My name is Andy. I’m a multi-instrumentalist and singer with German and Croatian roots. I’m performing on a self-built Celtic Harp (Andy Aquarius), record ambient music (Ozbolt) and play in a psychedelic rock band (Swan Valley Heights). I sometimes do film scores and appear in other bands and projects on different instruments. I have an email newsletter titled ‘The Aquarian Herald’ that I send out every 2-3 months or so and you should definitely sign up: touch@andyaquarius.com, I’m giving updates on my creative work but also add plenty of tips & tricks on how to survive the New Age.
https://linktr.ee/aquarianrenegade
Where did you come from and where are you going?
From the Bavarian aether towards the sea. Got side-tracked and am now parking my physical body in Berlin to learn some important lessons in detachment before I can continue to live out my personal saga somewhere else. I started out containing about 60% water (scientifically and astrologically speaking) and am now striving for 100% liquidity.
What preoccupies your mind these days?
My main focus lies on the release of my solo debut album ‘Chapel’, which will be released Nov 12th on Hush Hush Records and I’m really excited about it. If I had to label the music, I’d go with ‘Pastoral Psychedelia’. It’s my most honest and personal solo release so far and it’s in the process of being born, so it’s on my mind at all times.
Name a favourite taste, touch, sound, sight and smell.
Taste: Vegan Dark Chocolate Ice Cream. In comparison everything else just tastes like stale milk. Touch: Anything that makes me feel alive. Wood, rocks, running water. Sound: Wish I could give you something more exciting, but Campfire Crackles is where it’s at. Sight: Anything that’s novel in the moment really. Could be a random small town, a lush valley or a basement punk venue. Smell: 70s airport carpets & warm pine trees
Describe one of your most vivid dreams or nightmares
Not sure if this still counts as a dream, but a year ago I entered a state of sleep paralysis where I was alert and could move my eyes with my body still being sound asleep. This is happening kinda regularly to me but this time around I just couldn’t snap out of it, so I had the rare opportunity to really explore the situation. At some point I was able to move my hands, only that my hands didn’t actually move but the sensory energy of my hands basically moved without them. In the end I managed to have both my energy hands touch each other and I actually felt them connecting while my actual hands were still resting next to my body. I’ve been desperately trying to somehow connect this event to Rupert Sheldrake’s Morphic Resonance Theory ever since.
Have you ever had an uncanny experience?
So many but when held at gunpoint, nothing comes to mind. I recently played a show with my rock band and afterwards an ~8 year old boy walked up to me and asked me for one of my drumsticks, later he returned with a pencil so that I could sign it. He had long brown hair and completely matched my outfit that day (red tank, black jeans shorts and no shoes). My band pointed it out to me and for a moment I felt like I had handed a drumstick to my younger self. I don’t know. It was quite eerie.
How does your sense of place affect the way you express yourself?
The frequency of a place does affect me quite strongly and I mirror my environment in a sense. When in Berlin, I’m struggling to focus and my music turns more beat-driven and electronic (Andy Aquarius – Place To Be). When in the country, my attention turns more inward and I am playing my harp mostly. I spent the last winter on the island of Sardinia and after some weeks of living on a very isolated slice of heaven, I started recording ambient music again (Ozbolt – The Family Dog Never Felt At Home) after years of not exploring these realms all that much. It’s definitely a thing and it naturally makes me wonder about the impact different places have on my physical and mental well-being too.
What has particularly touched or inspired you recently?
A two-week artist retreat in a destroyed tuberculosis clinic, next to a lake and immersed in the green. The deep sense of community & stillness of the place gave me a chance to really rest in myself and write plenty of new music.
Tell us a good story, anecdote or joke.
When I first got to Berlin, I moved in with a magical art collective and took a room that had some sort of DIY pallet stage with a mattress on top. After 2 years we were gentrified and had to clear out the house. When I lifted the pallets, I discovered an ancient looking wooden box which hosted a self-built little witch on a broom resting in a bed of needles. It freaked me that I had been sleeping on top of this box for the better part of 24 months and I burnt the witch in our garden. I have pictures to verify this story.
Andy’s debut album Chapel will be released November 12th by Hush Hush Records. Bandcamp link.
Wyrd Daze 