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As a New York artist, it only stands to reason that Andre Mistier’s background in theatre would find its way into all aspects of his musical art. With his solo debut Chapter 1: The Ruins being the first in a narrative series, the juxtaposition of atmospheric instrumentation and pop appeal makes for an lush if brief experience. A brief chorus of high pitched melodic voices underscored by ambient tones and a sullen violin introduce us with an excerpt from “Crazy Dream,” presented in its full form at the end of the EP. Strums of acoustic guitar and frills of synthesizer play against Mistier’s velvety voice, steadily building to that melodious and bursting chorus as the drums and chimes of guitar gradually reveal an artful and ambient pop ballad. A thrum of bouncy electro bass and sparse but effective beats underplay electronic reverberations and galloping sequences of echoed guitars, Mistier’s voice hovering between a low, breathy baritone and a soaring, emotive tenor. The song is a tad monotone, but ultimately very catchy and danceable, while “Patterns” takes on an edgier tone of skittering distorted guitar and layers of squelching synths, the vocals taking on an almost mournful wail to demonstrate the extent of Mistier’s vocal ability. The chorus is no less bouncy or poppy, pulling the listener into yet another infectious electro-pop track. As the first in a series, The Ruins runs only a bit more than a mere 15 minutes, giving just enough of a hint of what is yet to come as the hybrid of acoustic and electronic sounds create a solid foundation to build upon. Not one to allow his theatrical sensibilities to be limited to the music, the narrative is further revealed with the accompanying videos as a post-apocalyptic tale of two people discovering freedom in the ruins of the city, making Chapter 1: The Ruins a nice introduction to a grander concept. Time will tell if The Adversary has the musical and storytelling chops to maintain the audience’s interest as the story unfolds, but he’s certainly off to a good start. - Regen Magazine
As a New York artist, it only stands to reason that Andre Mistier’s background in theatre would find its way into all aspects of his musical art. With his solo debut Chapter 1: The Ruins being the first in a narrative series, the juxtaposition of atmospheric instrumentation and pop appeal makes for an lush if brief experience. A brief chorus of high pitched melodic voices underscored by ambient tones and a sullen violin introduce us with an excerpt from “Crazy Dream,” presented in its full form at the end of the EP. Strums of acoustic guitar and frills of synthesizer play against Mistier’s velvety voice, steadily building to that melodious and bursting chorus as the drums and chimes of guitar gradually reveal an artful and ambient pop ballad. A thrum of bouncy electro bass and sparse but effective beats underplay electronic reverberations and galloping sequences of echoed guitars, Mistier’s voice hovering between a low, breathy baritone and a soaring, emotive tenor. The song is a tad monotone, but ultimately very catchy and danceable, while “Patterns” takes on an edgier tone of skittering distorted guitar and layers of squelching synths, the vocals taking on an almost mournful wail to demonstrate the extent of Mistier’s vocal ability. The chorus is no less bouncy or poppy, pulling the listener into yet another infectious electro-pop track. As the first in a series, The Ruins runs only a bit more than a mere 15 minutes, giving just enough of a hint of what is yet to come as the hybrid of acoustic and electronic sounds create a solid foundation to build upon. Not one to allow his theatrical sensibilities to be limited to the music, the narrative is further revealed with the accompanying videos as a post-apocalyptic tale of two people discovering freedom in the ruins of the city, making Chapter 1: The Ruins a nice introduction to a grander concept. Time will tell if The Adversary has the musical and storytelling chops to maintain the audience’s interest as the story unfolds, but he’s certainly off to a good start. - Regen Magazine
The Adversary is the electronic project of Andre Mistier. He recently released his EP, Chapter One: The Ruins, which has been compared to a mixture of Depeche Mode, Radiohead and Pink Floyd.
Alternative Press just premiered the music video for the song, “Maybelline” last week and I am L-O-V-I-N-G it! It makes you want to dance, but it also has a rocking out element to it. In my world that makes an awesome mix. The video is trippy and I was getting some Tron flashbacks, but I thought it was a cool fit with the track. See for yourself above! - PopZine Online
The Adversary is the electronic project of Andre Mistier. He recently released his EP, Chapter One: The Ruins, which has been compared to a mixture of Depeche Mode, Radiohead and Pink Floyd.
Alternative Press just premiered the music video for the song, “Maybelline” last week and I am L-O-V-I-N-G it! It makes you want to dance, but it also has a rocking out element to it. In my world that makes an awesome mix. The video is trippy and I was getting some Tron flashbacks, but I thought it was a cool fit with the track. See for yourself above! - PopZine Online
See link. - FourCulture Magazine
See link. - FourCulture Magazine
THE ADVERSARY - ELECTRONIC SYNTHPOP ARTIST ANDRE MISTIER FROM NEW YORK...NEW EP "CHAPTER ONE: THE RUINS" OUT NOW...CHECK HIM OUT LIVE ON JULY 14TH @ THE BROOKLYN BOWL IN BROOKLYN,NY...MORE INFO, MUSIC & MORE @ www.facebook.com/TheAdversaryMusic - BlogTalk Radio
THE ADVERSARY - ELECTRONIC SYNTHPOP ARTIST ANDRE MISTIER FROM NEW YORK...NEW EP "CHAPTER ONE: THE RUINS" OUT NOW...CHECK HIM OUT LIVE ON JULY 14TH @ THE BROOKLYN BOWL IN BROOKLYN,NY...MORE INFO, MUSIC & MORE @ www.facebook.com/TheAdversaryMusic - BlogTalk Radio
DON'T FEAR THE ADVERSARY
Andre Mistier, formerly of ISM, has branched out into his new NYC electronic/pop/rock band The Adversary and debuts its new video with HuffPost.
