‘Answers’ is the fourth and final release in a series of EPs the composer, producer, vocalist, and clarinetist Holland Andrews began releasing in 2021, including ‘Wordless’, ‘Forgettings’, and ‘Doubtless’.

This period of time was also rich with significant critical reception and acknowledgment of Andrews’ art, which resulted in numerous residencies (Guild Hall, Gotye and Shahzad Ismaily’s Forgotten Futures residency, Pioneer Works), awards (United States Artists Fellowship, Foundation of Contemporary Arts), collaborations with choreographers (Jenn Freeman & Sonyah Tayeh, Will Rawls, Mariah Garnett, Bill T. Jones, Moya Michael), and inclusion in the 2024 Whitney Biennial in which Holland debuted two sound installations.

From the opening track ‘Wonder’, the new collection opens with Andrews conjuring of a vast magical soundscape, where glittering ambient textures erupt into pulsating crescendos of dissonance. Andrews possesses a unique set of musical skills, which are deftly melded throughout the EP. ‘Aura’ offers a notable example, as Andrews’ operatic vocals and clarinet merge into a luminescent wash of electronic sound.

Andrews’ music evades easy categorization, evoking strands of contemporary classical, ambient, electronic, and experimental music. “Where do I belong? That’s tricky for me.” Andrews says. “I have this voracious quality of just wanting to keep playing and keep exploring.” Like their past collaborators Son Lux, Nils Frahm, Darian Donovan Thomas, William Brittelle, and Christina Vantzou, Andrews has found a home at the nexus point of diverging sounds.

‘Answers’, and the cycle of EPs it’s drawn from, represent a turning point in Andrews’ artistic output. Prior to the release of ‘Wordless’, Andrews was creating music under the name Like A Villain. Along with the change of name, Andrews creative process has shifted from a performance-based approach to a more integrative style of composition, mixing live recorded samples within music production. “Everything I’ve been releasing under my name has been more and more about exploration.”

In creating ‘Answers’, Andrews was seeking a resolution point. Instead, they discovered new questions, sources of inspiration, and creative possibilities. “There’s a lineage in the information that I’ve been gaining in the creation of these four EPs. The process of making ‘Doubtless’ was so demanding, that one of my goals with ‘Answers’ was to develop a place of rest. I was looking for a period to a sentence, but I think I ended with a question mark. Answers gave me bigger questions than I thought it would have, which is a very exciting place to be. It’s a closing and an opening at the same time, an opening for what’s coming next.”

The five-track collection is available via all streaming platforms. In addition to the digital release of the ‘Answers’ EP, LEITER offers a limited edition vinyl containing all new tracks plus the previously released ‘Doubtless’ EP.