Andrew Joslyn

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Andrew Joslyn is an American composer, orchestrator,[1] film scorer,[2] and violinist in various genres.

Early life and education[edit]

Joslyn was born in Pomona, California, but moved to Washington with his family when he was three and grew up on Bainbridge Island. His father is a family therapist and his mother is a Hungarian model, actress and artist. She came to the United States after the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.[3] Joslyn was raised as a Zen Buddhist from an early age, and both his parents run the Entsuan Zen[4] center on Bainbridge. His half-brother, Chris Kattan, is a comedian who was famous for his work on and off Saturday Night Live in the period 1996–2003.[3][5][6]

Joslyn began studying violin at the age of five, with the Suzuki string method, and grew up studying music composition and performance.[7] Joslyn attended Bainbridge High School, graduating in 2001[8] and received his B.A. in English literature and violin performance from Western Washington University in 2005[9] and his master's certificate in music business from the Berklee College of Music in Boston.[10] While in college, he took part in studying contemporary music, ranging from rock, folk, fiddle, world, to hip-hop, film, and electronic musical genres.[7]

Musical career[edit]

Andrew Joslyn began his professional career in music when he toured and wrote with the Pacific Northwest folk rock band Handful of Luvin’ from 2002 to 2010.[11] After the release of their third album Life in Between, he left the band and started his own career as an orchestrator and composer.[12][13][14]

In 2008, Joslyn began collaborating with Macklemore & Ryan Lewis on the Vs. EP, the Vs. Redux EP, and the chart-topping album The Heist.[15] He co-wrote the tracks "Neon Cathedral" and also "Wings", which was used for commercials involving the 2013 NBA All-Star Game.[16][17] Joslyn worked with some other known musicians, including: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis,[8] David Bazan[18] (Pedro the Lion),[19][20][21] Allen Stone,[22][23] Ivan & Alyosha,[24] Mark Lanegan,[25] Grieves and Budo (Rhymesayers).[26]

Joslyn composed and arranged extensively for the Seattle Rock Orchestra,[27][28] He leads the Passenger String Quartet,[29][30][31] which has backed artists including Duff McKagan,[32][33] Suzanne Vega,[34] Daniel Bernard Roumain,[35] folk legend Judy Collins,[36][37] and DJ Spooky.[38]

In early 2013, Joslyn was hired to arrange strings and brass for American alternative rock icon Mark Lanegan for Imitations (album). In March 2013, Joslyn arranged strings for Duff McKagan's film documentary, "It's So Easy and Other Lies", based on McKagan's book of the same title. The Passenger Quartet played the arrangements live at the Moore Theatre in Seattle along with McKagan and his band. In 2014, Joslyn collaborated with Seattle indie-rocker David Bazan to write the album: David Bazan and the Passenger String Quartet: Volume 1. Bazan and Joslyn toured the album nationally at the end of 2014.[39][40]

Joslyn has performed live on TV with Mary Lambert on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on January 10, 2014,[41] Macklemore & Ryan Lewis at the 56th Grammy Awards on January 26, 2014,[42] and with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis at the 2015 American Music Awards where they debuted the emotional new song "Kevin", which Joslyn helped co-write[43] In late 2016, he began scoring music for the true crime series Casefile True Crime Podcast.[44]

In October 2016, Joslyn released the lead single of his solo record, "Plastic Heaven," and it was premiered both by Atwood Magazine, and Afropunk publications.[45][46] In February 2017, Joslyn released his debut orchestral solo record, "Awake at the Bottom of the Ocean." The record is a stunning collection of genre bending, Orchestral Pop music and features Joslyn's songwriting and arrangements along with the vocals of some of the most iconic Northwest musicians and beyond, including Mark Lanegan (Queens of the Stone Age), Shelby Earl, Adra Boo (Fly Moon Royalty), Will Jordan, Billy McCarthy (Augustines), Eric Anderson (Cataldo) and Susy Sun. Early features in Paste, Afro-Punk, City Arts, Yahoo Music, The Seattle Weekly and support from Seattle's taste-maker, KEXP, paved the way for a very successful first release. Paste Magazine gave the record a 9/10 rating.[47][48] The record was in the top 50 records on KEXP's variety charts, and top 3 of the Northwest charts.[49]

