Local DJ Gets Into a New Global Groove

Guelph's Andrew McPherson scores an invite to National Geograhic's GeoRemix Project


It's deja vu all over again for Guelph musician producer Andrew McPerson, who's finding new life in some of his older recordings after being included in a world music project by the National Geographic Society.

World Music National Geographic.com is National Geographic's gloval music initiative -- a database of music from around the world, easily found on a single, interactive website (www.worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com). GeoRemix is a 13-track project of never-before available remixes by some of the planet's most progressive world music acts. McPherson has one song on the promotional CD and links to the world music website.

National Geograhic magazine is famous for bringing world issues and stunning photography to people's doorsteps, so a world music project is a natural progression.

"People think world music is like spinach -- it's good for you.," said Tom Pryor, World Music National Geographic.com's editor. "But it's not bland. In fact, this is the most exciting music and we want to expose that side of it."

With the GeoRemix project, you will hear electronic remixes, hip-hop versions, and unprecedented cultural hybrids that help to tell the story of our musical planet."

"I had no idea of this project until six months ago," said McPherson, in an interview in his living room earlier this week, "but really, it makes so much sense. There's so much musical melding going on these days. IF there's anything that's global, it's music."

McPherson is interested in all forms of music and he's proficient on guitar, saxophone, flute, keyboard, bass, percussion, and singing. He's also talented in the tech department and it was that skill that landed him a job on a Los Angeles film project several years ago.

The film was about a music festival in Fiji and he travelled there to record several of the musicians taking part in the festival. This would be the first soundtrack for the film.

"That was a real eyeopener for me." McPherson said, " I went with a laptop computer and came home with more music than I could deal with."

The film project exposed McPherson to musicians from around the globe, who he used for a recording project he named Eccodek, where he takes world music and plays with it on the computer, adding South Pacific rhythms, jazz beats and computer-generated sounds to African and Eastern vocals. Eccodek also has a six-player  posse of live performers who play along. Its first album, "More Africa in Us," was released in 2003 and "Voices Have Eyes," came out last year.

The albums were originally released independently but early this year McPherson signed with the White Swan label. That got him connected with Rock Paper Scissors, a world music public relations company that's also doing publicity for National Geographic.

"They have a massive database of music from around the world.," McPherson said. "I feel good about my records, that we have gently been building momentum. But I have to say, I grateful to be asked to this party."

And a party it is.

Jenifer Shepherd, a publicist with Rock Paper Scissors, said world music is becoming hugely popular, driven, she said, by youth who are looking for different, exotic sounds.

"The younger generation is learning to be more open about all things from other ethnicities and we're seeing those influences in their purchases. So it's natural for artists to want to offer more," she said from her office in Bloomington, Indiana.

"The website is like armchair travelling. You can listen to music from a country you plan to travel to, or from a country you've already visited. Songs travel really well."

When National Geograhic asked Rock Paper Scissors to suggest artists for its project, "I though of Andrew immediately," Shepherd said.

McPherson said it's tough to make a living as a musician and he's learned to diversify -- he does a lot of work for radio and advertising and if you hear his deep, booming voice, it's obvious why. But he also write music and produces CDs for other artists. And the CBC has hired him to do background music on several of its projects.

With the release of "More Africa in Us," in the U.S. this year, he's on a mini-tour this wekk, acting as D.J. as he spins Eccodek recordings at night clubs and dance clubs in Chicago and New York City.

McPherson is a little wary of what this new exposure may bring to his already busy life, but at the same time he's looking forward to "riding the wave and see where it gets me."

"I've been trying to record my next singer-songwriter album for quite a while, but all this other stuff keeps distracting me," he said with a laugh.