Today, we’d like to introduce you to Andrew Dixon. Andrew was introduced to us by the brilliant and talented Conan Karpinski.
Andrew, thank you so much for joining us today. We’d love for you to bring our readers up to speed – can you introduce yourself and share your story?
Hey, my name is Andrew. I’m an award winning musician, mixing engineer, producer, & sound designer based in Vancouver, BC. I’m also a member of the band Soul Push. Music was ingrained in me from a young age. I grew up in a house that always loved listening to music and my older brother was a talented guitarist that had a few bands through high school. I remember being young and my brother had an extra bass guitar laying around, so I would pretend I knew how to play it and we would have fun messing around and jamming in our bedrooms. I think that sort of introduced me to how fun music could be without needing a ton of education to just start. I also went to an arts school in grades 1-7 which taught me some basic theory and allowed me to experiment with instruments like the Trumpet, Saxophone, and even a Double Bass. (Credit to my mom for allowing a double bass to live in our home…).
Fast forward to the end of high school, that’s when I met my future bandmates and my musical journey really began. Conan, Dallyn, and I would casually jam some of our favourite songs after school from time to time. It was nothing serious, it was just a fun way to hang out and do something different. Conan would be on guitar and vocals, Dallyn would be on an electric drum kit, and I would be on bass (because that’s all there was left). After some time, we thought it would be fun to try and write some of our own songs. Luckily, another band in our town knew we had been jamming around for fun and asked us to open for them at a club in Downtown Vancouver. That forced us to get a name and a few songs together, which ended in a performance that went better than we could have ever imagined. That started a 10 year journey with our band, Soul Push, that we never could have predicted. We were fortunate enough to accomplish a lot as band, like performing as the opening act for established bands that we would listen to growing up, performing at major festivals, touring and recording our music internationally, and winning multiple competitions. Being part of Soul Push even led to Conan and I composing for a feature film that has won many awards, including us winning a Leo Award for Best Musical Score in a Motion Picture.
Working hard on every aspect of our band is what brought me to where I am today and gave me the tools and confidence to help others with their projects. Now, I’m working as a Mixing Engineer and Producer in music, and a Sound Designer in film. These days I find fulfillment in getting passionate about other artists’ music. I work with all types of musicians, composers, & filmmakers. Some of them don’t know how to approach making music but have really strong ideas, and others are already talented producers that just need help at the the tail end of their productions getting things to jump out of the speakers. I love the diversity in what I do and the people I work with, every project feels different and I love being able to get involved wherever they need me. I’ve always found music is better when you can get multiple people involved, so, that’s what I’m trying to do for other people.
I think it’s really important for musicians to really give 100% to their music in both the creative and business areas, because pursuing music as an artist really is our own version of school; it’s like a really fun and intense bootcamp that covers all aspects of the industry. It’s a ton of work, but worth every minute.
Please talk to us about your music.
My career in music has always been with Soul Push, and we have a lot of music to check out. We took pride in exploring new identities and sounds, so, from the start of our discography to the end you’ll find an evolution of music with a little something for everyone. We also have a handful of music videos that we conceptualized, produced, and directed all ourselves. It was a ton of work but a fulfilling experience. You can check out all of Soul Push’s music anywhere you stream music, and all of our videos are up on YouTube. My creative career now moves forward as a Mixer & Producer, helping artists of all types and experience levels get their music sounding how it does in their heads. If people are curious about the work that I do, then I’d push them towards my website www.andytheproducer.com. There they can find my story and examples of my work that I’m proud of.
Conan Karpinski has been a great friend to us and I know you’ve got a great relationship as well. Maybe you can tell our audience a bit about Conan and your experience with them.
Gosh, where do I start… I can single handedly credit Conan for my entire career in music. He was the one who convinced me to start jamming together for fun, he convinced me to join our band, he literally brought the music into my life. He is the most artistically gifted person I’ve ever met and he has really brought that out in me over the last decade. I swear the guy needs to be creative to survive like a car needs gas to drive. Conan is a multi instrumentalist, music producer, film composer, director, songwriter, artist…I could name more titles but I’ll just say he’s an extremely gifted creative. Any project he touches will undoubtedly be better once he is involved, and he has a natural talent for collaboration and guiding others through the creation process.
I got a really fun introduction into what making music is like because of Conan. We used to hangout in his bedroom studio and he would show me little productions he would be making on Logic 9 (music nerds can appreciate this). I remember thinking it was the coolest thing, and that gave me the initial spark I needed to be convinced that this is something I could and should do. He graciously explained things to me and shared his knowledge when it came to music making and the complicated software that came along with it, which I think is really admirable because he was so excited to share his excitement and these experiences. He’s always shared everything with me, and that has led to a really amazing partnership between us. We would sit in his room with a couple of guitars facing each other and try to write little song starters. It was really a wholesome beginning to my career in music.
The beautiful thing is we are still the same to this day. It was always a goal of mine in the early days to get good enough at what I do so that I could return the favour and be able to share what I know with him, too. That’s led us to be a powerful duo, and we are constantly involved on each others’ projects as a trusted brain and set of ears. He will forever be my bouncing board for ideas as I trust his creativity more than anyone else. It’s also worth mentioning that Conan is one of my closest friends in life – honestly, he feels more like a brother of mine. He’s my go-to-guy when I’m going through something in life and need someone to chat things out.
I’ve never doubted that Conan be successful in music and film, which gave me the confidence to think that I could be too. I hope everyone can find a partnership like this in their careers, because it’s seriously important. I can say with confidence that I wouldn’t be where I am without him.
Website: www.andytheproducer.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andytheproducer_/?hl=en
