now, and I’ll keep doing it.

JE – I’m proud that I’ve kept moving forward, pushing my own musical boundaries, and experimenting even though I’ve had no success so far. I am not in this for money. I’ve been doing this semi-secretly for years because I’m compelled to do it.

RMB: If you had to pitch your music to a potential fan in less than 10 seconds, what
would you say?

ET – You like art? You like music? You ever wondered what Andy Warhol would sound like if
he made music? Give Modern Andy a listen.

RM – Drones, moans, saxophones…and beats.

RMB: What’s one piece of advice you’ve gotten that you think everyone needs to hear or that has meant the most to you?

ET – Two pieces of advice. The first was from Merle Haggard when I was a Monitor Engineer for him on a few shows. I was talking to him about my songwriting and he said “Cut the song short, keep them wanting more that way they listen to it twice instead of once.” The second is from a professional mentor of mine named Rick Hensel. He would always tell me to “Kiss it. Keep. It. Simple. Stupid.” Those two pieces of advice are always in my mind when creating and writing music.

RM – A friend of mine is a film and documentary composer in the U.K called Alexander Parsons. He didn’t really get into that line of work until he was in his 30s. At the time, he wondered if he was too old to start a career in music. Pretty clearly, he wasn’t, because he’s killing it. What I took from that was, if you’ve music that you want to make, just get to it.

RMB: If you could go back in time, what’s a piece of advice you would give to a younger you?

ET – Try harder to get your music heard and to get the attention of the public. Be less shy and more open-minded to success.

RM – Get a damn MacBook. Learn Logic or some other production software. I waited too long to get into production. I never did like the sound of most recordings I was on (mostly because of my lack of ability), but the thought of actually learning how to produce myself never crossed my mind until later. I think of where I could be now if I’d really dug into it early on.

JE – Don’t rush it. Someday you’ll crack your code and write songs you’re not embarrassed by. Before then, keep writing songs that in 10 years will make you cringe.

RMB: What’s coming up next for your musical project?

ET – April 1st, 2022 a new Modern Andy & Lowlegs song called “Backmasking” gets released. If you like “Demonized:/Reimagined” you are sure to like our upcoming single “Backmasking”.

RM – Along with “Backmasking,” we’ve got a few more Modern Andy/Lowlegs collabs in the works. Also, Lowlegs has a raft of new songs that we’ll be releasing through the spring and summer, so look out for those.

RMB: Anything we haven’t thought of that you want to talk about? Now is the time!

ET – I don’t know many other groups that combine analog instruments combined with
analog recording processes to then take that sound and make a final product that is trip-hop
electronica in nature with an organic feel. It’s something we are quite proud of being able to
accomplish. Its purposeful, elegant, and technique-driven from the writing process to the end
result. Modern Andy is to be a Modern Andy Warhol. I incorporate and make fun of POP. I
use audiovisual theatrics to help push the meaning of the music, to create a feeling and
vibe, and to be a multi-technological artists that use old and new techniques to tell a story
that everyone can appreciate and understand. That is POP yet its anti-Pop, making it
Modern Andy.