In this interview spotlight, I chat with Andrew Goldring about his latest release, motivations, challenges and more.

Full Q&A along with links and music below.

We have supported Andrew before. Find our previous feature article here.

Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)

I’m thankful to be from one of the most beautiful cities in the western states, Salt Lake City, Utah. My music has been described lately as a mix of psychedelic rock & singer songwriter/americana. I try to maintain a lyric & melody centric approach to my songs, while experimenting with atmospheric sounds and creative recording ideas to keep it interesting and push it out of the typical singer-songwriter realm.

What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?

Music has been a huge part of my life since I was young. I grew up in a musical family, and I recognized at an early age that it was my favorite thing. As soon as I learned to read & write as a kid I started writing songs, and when I learned to play guitar that’s when it really started to take root.

I create music because it’s like a second language to me. I think in some ways its the most powerful universal language we have. Songs have a lot of power, and they help us find meaning in day to day experiences. I just connect with it more than any other art form I guess, and I need it to fully express myself. In my adult life it’s really been a source of community & friendship for me, and I’ll continue to make music no matter the cost cause my existence just feels meaningless without it.

How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?

For the last couple of years I’ve been releasing music as a solo artist, after being the frontman of a couple rock bands from my late teens to early 20’s. During that time I never really took a second to slow down. Now that I’m a little older and doing this solo thing I’ve been trying out a lot of new ideas and working on discovering what “my sound” actually is. Trying to find some kind of definitive vibe that I can grow into and then branch out from for the rest of my music making journey. I feel like one of the best ways to explore that in the current climate has been to release singles. The new single “Lost in the Motion” is a recent song that came to me very naturally. I could feel it taking me to the next step of my journey, so I picked it to be the first release from the new batch of songs that I have brewing.

Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this oversaturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?

I think the biggest challenge is just keeping up. Making great music & getting people to actually listen to your music are unfortunately two very separate processes right now. It’s easy to get too focused on one part over the other. It can be overwhelming trying to master each skillset.

There’s so much technology happening and so many great tools available for musicians right now. Everything changes rapidly and it seems like a lot of the tools we use go through a complete overhaul every 2 to 5 years. If you’re not constantly reading and learning – not to mention creating & releasing content, it’s hard to feel like you have a voice. It’s definitely oversaturated.

That being said, technology has helped me a lot! I think its amazing that from my laptop I can make connections with bloggers, journalists, talent buyers & more. The resources of the music industry are no longer limited to an elite group of people. I’m also a recording engineer and & I have a studio in my house. I can produce a song, get it mixed & mastered, and release it into the world very efficiently and affordably. None of these things were possible before the internet.

Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?

If you dig my stuff the best way to keep in touch is by joining my email list! My website is http://andrewgoldring.com, and there’s a sign up form on there so you can get my monthly newsletter.

I’m active on Facebook, Instagram & Spotify so you can follow me there as well!

Anything else before we sign off?

Thanks for the interview! And thanks to anyone who’s taking the time to listen to my song & read this. Much Love.