I met Andrew while we were studying at University of Michigan, but we didn’t really know each other much until later in LA, and there was a nice connection in that he and Corey Fogel had played together in the past. He’s played on my records Loud City Song, Have You In My Wilderness, and now Aviary, which he’s featured on in “Words I Heard”, “I Shall Love 1” and “Colligere”. As I had mentioned with Dina, my violin parts for “Words I Heard” were a bit tricky for various reasons, but his sensitivity to intonation and ability to make everything sound effortless/free/exothermic meant that I think the violins (including Dina’s as well, which was in unison with his) turned out really beautiful and dreamy—recording that song was one of my favorite experiences recording musicians ever to be honest. Also, moments that I always think Andrew contributed so much to are in songs from Wilderness and Loud City Song like “In the Green Wild” and “Feel You” and “Maxim’s 1” (in which one of the many arpeggiating parts he played is extremely fast I dunno how he even did it) —he has quick but graceful flourishes he does that are kind of like celebratory suspensions of the melody, can’t explain well really, but he really helped bring the magic on those songs (along with the cellist Chris Votek who was joining him beautifully in counterpoint, but maybe that’s a whole other blog post soon). “Feel You” wasn’t the same until Cole and I added in some of those Andrew and Chris melodic fragments that fit in between vocal phrases. Andrew is an extraordinary violinist but also a composer, and he frequently works with the LA ensemble “Wild Up”, which I’ve collaborated with as well. -- Julia Holter

Here is a lovely piece of his performed live by Aperture Duo: