Andrew Yarovenko – photo by Ariana Dixon
Los Angeles composer/producer Andrew Yarovenko is preparing to release his debut solo LP, Start Somewhere, an evocative instrumental journey through disillusionment in the face of modern manufactured mass culture and the coercive incentives and rituals of American society, due out May 20. While Yarovenko’s compositions don’t shy away from dark tonal shifts and sonic explorations of despair, Start Somewhere is ultimately hopeful—a musical journey through the dissociative crushing weight of modern life that seeks to make space for oneself and find comfort and joy wherever possible.
Today, The Big Takeover is excited to premiere Yarovenko’s latest single, “Forty Visits,” a meditative and heart-wrenching track that explores the impersonal nature of statistics and the realities of human impermanence. “I love music that has some built in contradictions,” says Yarovenko. “A sad song that sounds sad with no hope or joy underneath, or a happy song that’s just happy is boring. It’s just one color. There’s so much more depth when you tuck one thing in another, like a love song with dark edges or a song with depressing themes that presents as danceable and upbeat—some favorite examples of mine are ‘Hey Ya’ by Outkast and ‘Blue Monday’ by New Order. With this piece, I was trying to explore the texture of the contradiction that comes with living a happy life far from home, but missing family and friends and so easily falling into a daily rhythm and letting it all slip by. The song is built around this seductive groove that leads you in one direction, but then the melodies belie something more nostalgic, sadder, darker, and deeper underneath.”
