andré anjos and the art of giving new life to music

MASTER OF THE
REMIX
ANDRÉ ANJOS AND THE ART OF GIVING NEW LIFE TO MUSIC
By Kaity Teer
D
uring his sophomore year at Greenville College,
André Anjos ’08 cold called the manager of The
Shins, an indie rock band, and pitched the idea
of a remix. “I was nervous,” he says, “but I got
over it. I’m sure he could tell I didn’t know what
I was talking about, but no one had approached The Shins
before about a remix. They just weren’t that kind of band.
They thought the idea was fun, so he called back and gave me
a shot.”
From the third floor lounge of Mannoia Hall, Anjos remixed
the song “Sleeping Lessons.” It took him several tries to
complete the full remix, because students walking through the
lounge area interrupted the recording process. Even so, The
Shins were impressed with Anjos’ final product and released
the remix as the B-side of a UK single.
Remixing “Sleeping Lessons” for The Shins was Anjos’ big
break. He contacted several other remix artists, and the Remix
Artist Collective (RAC) was formed.
A remix is essentially a reinterpretation of a song that is
produced from its original, unmastered multi-track files,
which Anjos receives from his clients. Artists benefit from
remixes because they introduce songs to broader audiences
and offer increased exposure. In recent years, remixes have
become a standard part of promotional budgets. RAC remixes
are in demand because of their distinctive style. Rather than
simply adding a dance beat to an indie song, RAC produces
remixes that are creative works in their own right.
It was a challenge for Anjos to manage RAC while he was still
in school, but he was intensely motivated. He spent his days
in classes and working at the IT Help Desk, and his nights
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GREENVILLE COLLEGE | GREENVILLE.EDU
at the music studios. “I’d take over one of the practice rooms
in Whitlock Music Center. It was quiet; often no one would
be there that late at night. I would bring my laptop and
headphones and get to work. The studios had some pretty
nice synthesizers that were great to use, too.”
Upon graduating, Anjos and his wife, Liz (Derstine ’07), left
for Portland, Oregon. He immediately began pursuing RAC
full time. In fact, a position in the IT department during the
four years he was a student is the only “real job” he has ever
had. RAC is no longer a collective of remix artists, but the
name stuck for Anjos’ remixes.
In just a few years, Anjos has worked with a wide variety of
high-profile artists from Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic
Zeros, Ra Ra Riot, Lana del Ray, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs
to U2, Lady Gaga, and the Kings of Leon. RAC’s reputation
developed quickly with remixes receiving attention from key
music tastemakers and blogs.
Anjos has developed a unique philosophy on remixing.
He aims for a style that strays from the typical “club mix.”
He creates new incarnations of songs by expanding their
genre and musical arrangement. RAC remixes feature a
unique blend of hip-hop and electrodrum samples, analog
synthesizers, melodic hooks, and original performed
instrumentation.
In February 2011, Anjos was surprised to hear his remix of
“Rescue Song” by Mr. Little Jeans during Super Bowl XLV.
Honda had negotiated with his company for rights to use
his remix in an ad, but he didn’t expect it to air during the
competitive advertising environment of the most-watched
television event in America.
It wasn’t the first time Anjos’ work has appeared in
television and film. Since he founded RAC in 2007, his
work has appeared in TV (“Entourage,” “90210,” “How
to Make It in America”), film (the soundtrack for the
2010 Sundance selection “Holy Rollers”) and advertising
(Verizon, NBA, Coca-Cola and JC Penney).
Anjos and fellow Greenville College graduate, Karl
Kling ’09, launched the RAC DJ tour in 2011. The
tour schedule allowed them to promote their music, win
fans across the country, and keep in touch with friends
and fellow alumni living in various cities. They flew
over 180,000 miles in 2012, touring the United States,
Canada, Europe, and South America.
Anjos’ first solo recording, “Hollywood,” featuring
Penguin Prison, reached number one on all four Hype
Machine charts upon its release in summer 2012. Then,
early in 2013, Anjos signed with Cherrytree Records,
which helped launch Lady Gaga’s career, and will release
an album of original music this fall. Anjos joins the
roster of artists like Ellie Goulding, Feist, Sting and
Keane.
“In the past six years I’ve done remix work with just
about every label out there,” Anjos said in a press release.
“I couldn’t be happier about this partnership with
Cherrytree. It was the obvious choice. Their enthusiasm
about my music was really what drew me to them and
their past and recent success speaks volumes.”
Look for an EP due out this summer, the full-length
album in the fall and a U.S. tour to promote RAC’s first
album later in 2013 and into 2014.
REMIX DEFINED
A remix is a reinterpretation of a song that is produced
from its original, unmastered multi-track files. The
remix artist achieves a new sound by changing musical
components like dynamics, pitch, tempo, and playing time.
READ AND HEAR MORE AT: greenville.edu/making music.
THE RECORD | SUMMER 2013
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