Biography
Ken Andrews, who produces recordings while also singing, writing songs, and playing numerous instruments, entered the music industry in the early 1990s after connecting with songwriter and musician Greg Edwards. The pair of Los Angeles natives created Failure and landed a deal soon after showcasing their intense alternative rock at clubs throughout the city.
A creatively frustrating process on Failure’s first album, Comfort, prompted Andrews to conclude that producing the band’s future work himself would yield stronger results. He was correct: the self-produced Magnified surpassed Comfort through better songs, more inventive structures and arrangements, and especially the integrated blending of instruments that shaped its overall sonic character.
The production skill evident on Magnified drew notice from other artists and studio professionals, soon generating requests for Andrews to advise developing musicians in the studio. He was likewise frequently handed the console to shape final sounds, given his demonstrated capacity to enhance alternative rock and pop material. The most prominent of these early projects was Blinker the Star’s outstanding Bourgeois Kitten.
Around the same time, Andrews teamed with friends to record a one-off collection of covers released under the name Replicants. Their self-recorded Zoo album contains distinctive, weighty versions of classic tracks such as Neil Young’s “Cinnamon Girl” and John Lennon’s “How Do You Sleep.” Failure’s third and last album, Fantastic Planet, appeared in 1996. The lush, meticulously assembled record stands as a compositional and production achievement that delivers an expansive range with limited instrumentation. Any remaining uncertainty about Andrews’ studio abilities was dispelled by Fantastic Planet, placing his transparent and understated production style in high demand. The timing worked in his favor, since Failure disbanded roughly a year later. During the closing years of the 1990s Andrews maintained an active production and engineering schedule with artists including Ednaswap, Skycycle, and Blinker the Star, for whom he returned to record the follow-up August Everywhere.
In 2000 Andrews’ solo project ON issued its debut album Shifting Skin on Epic Records. A marked departure from Failure, ON relied heavily on layered synthesizers and electronic percussion while featuring less of the guitar-driven material Andrews had previously developed with Edwards. Although ON met with limited success, Andrews remained occupied throughout the new decade, producing and mixing for Creeper Lagoon, Sense Field, and Tenacious D. He also supplied vocals for Air’s 2001 release 10,000 Hz Legend. Andrews’ trajectory—from another post-grunge songwriter in a largely unremarkable band to a respected rock artist, sought-after producer, engineer, mixer, and musician—reflects his intelligence, skill, and dedication to recording rock music at the highest standard. ~ Vincent Jeffries
A creatively frustrating process on Failure’s first album, Comfort, prompted Andrews to conclude that producing the band’s future work himself would yield stronger results. He was correct: the self-produced Magnified surpassed Comfort through better songs, more inventive structures and arrangements, and especially the integrated blending of instruments that shaped its overall sonic character.
The production skill evident on Magnified drew notice from other artists and studio professionals, soon generating requests for Andrews to advise developing musicians in the studio. He was likewise frequently handed the console to shape final sounds, given his demonstrated capacity to enhance alternative rock and pop material. The most prominent of these early projects was Blinker the Star’s outstanding Bourgeois Kitten.
Around the same time, Andrews teamed with friends to record a one-off collection of covers released under the name Replicants. Their self-recorded Zoo album contains distinctive, weighty versions of classic tracks such as Neil Young’s “Cinnamon Girl” and John Lennon’s “How Do You Sleep.” Failure’s third and last album, Fantastic Planet, appeared in 1996. The lush, meticulously assembled record stands as a compositional and production achievement that delivers an expansive range with limited instrumentation. Any remaining uncertainty about Andrews’ studio abilities was dispelled by Fantastic Planet, placing his transparent and understated production style in high demand. The timing worked in his favor, since Failure disbanded roughly a year later. During the closing years of the 1990s Andrews maintained an active production and engineering schedule with artists including Ednaswap, Skycycle, and Blinker the Star, for whom he returned to record the follow-up August Everywhere.
In 2000 Andrews’ solo project ON issued its debut album Shifting Skin on Epic Records. A marked departure from Failure, ON relied heavily on layered synthesizers and electronic percussion while featuring less of the guitar-driven material Andrews had previously developed with Edwards. Although ON met with limited success, Andrews remained occupied throughout the new decade, producing and mixing for Creeper Lagoon, Sense Field, and Tenacious D. He also supplied vocals for Air’s 2001 release 10,000 Hz Legend. Andrews’ trajectory—from another post-grunge songwriter in a largely unremarkable band to a respected rock artist, sought-after producer, engineer, mixer, and musician—reflects his intelligence, skill, and dedication to recording rock music at the highest standard. ~ Vincent Jeffries
Albums
