Solo Pianist Adam Andrews Unleashes Inventive New Music

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Pianist Adam Andrews, on his second solo album, has created music that captures the experience of going into the wilderness on an overnight spiritual and healing retreat. Known for his vibrant, forceful solo piano playing, and melodic passionate compositions, Andrews hopes his music will inspire listeners to work at solving their problems, to grow mentally and spiritually, and to create better lifestyles.

Whether listeners use this new music as a soundtrack for their own retreat out in nature, or relax at home and enjoy the music as part of their own personal healing and growing process, Andrews made the music to resemble and facilitate a journey toward an improved life. The cover of the album shows Andrews playing a grand piano next to a large group of waterfalls tumbling off pristine mountaintops. Andrews lives in Colorado at the foot of the Rocky Mountains near the world-famous Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods Park.

More information on Adam Andrews is available at his website (adamandrewsmusic dot com). His CDs and digital download tracks are available at online sales sites such as CDbaby, Amazon, iTunes and many others.

Previously Andrews was a member of the folk-pop group Cede which released four albums, actively toured North America (and as far away as Bulgaria), and performed regularly in front of audiences of 5, 000-to-7, 000 people.

Then Andrews released his first solo album, Road to Ambo, in 2014. "It was inspired by my family's journey to adopt our son from Ambo in Ethiopia; the love I have for my family; and my dreams of justice and relief for those who are suffering." The recording received airplay on hundreds of radio stations around the world and went Top 10 on the international Top 100 Zone Music Reporter Chart (the main chart for new age and modern classical music). Andrews was named one of the Top 5 "Best New Artists of the Year" by the ZMR radio programmers. In addition, the album was added to Pandora and the prestigious Whisperings Piano Radio Channel, and it went to #1 on the Enlightened Piano Radio Chart. It also received a nomination for "Best Solo Piano Album" from the One World Music Awards, and was named one of the Top 10 "Albums of the Year" by Audiosyncracy Radio.

Now Andrews returns with his second album of original solo piano music, A Thousand Springs. "The first four tunes are about enjoying nature and exploring your inner self, unwinding from city-life and our day-to-day stresses. The next four pieces reflect the time you take to relax, heal, reassess and map out positive steps forward. And if you were on an overnight campout, you would be sitting around a campfire and meditating about your life. The last group of four compositions represent cleaning up the campsite, leaving nature or the retreat, and moving back into society, but now facing the world rejuvenated and with a plan for improvement, " he explains.

"Each song is based on common life experiences that we go through or emotions that we often feel. It is so important to have hope in our lives, and eventual healing. I want the music to serve as a source of encouragement. It also is necessary to stop sometimes and celebrate the small and large victories.

"The first tune is the same title as the album, 'A Thousand Springs, ' because I envisioned springs of water as the source of life, offering a nurturing, sustaining environment for growth. When a springs becomes a stream it sometimes cascades down and becomes a falls, so the next piece is 'Authenticity Falls, ' which reminds us to be true to who we are. With 'Finding Free' I am suggesting that the listener be creative with an open heart and mind. Inside yourself is one place you can find true freedom. It is easy to get caught up in the daily grind and stress out, so I wrote 'Just Gotta Be' to remind us that we don't always have to do something, but sometimes we can just be in the moment and relax."

The second section of the album begins with "Night Embers" which connotes a time of thought and reflection around a warm fire. "It also is about forgiveness and letting go, and not letting the spark from an ember roar back to a blaze of rage or pain." "Every Dark Tear" is Andrews' suggestion to take time to grieve along the way. "Surrounding Hollow" has a double-meaning - a concave area of landscape in nature as well as an empty feeling inside which can heal when surrounded by love and caring. Regarding "A New Dawn Rising, " Andrews says, "Each day brings new opportunities. People need new visions to be inspired to continue on."

The last third of the album continues with thoughts of moving forward. "Water Over Ashes" literally describes putting the campfire out, but in a broader sense it symbolizes leaving the old places behind and starting out on a new path. "Not Lost On Us" suggests it is healthy to "put ourselves aside, have empathy for others and do something to help other people." Regarding the track "Believe, " Andrews says, "I wanted to do music about remaining positive in life because there is always hope, even though it can be difficult to take a step of faith." The recording ends with "Foundation Falls." "Now that we have a solid foundation in place, it is time to blaze some new trails, to move forward while staying true to our vision."

Andrews, who now lives in Colorado Springs, grew up in Denver, Colorado, with a mother who studied music in college and often sang to him when he was a small child. At age seven he began taking classical piano lessons from two progressive teachers that encouraged students to compose their own pieces for recital performances; included jazz, boogie-woogie and improvisation in the curriculum; and even jammed with their students. Adam studied Vivaldi, Scarlatti, Chopin, Beethoven and Tchaikovsky. Adam memorized Joseph Haydn's "Concerto in C-Major" at age ten and the following year did the same with Haydn's "Concerto in D-Major" which he performed in concert in front of a large crowd.

During high school his interest in classical music waned as he became involved in playing sports and listening to rock'n'roll (U2, Tom Petty, Def Leppard, Nirvana, Joe Satriani). Andrews graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration, but soon began to play the piano more actively again. He founded the band Cede with a singer and two acoustic guitarists and later they added a bass player and drummer. At first they played contemporary Christian worship music, but soon began composing their own material. Their popularity performing for youth groups led to them being hired for a lengthy tour of parent-teen conferences in large churches, auditoriums and arenas all over the country plus trips to Canada. In five years the band recorded and released four successful folk-pop Christian-music albums of original material - The Roots, Surrender, To You and Carried Away. Andrews composed some of the band's material, and on the last album he wrote and performed two solo piano tunes. The group performed at conferences headlined by Michael W. Smith; played in a Denver sports arena on the same bill with Steven Curtis Chapman and Delirious; opened other shows for Waterdeep and Cindy Morgan; and handled the music for a praise-and-worship service where they performed with Mitch McVicker. Cede also performed in front of a large audience at the Alamo Dome stadium in Texas, and in Bulgaria where they were televised nationally.

After leaving Cede, Andrews continued composing and occasionally performing for church services, worship groups and conferences. He also established a successful career as a Senior Director at a major non-profit ministry where he contributed to the launch of an orphan care ministry and helped shape international ministries to families. Andrews says he has been influenced musically in recent years by pop groups such as U2, Mumford & Sons and Needtobreathe as well as new age pianists such as Jim Brickman and Ludovico Einaudi.

According to Andrews, “This album, A Thousand Springs, is simply intended to be a source of encouragement for all. Each tune has a specific focus about a universal emotion often experienced along the journey to healing and inspiration.”

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