In 2016, Joslyn was brought in to help co-write the song, "Praying" for American singer Kesha, and produced by Ryan Lewis. After its release "Praying" received universal acclaim from music critics, who praised Kesha's vocals while calling the song powerful and noting it as a departure from her previous efforts. Commentators offered conflicting interpretations of the song's message; some felt that "Praying" was about forgiveness, while others thought that Kesha displayed anger on the track. Commercially, "Praying" reached number six in Australia as well as the top 20 in Canada, Hungary and Scotland, and the top 30 in Ireland, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It was also certified at least Platinum in the latter, Australia and Canada. "Praying" was nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards.[50]

Joslyn is also a film composer, and scored several feature films throughout his career. In 2017, composed an original score for his first feature-length film, "American Violence", starring Denise Richards, Bruce Dern, and Kaiwi Lyman-Mersereau.[51] Shortly thereafter, he composed the original score for the American Western film "Hickok," based on the exploits of Wild Bill Hickok in the small town of Abilene, starring Luke Helmsworth and Trace Adkins. In 2019 he scored the horror film "Soviet Sleep Experiment" starring Chris Kattan, and the drama film "Lumber Baron" about the American lumber industry at the turn of the century.[52]

In 2019 he won 2 BMI Pop Awards and 1 BMI Hip Hop Award for his co-writing the songs "Praying" and "Good Old Days".[53]

In addition to his professional career, Joslyn is also an avid advocate for the arts, and in 2021 was appointed co-chair of National Advocacy of the Recording Academy.[54]

Discography[edit]

