Stereo Six: Rocktronica Artist FEYER Offers His Thoughts on Six Must-Have Records

Singer, songwriter, composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Feyer joins us for a new edition of Stereo Six, a feature where he offers the five records (plus one curveball) that helped shape his most recent album, Signals Internalized. Feyer, or Andrew Feyer, is what you would call a “genre-bender.” Never afraid to draw from his wide-ranging musical experiences and tastes, he creates his own style by combining theatrical and personal lyrics with a classical approach, mixed with electronic rock production.

Born in New York City and raised in the nearby suburbs, Feyer got interested in music by playing guitar, writings songs and jamming with bands. But there’s more to Feyer than just messing around in basements and living rooms learning how to play. This artist has a classical style and approach that comes from his education at upstate New York’s Bard College, where he learned music composition and production. This has all led him to his 2017 debut release, Signals Internalized, a much-needed change of pace from your regular radio rock.

The Signals Internalized album was released on February 10, 2017.

01. Queen – Greatest Hits (The Platinum Collection) (2000, Hollywood, Parlophone)
– Ah, Queen. Out of the many bands to choose from, Queen would have to be my favorite. Freddie Mercury is a huge musical idol to me, and I’ve tried to adopt some of his stage mannerisms, since every time he performed, he had the audience in the palm of his hand. What I love most about Queen is their ability to write and perform many different styles of music, and do a great job with all of them.

So, naturally, I couldn’t pick just one of their albums, as each is so different and has so much great material. I figured I should just pick their Greatest Hits, particularly The Platinum Collection, which has the best of Queen’s very diverse catalog from their twenty years with Freddie.

02. Pink Floyd – The Wall (1979, Harvest, Columbia)
– One of the most famous and most ambitious albums of all time, The Wall routinely tops lists for albums considered the best, and it’s easy to see why. The antithesis of three-minute catchy pop songs designed for the radio, The Wall was my first exposure to the concept of a “rock opera.”

Before hearing this album, I had never listened to a lengthy album consisting of only one unifying story. However, the story of an alienated rock star who slowly delves into insanity felt incredibly impactful on my own music, and was a good guide for how to take a simple, relatable concept and turn it into a full-fledged spectacle, complete with marching hammers!

03. The Police – Synchronicity (1983, A&M)
– The Police’s final album before disbanding, Synchronicity is an album I never get tired of. Although I dig The Police’s early reggae-punk music, I sonically prefer Synchronicity. It’s a huge musical departure for them, one where they begin to incorporate even more styles from other parts of the world (not to mention those beloved ‘80s synthesizers).

While many listeners have viewed the album as pompous, especially because Sting had pretty much taken complete creative control of the band’s music at that point, I don’t mind, because it just sounds purely great. For something that came out in the early ‘80s, the production quality makes it sound as if it could have been recorded yesterday. All in all, this album is timeless.

04. Grimes – Art Angels (2015, 4AD)
– Grimes is an anomaly. A one-woman powerhouse, she has a knack for doing it all herself. Her message is clear: do your own thing. It’s very hard to pinpoint what genre she is, and that’s why her music speaks to me; neither of us wants to limit ourselves to doing just one thing. Grimes has an incredible drive and intelligence that I admire and is entirely self-taught.

Her latest album, Art Angels, kicks up the production factor from her lo-fi days and incorporates many different styles, including hip-hop, dance, and even contemporary classical. It shows that no matter what kind of music Grimes is making, people will listen to it if it is good.

05. Tame Impala – Currents (2015, Modular/Universal, Fiction, Interscope)
– Currents was my first exposure to Tame Impala’s music. I had always seen their name floating around but had never actually listened to them until “The Less I Know the Better” came on the radio. I liked that song so much that I sat down to listen to the whole album, and what a fantastic album it was. The perfect mix of pop, rock, psychedelic and experimental, I could really tell how much time and effort Kevin Parker spent in the studio, perfecting every last sound and note.

Currents is something that can bridge the gap between a mainstream and indie audience, something I attempt to do (believe me, it’s not easy!). Nevertheless, the album was critically acclaimed and had every reason to be.

06. [Curveball Answer] Gustav Holst – The Planets (1918)
– Technically not an album, but a classical suite, The Planets was one of the first classical pieces I grew to love. At the time, I was very into astronomy, and what better way to accompany my interests than a musical piece that represents each of the planets in our solar system? This piece sparked my interest in film scoring, as it inspired the works of John Williams and Hans Zimmer, the masters of setting imagery and emotion to music.

As with my own music, the concept of picking an object and writing a piece about it has influenced my lyrical topics. I think of each of my songs as a short film, meant to have an effect on multiple senses, not just the ears.

If you like “Wasted Time” as much as we do, then check out this latest video from Feyer!