Multimedia / Music

Psalms

You can listen to Psalms here.

The majority of this work was done over the 2015 fall semester, but some of the instrumental elements were conceived over the summer. The compilation was completed at the start of February. “I like to think of this album as a piece of DIY originality,” says Andrew. “The lyrical content in Psalms is pretty honest. ‘Love Games’ was about a girl I liked. I wrote ‘Wade in the Water’ because sometimes I party too much and ‘Khumbaya’ because depression has affected me and those close to me.”

Andrew says that the title Psalms came to him when he noticed he was sampling a lot of religious hymns. It stuck because the songs were intensely spiritual to him. “In this sense, the title suggests religious worship as a metaphor for secular experience. The best example of this is ‘Wade in the Water,’ which uses the vessel of baptism to represent binge-drinking.”

The album is listed as pop, but strong influence from hip-hop, rock, and synth music canĀ  be distinguished in his sound as well. Andrew used Ableton Live software, a MIDI keyboard, and a USB mic for the vocals and guitars. “I also did the mixing/mastering, which explains the college-dorm sound quality.”