What are you looking forward to at LouFest this year? “It’s the first live show we’ve done in St. Louis. And I went to college in Illinois, just over the river, so I have a lot of friends coming out. So the trip will be very personal to me, but I’ll also be more nervous because I will definitely be judged more closely.”
First, he listens.
Then, André Allen Anjos notices the progressive patterns. The way the thumping beat is methodically repetitious, the way the overlying vocals pleasantly synchronize with their accompanying instrumentals. The way the strategic breaks in the song create a rhythm of silence.
Then, he completely disrupts the formula. And that’s what Anjos calls his public learning experience.
Remix Artist Collective, paradoxically a solo project, is known for its remixes of popular songs by artists such as Lana Del Ray, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Bastille, remixes that Anjos hopes the original artists appreciate for their innovation. But the revitalizing mentality extends much further than the remixes this artist whips up.
What Anjos musically values more than anything is inventiveness. He appreciates the deviation from life’s stagnant and mundane aspects. His ideal fan is someone who is open to artists who diverge from their own brand of standard, who is accepting of experimentation and new projects.
Lucky for him, when Anjos entered the remixing music scene in 2007, he was facing a lot of the same electronic music. He says it was mainly dance music, dormant in novelty and monotonous in style.
However, Anjos took a note from the indie folk landscape at the time and the way the musicians were invigorating the genre with new technologies and techniques. “I’ve always felt really free to experiment,” Anjos says. “But at the same time I think it’s important to stay appropriate to the original and not impose my own ego into it.”
After that discovery, he created his own niche in remixing. He says what ended up coming to coalition was a sort of pop punk project, with catchy melodies and that has a certain depth in its significance but is also very accessible in some ways. “I just want to do something that makes sense,” Anjos says.
André is ironically formulaic in his creative process, and he is efficient in his work. He takes only the time he needs and can spin up a song in a day or less. The way he thinks is systematic. He naturally picks up on the blueprints of music and uses those rules to break and reform the way an audience hears the songs.
Although Anjos says that picking a favorite song off of his first original album, Strangers (2014), is kind of akin to picking a favorite child, he easily points out the second to last track, “We Belong,” which features Katie Herzig, as his most rewarding venture in the collection. “When you are writing a song, you have to listen to it at least 2,000 times,” Anjos explains. “For you to come out at the end and still enjoy it, it’s gotta be pretty special.” The album also includes collaborations with artists such as Alex Ebert, Tegan & Sara, and Tokyo Police Club.
From Anjos’ perspective, music often falls into a specific structure. So does his process. Where Anjos differs from the top-40 pop sphere most of the radio revolves around is what he does next. Because after he follows his process, he breaks the formula.
