Multi-instrumentalist Andrew Carter (Photo by Joey Wharton)
Minor Poet isn’t the multi-player melody machine it sounds like — it is the compositions of one multi-talented musician, Andrew Carter. He describes the project as “a testament to the beauty of music found in the most unexpected places.” As far as genre goes, Carter says, “I wouldn’t put my music into any specific genre other than the broad umbrella of ‘indie rock.’ ” Every track is written, performed and recorded by Carter. After working with another Richmond-based band, the Mad Extras, on their own album, Carter wanted to take his own ideas in a new direction, in the most cost-effective and inspired way possible. He put together a half-broken soundboard, a cheap plastic interface and, as Carter puts it, “a misfit-island basement full of instruments.” Then he put everything together and made music.
"And How!" by Minor Poet releases Aug. 25. (Image courtesy Minor Poet)
When the smoke cleared from this solo musical endeavor, Carter had himself an 11-song collection; and what a collection it is, blending melody with a variety of sound that has the spaciousness and illusion of many musicians playing together, but is really just Carter playing electric and acoustic guitar, bass, drums, shakers and tambourines, piano, bells, and a variety of different organs and synths, all layered one over the other. It’s reminiscent of a technique mastered in the early recordings of another multi-instrumentalist — Prince. Each track on the album elicits a variety of emotions, but unites with a sustaining blend of voice and sound, familiar and strange working remarkably well together. Using what Carter calls “off-the-wall recording techniques,” he creates a wonderful balance of originality, but with clear influences from The Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds,” The Magnetic Fields’ “69 Love Songs,” and Yo La Tengo’s “And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out,” classic works where, Carter says, “the sense of creative freedom elevated the compositions.” But instead of a classic four-member band, Carter has created the same musical stylings, alone. This was creative risk-taking; there were no other musicians with whom he was collaborating, so the success or failure of the sound rested solely on his shoulders.
“Recording each song became a fun adventure of trying to wring interesting sounds out of these weird places and then [trying] to build something that the listener will recognize and hopefully enjoy as music,” Carter says. Carter’s inventiveness is particularly noticeable in the songs “Plot Devices,” “River Days,” and “Sudoku, An Enlightenment.” As he notes of the “string” sound on “Plot Devices,” “[It was] a string preset on a cheap toy Casio that [was] run through reverse reverb … to create a really cool swirling effect.”
Once the music making was done, Carter had to find a listening audience. “The album got passed around between friends, who privately passed it around with their friends,” he says, it slowly spreading among the elite of Richmond’s music scene, creating a buzz of whispers about the project. Carter also emphasizes that the quality of the final product, “And How!” would not have been possible without the use of modern multi-tracking equipment to compensate for some of the dated musical hardware. The rawness and potential of Carter’s compositions led to partnerships with Tyler Williams and Brandon Crowe of Lights Out Management, the team behind Lucy Dacus, and finally a record deal with Egghunt Records. “And How!” releases Aug. 26 at Strange Matter, with guest appearances by Spooky Cool, Blush Face and Sammi Lanzetta.
Minor Poet expands into a full-fledged band this fall, with plans of playing around 50 dates from September through November. Carter will be backed by Noma Illmensee (Manatree), Jeremy Morris (The Mad Extras) and Micah Head. Stay tuned at facebook.com/minorpoetmusic or egghuntrecords.org.
