Another is Doug McGillivray, a musician and producer from Chicago. His music is a rhythmic, tribal, intimate and dance-able. I spoke with him about his origins as a musician and the production of his latest album Since June.How did you get into music in general?
I believe my Mom really influenced me to create music. One of my earliest memories in life is of my mom blasting Paul Simon throughout the house and us dancing along ridiculously. I must have been about two to three years old during this time, I actually think we have a vhs tape of me dancing along to Paul one night… which is pretty comical. Maybe I could find that and use it for a music video somewhere along the line. After all that, my mother was also the one who influenced me to take guitar lessons for eight years of my life. There are tons of things that have really influenced me in life, but when it comes down to it all I would have to say it all started at home.
Who are some of the artists that your parents listened to that have stuck with you?
That’s a very cool question, obviously family plays a big part in passing down music. Paul Simon is the first musician that always comes to mind. My house was always filled with Bob Marley, Marvin Gaye, and classic Motown artists were very prominent as well. It always comes back to Paul Simon though, he was definitely the most influential.
Who have been some artists that have influenced you in your own music making?
I think most of my musical influence today comes from my friends. I listen to music made by friends more than anything else. Besides that, I am really influenced by older RnB and pop stars such as Alexander O’Neal, Michael Jackson, and Tatsuro Yamashita. I am very production based though, so I do still keep up with a lot of producers today. I have really been into the whole 2-step/UK Garage revival thing. I really dig those minimal producers such as Burial and Nocow. This is a pretty odd mix I am giving you, but my life is one big mix mash love bowl of influences. I am also very fond of what they are doing in Japan. One of my favorite producers over there who plays a major role in projects such as Capsule and Perfume is Yasutaka Nakata. That’s sort of what has been floating around in my head for the past year.
How did the “Another” project come together?
“Another” was originally formed as this really heavy-hitting electro project. I wanted to produce these super sinister dance floor jams that would just move everyone. However; everyone just sort of wants to do that nowadays, so I just saw myself as really insignificant. That’s how this name sort of formed; just seeing myself as another individual in the world trying to do his thing. Another producer that no one will really ever care about. But then I decided I need to sing and play guitar again. I wanted to sing about things and play the guitar really loud. I wanted to feel alive. So I just took the name and ran with it into this new album. Now I see myself as a bit more significant because people are recognizing my tracks and asking for lyrics and such, but I’m still a pretty big pessimist. There are like what, 7 billion people in this world… I feel like I’ll always just be Another. I feel as though I’ll always be insignificant and unknown in the music world. I hope it doesn’t end up that way, but whatever happens just happens. It’s not like I’ll just stop making tracks one day. I make these tracks because I want to make the few listeners that I have feel some sort of positive energy in their lives. I make these tracks because they make me feel alive. That’s all.
How does the ocean come into play in your song writing process?
I think the ocean plays a major role in this album because it represents an old vacation spot that I used to go to with my family in Florida. A place that inspired songs such as “Gold Glow” and “Point Of Rocks”. This place is so important in my life, because it reminds me of family bonds. It reminds me of my childhood and all these things that have disappeared. Majority of this album is about losing relationships with other human beings and that longing to acquire some again. As we grow older, we lose so many connections and gain so much distance with people from our past. The ocean really reminds me of childhood, when everything was pure. Well, my thought process was pure at least… but that’s because I didn’t know as much about this world. Even though it will always be some hazy memory, I still love to recreate it as much as I can.
Is that a marimba on “Lifetime”? Whatever it is it is hypnotic. How did that song come together?
That is actually an electronic marimba, so it is a bit cheesy… but I like throwing little cheesy parts into my songs. That was a song that I wrote on guitar about a friend of mine who I knew from birth until I was twenty-one. He was basically like a brother to me because I saw him so much and really grew up with him. One day, he just sort of stopped calling. I guess he found some girl and likes that life a lot more. But, I don’t know. Dropping friends for a relationship is pretty lame, to me. I was probably a bit dramatic on that song, but it hurts when someone leaves you for something else.I had originally made that song with full electronic percussion as well, but my neighbor proposed an idea to me once. He suggested that he should do percussion. He is a VERY talented musician who does percussion for major plays all around the Chicago area, so I was honored to hear something like this. He has had decades of experience, just from working as a professional musician. I gave him “Lifetime” with just the electronic marimba, guitar, and vocals and gave him some ideas of what I was thinking for the song. After that he recorded the percussion at his house, and did a really good job. I had an opportunity to work with a really awesome musician on one of my songs and I took it. I thought it was a really cool idea to put some major variation on the album.
What’s next for you?
As of right now, I am recorded a new EP. I am about 4 songs into it already, without vocals. There will be vocals on this release as well though. I really learned how to record at home the past year, so I am getting these new songs done with a lot more speed. You should expect to hear a new EP around summertime… as long as I can get a little bit of a fan base from this first album. I need to space out releases properly so I can grab more attention, but I’m thinking a summer release would just be fun. I am already contemplating starting work on the next LP on top of this EP. I have so many ideas and not enough time to get them out. I’ll just keep it simple and say you can expect the next EP soon and a lot more after that as well. This is my life and it’s about constant creation and development.
