Robohands – Shapes

I think it’s safe to say that if Robohands isn’t somewhere in your musical rotation then you’ve been living under a rock or haven’t been following us here at Nostalgia King. Now that your attention has been had, Is there a better way to make the introduction of the upcoming album from composer Robohands!?

“Andy Baxter, aka Robohands, follows up his debut LP ‘Green’ and sophomore release, ‘Dusk,’ with his KingUnderground debut, which comprehensively displays all of the composer’s instrumental and production skills.”

“I wanted to do a more focused record after releasing Green and Dusk. I was inspired by a lot of library records with big arrangements and wanted to do something kind of reminiscent of those old recordings but with some modern drum parts. I also wanted to take some more time with this record as everything I’ve done up to this point has been quite time-constrained.” – Robohands

‘Shapes’, the third album from the London-based instrumentalist-composer-producer-extraordinaire, was initially planned to be recorded in full at Buffalo Studios with producer JP Pilon in Limehouse, London. While much of the record, including all of the drumming, was completed there, the COVID-19 pandemic forced Baxter to get creative and flex his talents as an engineer. Baxter, who has become obsessed with gear and the technical side of the creative process, just as much as with being a well-versed composer and musician, was able to finish the remainder of the record at his flat in London.

“Luckily I had been collecting some mics over the last few years and had a couple of old preamps lying around so when everything shut down I could still work on the tracks at home,” he says, speaking about the recording process.

“My favourite thing has always been to find really weird, inexpensive bits and pieces and figure out different ways to use them. But you can have too much stuff, and obsess over gear to the extent that you never actually make any music which is the whole point of playing.”

The artist’s first release as a part of the KingUnderground collective is inspired by 1970’s library music and its legendary composers, including Piero Umilani, David Axelrod, Brian Bennet and co.

The fresh take on the genre mixes vintage and modern, both with instruments and production techniques, and incorporates contemporary jazz and hip hop drumming styles. Ultimately, there is a seamlessness captured throughout the record, which is a direct reflection of some of the albums that most influenced Andy.

“I like it because there are some genuinely brilliant albums out there that were put together really quickly just to be used commercially. A lot of the session players were jazz musicians with great feel so the end product was often this amazing music with added string and horn sections on top and big drum sounds,” Baxter says.

Available over at https://kingunderground.com/robohands-shapes-vinyl/