I'm a composer, songwriter, producer, musician and studio engineer, with extensive experience of bringing out the best in artists in a studio environment, and bringing a commercial to life.
I have a number of projects on the go. "Dictaphonique" is my current focus in serious composition, but I'm not above getting dirty and venturing out into commercial music and pop...
Music Composition & Production Showreel: Andy Sherman
Direct Link: http://vimeo.com/19791337
From sophisticated audio branding to jingles; from television soap operas to cinema surround sound - I look for the elusive balance between the underground and the general public, keeping the cool kids happy, but still making the music approachable and sellable.
These are some examples of music that I've composed for commercials:
Here are some examples of music that I have composed for TV and Casino use (Themes, sound design, and in-house adio branding):
Fiat Palio "It's Mine"
(Co-produced with Francois van der Merwe & James Macdonald)
Honda "Honda"
(Co-produced with Francois van der Merwe & James Macdonald)
Talking Yellow Pages "Traffic Cop"
(Recorded & Mixed by Andy Sherman)
Vered "Vered Estates"
(Co-produced with Francois van der Merwe & James Macdonald)
Vespa "Opera Campaign"
(Co-produced with Francois van der Merwe & James Macdonald)
Riding With Sugar "Scoring/Themes"
(Co-produced with Francois van der Merwe & James Macdonald)
The Tooth Fairy "Themes"
(Co-produced with Francois van der Merwe & James Macdonald)
From underground hip-hop to electronica to gospel to country to pop to folk to post-classical avant-garde to rock to Number 1 hits - the studio is my second home.
I also very much enjoy the composition and song-writing process, and I combine my studio engineering knowledge with my production approach.
I've written and produced many radio hits, including number 1's on mainstream radio ("And I Wait", "DNA", A New Day", "Crowning You" and other songs by One80 all went to the Top 10 of the charts, some of them number 1, as well as "Flame in the Darkness" & "Test Me" from Draco's album).
My knowledge of contemporary music production and engineering techniques ensures that I am well equipped to be able to take a musical project from the initial concept right through to broadcast:
Here are some examples of music that I've produced:
Press Release: Uncorp Records
Contemporary composer Andrew John Sherman has a long-standing fascination with noise, and the digital manipulation thereof. His latest venture, titled "Dictaphonique", consists of musical works composed exclusively of Dictaphone-originated sounds - converted from their humble analogue beginnings into an ultra-high definition digital environment.
From there the sounds are cut up, re-assembled, processed, synthesised, sampled, effected and generally used (and abused) to provide the raw material for this compositional project. Far from being an excuse for some post-modern noise experimentation falsely labelled as serious music, Dictaphonique is an exploration, yes, but also a destination - everyday noise elevated to the level of sublime discord and harmony. Andrew John Sherman stands surveying the urban condition, with mixed feelings, and conducts it at will in a fantastical world of infinite possibility.
Conceptually the project originated in 2006, between the composer and his brother, Martin Sherman. Armed with a Dictaphone and three sixty minute cassette tapes, Martin ventured into the urban metropolis of present-day Johannesburg, recording snippets of everything and anything - capturing noise: from private conversations to public road-works, from other people's music and their father's piano playing to the indifferent tones of industrial noise. Thus gathered, the 'raw material' or 'captured noise' was put into the hands of older brother Andrew John Sherman, to be taken and transformed within the digital realm. This compositional process of 'noise rearrangement' is still underway - however certain 'audio sketches' are currently available: studies and explorations in the process of rendering the final work.
For those who are, in listening to these (sound sketches), convinced that certain sounds can be recognised in the music - be assured; their origin lies exclusively in the recorded sound of the supplied Dictaphone tapes. Audio material has been put through no small amount of trauma to arrive in a state often far removed from its original condition; other-times being more distinctly recognisable. The act of recording specific noises and sounds, by Martin Sherman, gave the composer a fixed palette from which to work, and in certain cases provided an inspirational starting point for the themes.
Ultimately, it has been (and is) the goal of the composer to remove the captured noise from its sometimes banal origin; to move the listener through newly created worlds of beauty and destruction; to find rest and holy silence in the cacophony of life.
Listen to work in progress from Dictaphonique:
Goldfish "Cruising Through"
(Sherman's Summer Luv Remix)
Produced by Andy Sherman for a BPM Competition