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KANSAN.COM
ARTS & CULTURE
Colleen O'Toole/KANSAN
Andy Hodges (left), a University freshman, and Anna Hamilton, a sophomore. Hodges collaborated with The Chainsmokers and got to shoot a commercial with Samsung.
Music production leads student to collaboration with The Chainsmokers
▶ LARA KORTE
@lara_korte
It's not uncommon for amateur musicians to cover the chart-topping recording artists they look up to. Many people will post their covers on YouTube or SoundCloud hoping for some recognition. With any luck, they might garner the attention of their inspiration and be rewarded with a kind tweet or shoutout. If you're Andy Hodges, your favorite artists might drop by for a visit.
Hodges, a Manhattan, Kan. native, has been playing piano since he was in kindergarten, producing and posting original content online for about two years. Most recently, he's been working with chart-topping recording artists. And he's only a freshman.
It all started last November, when Andrew Taggart and Alex Pall, the DJ duo known as The Chainsmokers, came to Lawrence for a concert, and surprised Hodges while he was working on his music.
The surprise visit was featured as part of a promotion by Samsung. Prior to the visit, Hodges said he had been in contact with the duo's producers, and thought he was only going to be featured in a commercial.
"I got a call from Samsung saying they're shooting a commercial here for this video commercial series they're doing and they wanted me to be a part of it, and they said I'd be producing with the Chainsmokers, and I flipped out," Hodges said. "A month later they told me that's not going to happen and then they surprised me, it all worked out. It was hilarious."
They said I'd be producing with the Chainsmokers, and I flipped out."
Andy Hodges musician
Hodges got to work with The Chainsmokers and said he was able to learn more about how they produce their chart-topping hits like "Roses."
"They showed me some real technical aspects of the song and how they created that, then they showed me some new stuff, like 'Closer' which is a song of theirs that's actually coming out next month." Hodges said.
Hodges said the two artists gave him some pointers and helped set him up with new software to produce the music he's been posting online. Hodges does mostly piano covers and some original instrumental pieces, all of which he posts on his SoundCloud account. He works completely out of his dorm room, where his keyboard, computer and speaker system are set up underneath a lofted bunk bed.
Hodges may have gotten to work with The Chainsmokers in November, but that wasn't the last of it. In February, Hodges headed out to California, where he got to hang on the set of a music video and get a first-hand look at how the duo produces. The trip can now be seen featured in one of Samsung's commercials.
Hodges said during the trip he was able to get some tips and pointers from The Chainsmokers on how to improve his music.
"They're just giving me advice on what I need to do to move on to the next level, and I'm taking that advice and capitalizing on it," Hodges said.
Aside from The Chain-smokers, Hodges says he draws inspiration from another notable pop artist, Ed Sheeran. Hodges said he got the idea to layer sounds from the loop pedal Sheeran uses for his live shows. Although it's meant for guitars, Hodges bought the same pedal for his piano, and it allows him to build his tracks, adding different instruments through his keyboard.
["Piano] just ranges so wide, you can cover bass and you can cover melody at the same time," Hodges said. "And I love the violin, I had a song in mind that features a violin. It's my second favorite instrument behind cello."
Just this past semester, Hodges began producing
covers with another young musician, sophomore Anna Hamilton from Bucyrus. Hamilton said the two work well together by combining their different musical strengths.
"I'm like the lyricist," Hamilton said. "He's about the beat and the rhythm."
The two said they'll bounce song ideas off each other and share inspiration. They work so well together, in fact, they're recently written, recorded and released their own original song, "Empty Promises" on iTunes and Spotify in February.
Although Hodges did the music for the song, he said most of the writing was done by Hamilton.
Hamilton said her inspiration for songwriting comes spontaneously.
"She did 97 percent of it," Hodges said. "The only thing I did was there was a lyric I needed to change."
"It's usually hearing something, because I'm very audible, but then a lot of times it'll be like a feeling that I get whenever I witness something either that's really messed up and
I want to write about it or that's really inspiring," Hamilton said.
Right now, Hodges said he still wants to stay in school, and that while a degree is important to him, there are certain exceptions when it comes to the music industry.
"If I get a good deal, I'm going to sign it and go work in Los Angeles or whatever," Hodges said. "You can always go back to school, but you don't always have opportunities to sign with a good manager."
Hodges began his college experience studying biology and neuroscience, but is now thinking about transferring somewhere else for a degree in audio engineering and music production. Although the plan for now is to stay in school, Hodges said if an opportunity presents itself, he's going to have to "weigh the pros and cons."
"If I can do music, I'll do music," he said.
- Edited by Matthew
Clough
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