ABOUT Andrew Toy
SESSION TITLE: Performance of “Sneaking Suspicions” by Andrew Toy
Andrew Toy uses percussion as a starting point for soundscapes that are rife with seemingly opposing characteristics: intense and atmospheric, sparse and lush, grooving and abstract. By re-imagining the role of drums and percussion, Toy has crafted a sound that blends minimalism, world music, post-rock, and electronica with the energy and spontaneity that is best represented by live drums. A sought-after drummer, Andrew’s versatility has allowed him to travel the world and back up musical acts across the musical spectrum. His own music began as a creative outlet for unexplored musical ideas and as a personal challenge to create engaging music from behind the drums. In recent years, those ideas have taken on a life of their own, thanks in part to Andrew’s use of live looping, automation, and his love of sounds outside the typical drummers’ arsenal. Andrew released his debut solo album Guardrails in 2021. From ReGen Magazine: “Throughout his Guardrails album, layers of percussive patterns interweave into complex arrangements so harmonious that the need for melody erodes into rhythmic bliss. The manner in which Toy electronically manipulates drum hits, scrapes, and vibrations to create tones that seem to sing with the same vibrancy as any synth is sublime – less percussive and more ambient, which adds to the primal energy of the album, howls and hums of bass lines and pads created from the same percussive thrust as the beats. Both in terms of its vitality and in its unique take on IDM, Guardrails is a refreshing album.” Born in Delaware and currently based in the Washington DC area, Andrew is an active session musician, performer, and educator. He teaches music production at American University and George Washington University.
