Following the release of their brand new single and video Give It To You, we caught an interview with collaborative duo Andon & OpenSoul to find out more about the music and their journey to this point. Here’s how it went.
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Hi guys, loving the new single – thanks for this interview! For those who don’t know, how did you guys meet, and how long have you been making music?
We met on Instagram in 2014 having had a mutual interest in music. We then agreed to meet up some time in the future to record a cover together to be posted on Instagram. To our surprise, our meet-up happened just four years after, 8th of September 2018, and from there we just developed this strong bond.
Unofficially, we’ve been making music for a while, but we lacked the resources to pursue it further. Who knew we would be at this point right now?
What was the song writing process like for Give It To You?
Funny story… Andon was in the bathroom one day and he just started to vibe to this melody in his head. It was so compelling that he came out and went on YouTube to find a track that matched the melody to create a demo.
I, OpenSoul, got a call from Andon. He said “I need us to do this song that I created a melody for”. I listened to it and I loved it! Andon then said he wanted me to come up with a verse, but to my surprise I had written this song for a while now and I found myself just singing along with the track like it was already made for it. Everything just flowed so perfectly in that space and moment.
To be honest, we got so excited that we called one of our co-workers who is a producer, Simpac Music, to schedule a time to record the song and make an original track that went seamlessly with the words and vibe of the song. We are just so proud of the progress we’ve made thus far and we believe that more is coming our way.
Is there a longer collaborative release on the way?
For an entire album, probably not, but we will definitely be with each other as it all started with us supporting each other with writing, backing vocals or whatever assistance that was required to bring forth our individual ideas to life. So will we be doing more things together? Definitely!
Will you be performing live much in the coming months, and if so – what can fans look forward to from that?
We are open to the possibility of live performances. The song is growing, thousands of people are streaming it and because of this growth there will be demands for live performances. Live performance is a medium where we’ll get to interact with various audiences. We believe that persons will be able to feel our energy through this medium directly outside of our track or music video.
How does the collaborative process compare to that of working and creating as a solo artist?
Before we met each other we had our own musical styles, so as solo artists we know what direction we each want to go, and what we hope to achieve. But magic happens when we collaborate. Even though we don’t have the same musical styles, strangely we complement each other perfectly.
In comparing both, as solo artists we are more comfortable with that idea than doing collaborations, as we are forced outside of our comfort zones. We don’t mind a challenge.
What are your thoughts on the music industry in general, and what are your biggest aspirations?
The music industry is a place where many talented persons take a leap of faith to create artistic pieces with hopes of connecting with the intended audiences. We know it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to actually “make it”. It’s a very diverse community, which makes it harder to bring something new to the table because many things have been done already. But as new faces to the community, we can expound on what is already there in our unique way.
Collectively, we are looking forward to international tours, opening for other artists, collaborating with other artists and even venturing into other creative industries; one such thing being acting.
What’s something about you that separates you from other contemporary artists?
It is difficult to pinpoint that exact thing that separates us from other contemporary artists as we all have similar driving forces, whether it be family, friends, proving someone wrong or maybe just having that love for what we do. But excluding other contemporary artists, our level of passion to be more than who we are now, is what keeps us writing and singing.
Is there anything else we should know?
Yeah! We have great things instore.
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Find & follow Open Soul, Andon & Andon’s Artist Page.
