Q&A: Andrew Garden & Austin Medrano Talk Collaboration and Production in New Singles

PHOTOS BY EMILY ENTZ

Indie artist Andrew Garden has begun releasing new singles that completely transform the way fans have previously known his sound. While maintaining the foundation of his musical identity, he has teamed up with Austin Medrano, a seasoned producer and friend. Together, they’ve turned Andrew’s sound into something reminiscent of Current Joys, indie music that makes you want to jump around and dance. His latest singles, “Are You Still In Love?” and “In My Dream,” combine post-punk, alternative, and indie rock to tell stories of love, anguish and youthfulness.

This new chapter of Garden couldn’t be done without Medrano. Their friendship has proven to be a beneficial factor in each of their creative processes. Andrew shared that Medrano’s studio space is free from judgment, a space where he can experiment and take his vocals to new levels, which can be heard in his new releases. Medrano was beaming while discussing their work together. He admitted that this is the type of music that he has wanted to make for a long time, and is very happy with the direction they’re heading together.

Pleaser sat down with both Garden and Medrano at Medrano’s home studio to take a further look into their creative process as artists and producers, what this new chapter means to them and more. 

Pleaser: Just for some background context, how long have you guys been making music together? I know it’s been longer than just these three songs.

Andrew Garden: We’ve known each other for two years. We met at a party, but it wasn’t until last summer that we started making music together and knew we just needed to lock in. 

Austin Medrano: Yeah, I do remember that first song. Honestly, it’s maybe one of my best instrumentals ever. I know we didn’t use it, but I’m so proud of that little thing.

AG: When we first started working on music together, I was pretty new to collaborating with people, because I used to just make songs on YouTube, like beats in my room, so I wasn’t really used to working with other people. I didn't have as much confidence to try different things with my voice, and the stuff that we're putting out now, I’m projecting more and pushing my vocals. I think that now, if we dug up that beat, I could approach it differently.

In this new chapter of your music, you guys have been exclusively working together. How else has working together changed the way you approach music?

AG: The biggest thing is consistency of knowing that if I go into work on a song, and maybe we have a day where it's not the best session or song, I know that I'll be able to come in a couple of days later and just try again. That builds trust. That helped me to become more confident, and I think working with Austin has helped me to return to my roots of when I started making music as Andrew Garden.

AM: For a while, I was stuck trying to work with as many artists as I could. And I think at the end of the day, I return to the style of world-building with someone, and really digging deep with one person is way more valuable than jumping around and doing a bunch of different projects that don't fill the void and don’t fulfill me, because I almost don't even feel like a part of the process. Working with Andrew has made me value a singular thing to work on, and I revisit that because I get insecure about whether I am doing enough or working hard enough. Putting all my time and energy into one project means more than anything.

Would you say that making music is better when there’s friendship and connection at the root of it? People make good music all the time with strangers, but how does it translate in your music now?

AG: I think that the fact that I already had some familiarity with him was helpful, but even before we had really started working together, we also played a show together last year, which was helpful because we really kicked it more often. Having that friendship and that trust is huge. All of the old songs that I made before moving to LA were made with someone whom I had never met before; they were literally just instrumental. I would download and bring them into my software and then record over them, so it was very impersonal. This is a totally different process. 

PHOTOS BY EMILY ENTZ

What artists or sounds have been some of the key inspirations for the recent releases?

AG: I think it's more of an energy we're trying to capture. It definitely revolves around more of a surfy or post-punk kind of vibe. The goal is to find different ways to progress without it feeling like you’re copying and pasting the same idea. I think that the way we've been able to do that is by drawing from different songs. Maybe it’s a song that came out 30 years ago, or a song that is very new by a cool artist I like. 

AM: I feel like there was a breakthrough one day. I think it was a Day Wave song that started it.

AG: That’s definitely how we got into making “Dance With U.” That was the first song we made that was inspired by that sound; it was the first one where we felt we were really onto something.

AM: I’ve always wanted to make music like this for myself, but [Andrew] just has the voice for it, so I was excited that I was able to fulfill that.

You guys have made a lot of songs together over the past eight months, and many of them are still unreleased. In those first couple of weeks, though, a handful of songs were made in such a short amount of time. What did that look like?

AM: I just decided to cook quickly because I was so inspired.

AG: There was a really big wave of inspiration when we started, but we were also just really consistent, and I still feel like that was the peak period for this project.

The goal now is, just as we've been continuing to work on stuff, is trying to elevate the original sound and try to find ways to be more creative with it. It’s really cool knowing that if we go in and work a few times during the week, we'll come away with at least one really good song. The more you do that, the better you get every time, and you just keep making better and better stuff. 

AM: That’s also a slippery slope, though, because I do appreciate coming in with a clear mind to avoid burning out. This all ties back to what you're saying about bringing elements from other music that you're inspired by. I think rather than having the goal of always being better, I think regardless of what you make, it’s gonna do well. As long as you're doing something that's authentically yourself, you're pushing your own needle forward. Once we start doing shit for the wrong reasons, then that's when the music will be the same over and over again.

Which song has been the most enjoyable to make?

AG: For me, it was probably “Be My Girl,” just because we made it so fast, and it came out in one fell swoop, which was really fun. 

AM: That riff is so fun, and the vocal melody is so good. Not to glaze you.

I feel like your songs are made for the modern yearner. Are you a yearner?

AG: A lot of those songs are not even necessarily always inspired by something in the exact moment that's happening to me, but it's more just emotions that I've experienced in the past. I think that goes along with the vibe that we're, a lot of time, trying to capture, pretty angsty or emotional. That is something that comes from my real-life experiences. That music in general is about like, you're not, usually, you're not going to really resonate with the song. Every person who's creative or makes music has their own approach, and I definitely express myself more in that kind of angsty, yearning kind of vibe, for sure. 

Austin, for you as a producer, what about this project has been the most surprising or refreshing for you?

AM: Honestly, just working with someone who’s good at writing. The vocal melodies are great. If I’m being real, when we first did it, and we were recording, I had never really recorded “yelling” vocals before, so I was pretty like, “Whoa” at first, but then it just fit. Like PB and J.

When I was working on Mickey Darling stuff previously, I was doing upbeat stuff, which was the bread and butter, and making this style has already worked for me in the past, so I just decided to give it my all with this upbeat style with him. It’s a different style, of course, but I appreciate the vein that it’s in. I listened to The Drums in middle school, and they were the beam of light for this sound. It just makes me want to dance. Overall, it’s just interesting music. It’s inspiring. I want to listen to it, and that’s what matters to me above all else. This is one of those moments where you’re reminded that these are the good days. It's almost euphoric in a way; you unlock it every time you open up a session, and you just try to make music. It had been a while since I had that feeling organically. 

What do you want people to know about these new songs?

AG: This is the most music I've ever made within eight months. We've really been working consistently. That's really exciting to me, to have so much music to share with people. As we start releasing more stuff, I'm really excited to see what resonates with people the most. For the people who enjoy the music, there's a lot more on the way. There will be a lot more collaboration with us. During 2024 and even last year, I felt like I didn't have as much music to put out, and I wasn't inspired, but since we started working together, that has not been an issue at all. I feel very motivated, so I'm excited to share that with people.