RAC is the solo project of Andre Allen Anjos in which he originally set out to make creative and innovative remixes of popular songs. He’s currently producing some of his own music, while still doing remixes and covers with his wife, Liz.
When first starting to remix, Andre made a point to be official and skip the bootleg remixing, so he selected songs that had potential for interesting arrangements and contacted the labels. He’s built a strong reputation, musing that at first “I was begging people to let me remix their stuff”. His favorite thing about creating music now is that it’s always done in conjunction with someone else: “On a day-to-day basis I get to work with other people…I’m never lonely, and I can’t imagine going out on the road alone. You want to do this stuff with your friends.”
He cites bands he used to listen to as having had a large impression on his music. He grew up with a lot of Paul Simon, and his mom listened to Simon and Garfunkel, both of which stuck with him. Lately his music taste has been more varied but he enjoys LCD Sound System. None of these effects are direct, he says: “Their inspirations are still there, but a lot of it is so vague and ambiguous that I’m not aware of it until I go back and listen to a band I loved in high school and then see that band in the things I just worked on. It’s a full-circle, all-encompassed project.” Today he mostly attends shows of his friends when they’re playing in town, though he went to see Madonna in October.
The best piece of advice Andre has received came from a professor he had in college who recognized his passion for music. He told him, “If you don’t do that which you have an aching desire to do, you’ll hate yourself”. It served as a confirmation to Andre that pursuing music full time was exactly what he should be doing.
Andre is currently out on tour with Big Data, Filous and Pink Feathers. He and Big Data’s Alan Wilkis knew each other back when RAC was still focused on remixes and Big Data hadn’t really begun. Eventually Wilkis’ project took off and when discussing bands to open for this tour, Big Data was an obvious choice for Andre. He has geared the tour toward his original work, and to that end he has teamed up with a live band. The set will feature remixes along with his original work from his album and recent singles. The DJ portions with remix and dance music will be off the cuff, in contrast to the more structured sections of original work.
9:30 Club in Washington, DC is one of Andre’s favorite locations to play. He gave a rave review of the staff and recalled that last time he was here the owner of the club came to hang out in the green room with him. New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco are larger shows; in New York fans go wild while in LA the crowds are less engaged but have a greater social media presence. Andre says that in Colorado people go crazy – the shows are never as big but some of his best shows have been in small rooms with really high energy. He notices a significant difference in crowds from coast to coast.
Andre produces covers with his wife Liz Anjos of Pink Feathers. It began as a low-pressure way to celebrate a social media mark – to work on something, have fun with it and release it for free. “We just pick songs that we know and enjoy and that suit to Liz’s voice.” Recently they released an awesome cover of The Cranberries’ “Dreams”.
Currently Andre is releasing a new single roughly each month as part of a trial project, though he may compile these songs into an album in the future. He says, “It’s really fun to just write a song and then two months later it’s out – it’s great to be able to do it on our own.” He plans to do this for as long as he can, for as long as it makes sense. His favorite part is that he’s constantly putting out new music and constantly receiving feedback on it, which has helped to build momentum. Look out for Andre on RAC’s tour this fall and be sure to check out his SoundCloud and social media pages!
When first starting to remix, Andre made a point to be official and skip the bootleg remixing, so he selected songs that had potential for interesting arrangements and contacted the labels. He’s built a strong reputation, musing that at first “I was begging people to let me remix their stuff”. His favorite thing about creating music now is that it’s always done in conjunction with someone else: “On a day-to-day basis I get to work with other people…I’m never lonely, and I can’t imagine going out on the road alone. You want to do this stuff with your friends.”
He cites bands he used to listen to as having had a large impression on his music. He grew up with a lot of Paul Simon, and his mom listened to Simon and Garfunkel, both of which stuck with him. Lately his music taste has been more varied but he enjoys LCD Sound System. None of these effects are direct, he says: “Their inspirations are still there, but a lot of it is so vague and ambiguous that I’m not aware of it until I go back and listen to a band I loved in high school and then see that band in the things I just worked on. It’s a full-circle, all-encompassed project.” Today he mostly attends shows of his friends when they’re playing in town, though he went to see Madonna in October.
The best piece of advice Andre has received came from a professor he had in college who recognized his passion for music. He told him, “If you don’t do that which you have an aching desire to do, you’ll hate yourself”. It served as a confirmation to Andre that pursuing music full time was exactly what he should be doing.
Andre is currently out on tour with Big Data, Filous and Pink Feathers. He and Big Data’s Alan Wilkis knew each other back when RAC was still focused on remixes and Big Data hadn’t really begun. Eventually Wilkis’ project took off and when discussing bands to open for this tour, Big Data was an obvious choice for Andre. He has geared the tour toward his original work, and to that end he has teamed up with a live band. The set will feature remixes along with his original work from his album and recent singles. The DJ portions with remix and dance music will be off the cuff, in contrast to the more structured sections of original work.
9:30 Club in Washington, DC is one of Andre’s favorite locations to play. He gave a rave review of the staff and recalled that last time he was here the owner of the club came to hang out in the green room with him. New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco are larger shows; in New York fans go wild while in LA the crowds are less engaged but have a greater social media presence. Andre says that in Colorado people go crazy – the shows are never as big but some of his best shows have been in small rooms with really high energy. He notices a significant difference in crowds from coast to coast.
Andre produces covers with his wife Liz Anjos of Pink Feathers. It began as a low-pressure way to celebrate a social media mark – to work on something, have fun with it and release it for free. “We just pick songs that we know and enjoy and that suit to Liz’s voice.” Recently they released an awesome cover of The Cranberries’ “Dreams”.
Currently Andre is releasing a new single roughly each month as part of a trial project, though he may compile these songs into an album in the future. He says, “It’s really fun to just write a song and then two months later it’s out – it’s great to be able to do it on our own.” He plans to do this for as long as he can, for as long as it makes sense. His favorite part is that he’s constantly putting out new music and constantly receiving feedback on it, which has helped to build momentum. Look out for Andre on RAC’s tour this fall and be sure to check out his SoundCloud and social media pages!