He is listed as songwriter/composer on nearly four hundred recordings in the BMI database.[55]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "V. Contreras Shows Her Soft Side" Archived 2016-01-27 at the Wayback Machine. Seattle Weekly News, By Keegan Prosser, May 20, 2014
  2. ^ "Andrew Joslyn". IMDb. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
  3. ^ a b "History & Biographies of the Christmas in the Country Venue Hosts". christmasinthecountry.info. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
  4. ^ "Welcome to EntsuAn – Entsuan Zen". Entsuan Zen. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
  5. ^ "Andrew Joslyn To Debut New Composition With Seattle Rock Orchestra". Miss A® | Charity Meets™ Style. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
  6. ^ "Composer & Film Scorer Andrew Joslyn (Grammy Nominee)". BlogTalkRadio. 4 May 2013. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
  7. ^ a b "Andrew Joslyn: The Strings Behind the Seattle Music Scene". Inside Right Wrist.
  8. ^ a b "Bainbridge musician makes good: Violinist Andrew Joslyn to perform at Grammys with Macklemore & Ryan Lewis". Bainbridge Island Review. January 26, 2014.
  9. ^ "A conversation with Andrew Joslyn". The Herald. 13 March 2015.
  10. ^ "The Western Front - Western alumnus performs with Macklemore". Archived from the original on 2014-09-01. Retrieved 2013-12-10.
  11. ^ "ROCKWiRED RADiO PROFiLES PRESENTS: SEATTLE-BASED AMERiCANA BAND HANDFUL OF LUViN'AND THEiR LATEST ALBUM LiFE iN BETWEEN". www.rockwired.com.
  12. ^ "After Macklemore Tour, Andrew Joslyn '12 Back to Berklee Online | Berklee College of Music". www.berklee.edu. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
  13. ^ "Andrew Joslyn: The Strings Behind the Seattle Music Scene • Inside Right Wrist – We Love Music". www.insiderightwrist.com. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
  14. ^ "A conversation with Andrew Joslyn – HeraldNet.com". The Daily Herald. 13 March 2015. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
  15. ^ "Andrew Joslyn – Another Great Talent From Seattle | Loads of Music". www.loadsofmusic.com. August 13, 2014.
  16. ^ "Northwest music project culminates in rockin’, hip-hoppin’, swingin’ singles party". News Tribune. April 24, 2015
  17. ^ "After Macklemore Tour, Andrew Joslyn '12 Back to Berklee Online". Berklee College of Music.
  18. ^ "Three New Albums to Listen to This Fall". Seattle Magazine. 2014-10-23. Retrieved 2021-06-07.
  19. ^ "David Bazan re-recorded Pedro the Lion/Headphones". BrooklynVegan. 11 June 2014.
  20. ^ "Joslyn and Sun to perform fire damage fundraising concert". Bainbridge Island Review. 27 February 2015.
  21. ^ "David Bazan Gives Pedro the Lion an Orchestral Makeover for New Album". Exclaim!.
  22. ^ "Live This Weekend: Kithkin, Odesza, NRBQ Tribute, Stephen Malkmus, and More!". Seattle Weekly. Archived from the original on 2014-05-18. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
  23. ^ "Evolution of Allen Stone launches at The Triple Door". Seattle Music Insider. 16 April 2015.
  24. ^ "Ivan & Alyosha with Passenger String Quartet, Motopony & Big Sur at the Neptune". SSG Music. 29 August 2012.
  25. ^ "Mark Lanegan Strings Attached". Exclaim!.
  26. ^ The London Film Review Short Film Review: The Roar Archived 2014-09-01 at archive.today The London Film Review
  27. ^ "Seattle Rock Orchestra Throws on the Glam Rock Glitter this Weekend". The SunBreak. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
  28. ^ "Seattle Rock Orchestra". Seattle Rock Orchestra. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
  29. ^ "Seattle Rock Orchestra Throws on the Glam Rock Glitter this Weekend". The Sun Break.
  30. ^ "CD Review: Vaudeville Etiquette – Debutantes & Dealers". Archived from the original on 2014-07-17. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
  31. ^ "Evolution of Allen Stone launches at The Triple Door (MCP Video and Photos)". Seattle Music Insider. By Robin Fairbanks on April 15, 2015 Archived July 14, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  32. ^ "V. Contreras offers sultry mix of pop, rock and soul". The Seattle Times.
  33. ^ "V. Contreras Shows Her Soft Side". Seattle Weekly. Archived from the original on 2016-01-27. Retrieved 2015-09-16.
  34. ^ "A Fiendish Conversation with Andrew Joslyn". Seattle Metropolitan.
  35. ^ "STG Presents More Music At The Moore". Broadwayworld.com.
  36. ^ "Exit133 – Judy Collins with Passenger String Quartet". www.exit133.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
  37. ^ "Judy Collins, The Passenger String Quartet". L.A. Weekly. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
  38. ^ "Review: David Bazan and Passenger String Quartet at The Grey Eagle". Mountain Xpress. 27 October 2014.
  39. ^ "David Bazan + Passenger String Quartet Album & Tour! | BAZAN". www.davidbazan.com. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
  40. ^ "David Bazan on The Morning Mix". 91.3FM WYEP. Archived from the original on 2015-09-07. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
  41. ^ "Mary Lambert – The Tonight Show with Jay Leno". dailybuzz.mediamaxonline.com. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
  42. ^ "Bainbridge musician makes good: Violinist Andrew Joslyn to perform at Grammys with Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – Bainbridge Island Review". Bainbridge Island Review. 26 January 2014. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
  43. ^ "Watch Macklemore, Leon Bridges Debut Emotional New Song 'Kevin'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
  44. ^ "casefile". Andrew Joslyn. Retrieved 2020-01-01.
  45. ^ "Premiere: Andrew Joslyn's "Plastic Heaven" Dissects Fame - Atwood Magazine". October 5, 2016.
  46. ^ "VIDEO PREMIERE: Watch Grammy winning composer Andrew Joslyn connect with soul singer Will Jordan for elegant orchestral visual for "Plastic Heaven"". AFROPUNK. October 24, 2016.
  47. ^ "ALBUM RELEASE from Seattle's Andrew Joslyn is much needed about now". pastemagazine.com. February 10, 2017.
  48. ^ "Awake At The Bottom Of The Ocean". June 7, 2017 – via Amazon.
  49. ^ "Charts". kexp.org.
  50. ^ Flanagan, Andrew (6 July 2017). "Kesha Shares 'Praying' from Her First Album in Five Years". NPR.
  51. ^ "American Violence (2017) - IMDb" – via www.imdb.com.
  52. ^ "Andrew Joslyn". IMDb.
  53. ^ "Brandy Honored with the BMI President's Award at the 2019 BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Awards". 30 August 2019.
  54. ^ "Andrew Joslyn is New Co-Chair of Recording Academy's National Advocacy Committee". Billboard.
  55. ^ "BMI | Repertoire Search". Archived from the original on 1 September 2014.
  56. ^ "Kesha Shares 'Praying' From Her First Album In Five Years". NPR.org. Retrieved 2017-07-20.
  57. ^ "Awake at the Bottom of the Ocean by Andrew Joslyn" – via music.apple.com.
  58. ^ "Golden Age - Chris Staples | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.
  59. ^ "This Is Your Life - Augustines | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.
  60. ^ a b "Mary Lambert (2)". Discogs. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
  61. ^ a b "Andrew Joslyn". Discogs. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
  62. ^ "Andrew Joslyn | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
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