Musician, dancer, choreographer, filmmaker, and untethered mystic from New York City. Andrea Ward occupies a realm all her own. This one-of-a-kind artist merges music and movement into one ethereal, wholly atypical new single, "Awake at Night." Following previous singles "Game" and "Algorithm," this is the third taste of her label-defying album "Ribbon of Water." Undisturbed and unaffected by current trends, Andrea Ward's uniquely inspired musical alchemy melds a harmonious collection of subgenres, drawing inspiration from Icelandic Pop, Norwegian Rock, Experimental, Alternative Pop, Permanent Wave, and Avant-Garde sounds. About the new single, Andrea shares that "Awake at Night" is about the idea that you’re awake at night because you know something’s wrong in life.
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
Hello Andrea Ward. What first got you into music?
I always loved music, but I got into this habit as a kid, and at the time it was just a cute “kid thing,” and now it’s something that I take seriously: I used to envision music in my mind as a physical orb, like a gooey orb of energy, or liquid-like jello, that morphed and moved according to the sounds and percussive moments, and it was a big influence in my inspiration as a dance artist growing up too. I have always seen music that way, but now I allow myself to try to write music that way too.
What do you think your role is in this world?
That’s a big question! That’s the type of question that the world answers for you instead of you defining it, I think. I think we all inadvertently teach each other lessons just by virtue of living our truths, and even when we don’t live our truths, the truth still shapes our paths.
Your latest track is 'Awake at Night'. Can you share with us the background of its creation and did any unusual things happen during its creation?
This song was actually one half of a full song originally involving another track “Algorithm,” but the time signature became so complicated so I separated them. But the melody came to me when I decided to step away from writing on instruments, and just go wherever I wanted to go with the movement of the song in my mind. This way I didn’t have obligation to instrumental patterns holding me back in my ideas about where the song could go.
What is one message you would give to your fans?
The medium is the message!
How do you spend your time?
Honestly, all of my time is shaped around healing myself now- healing my mind, spirit, analyzing my dreams, studying my thought patterns, healing emotionally and therefore healing physically, or the other way around. Recently I’ve been focusing on what my fears are. I suppose I’ve been realizing that we will always be angry about the same things in life unless we accept our fears.
What are you most proud of?
No comment.
If you could go open a show for any artist who would it be?
I hope that she doesn't think I’m ridiculous for saying this, but it would be so cool to open for my cousin, Dominique Fils-Aimé in Montreal. We are not biological, and we hardly know each other, but I love her style of writing, and I connect with it too.
What are you doing to ensure you continue to grow and develop as an artist?
I’m taking voice lessons, taking feedback when it comes, and it comes often, haha! I’d love to improve with playing tongue drum and singing at the same time. It takes so much focus and I’d love to just be free with it.
Do you think that technology is improving lives?
Gosh. Terence McKenna had a good lecture, “The Ideas Remain,” which you can find on Youtube. Eventually he gets into discussing that technology is just an evolution in humanity’s physical form, which is basically consciousness. We are facilitating such a rapid evolution in technology, in order to keep up with our rapid communications. My question is, aren’t we basically telepathic at this point?
What are your plans for the future?
I want to produce a music and dance show. But I don’t want it to be a series of songs and dances. I want it to be a continuous movement of sound and dance, all cohesive, all speaking the same story, the same concept. That and I’d love to play in other countries!