"I love this video because it reflects an experience that everyone has felt," says Mistier. "Who hasn't had the feeling that they are not moving in sync with the world? That everything is going by them and they can't touch it, can't connect, can't relate? And then, when it comes down to it, who's moving forwards and who's moving backwards?"
The video's director, Maxwell Schneller, adds, "Sometimes, even when you're surrounded by millions of people, you feel completely alone. I always find companionship in our dusty little satellite--the moon (La Luna). The two are inextricably tied together in my mind."
He continues, "Companionship is not exclusive to humans. The earth has its own partner: the Moon (La Luna). They dance around each other, balanced and sharing the same light from the Sun. I find myself being envious of such beautiful intimacy. I pang for that with another human being."
Let's just take a looksee for ourselves now, shall we? Here's the video clip in all its challenged syncfulness... - Huffington Post
Andre Mistier, AKA the Adversary, introduces listeners to two prominent characters from his new EP, Chapter 1: The Ruins in this dark synthpop song and video bearing one of their names, "Maybelline."
Mistier told us a bit more about the concept:
"Chapter 1: The Ruins begins the story of Cutty and Maybelline. It's set in the future, in the shadows of an oppressive dystopian society. We follow them as everything they've known is now gone.
Shot on location in NYC and in Silver City, New Mexico (thanks to our director Stephen Dirkes, Peter Bill, the University of New Mexico, Silver City, and our editor Behn Fannin).
As the title of the EP suggests, this is the first of many stories and chapters to come about Cutty and Maybelline, and this song is the centerpiece to this first chapter. I love that this song "Maybelline" is basically about dancing as an answer to things. Love, loss, and the end of the world. Dance the ruins away!"
Chapter 1: The Ruins was released June 4 via Uncanney Valley. Purchase it on iTunes. - AltPress
Andre Mistier, AKA the Adversary, introduces listeners to two prominent characters from his new EP, Chapter 1: The Ruins in this dark synthpop song and video bearing one of their names, "Maybelline."
Mistier told us a bit more about the concept:
"Chapter 1: The Ruins begins the story of Cutty and Maybelline. It's set in the future, in the shadows of an oppressive dystopian society. We follow them as everything they've known is now gone.
Shot on location in NYC and in Silver City, New Mexico (thanks to our director Stephen Dirkes, Peter Bill, the University of New Mexico, Silver City, and our editor Behn Fannin).
As the title of the EP suggests, this is the first of many stories and chapters to come about Cutty and Maybelline, and this song is the centerpiece to this first chapter. I love that this song "Maybelline" is basically about dancing as an answer to things. Love, loss, and the end of the world. Dance the ruins away!"
Chapter 1: The Ruins was released June 4 via Uncanney Valley. Purchase it on iTunes. - AltPress
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
Photos
Bio
Andre Mistier’s journey through music has been an unconventional one. The New York musician, who has a foundation in theater, has explored the connection between electronic sounds and instrument-based rock since the inception of his first band Ism in 2004. In 2008, as his tenure with Ism was drawing to a close, Mistier began working on film soundtracks and theater scores, his first musical efforts done solo. The work was deeply compelling to the artist and he found himself moving into the sonic territory that became his new project, The Adversary. The music itself morphed, influenced by Mistier’s life and his personal experiences. “The Adversary’s music went through a whole bunch of iterations,” Mistier explains. “I was exploring a lot of things. I went to Burning Man last August and it affected my understanding of music, and the relationship between electronic stuff and live stuff and then—I got here.”
Here, which is being heralded by Chapter 1: The Ruins, the first in a series of releases that offer an ongoing narrative, is richly melodic and song-based and yet experimental and electronic. The series, recorded over a year and a half at Majestic Music in Williamsburg, was written and recorded almost entirely by Mistier, who brought in a few guest musicians to flesh out the songs. Throughout the process Mistier found himself interested in the spectrum of modern sound and what that can mean in the context of a song.
“There’s a certain honesty about acknowledging that the full range of sounds in our modern world includes everything from the human voice and birds chirping to the bleep of a cellphone and this mix is how we define our relationship to the world with sound,” the musician says. “In these Chapters, I was very interested in finding ways to deal with both this whole spectrum and to make sounds that were kind of hybrids. You can take a vocal, record it, run it through 45 filters, cut it up, run it through a bunch of filters again, and then it sounds like a drum or a synthesizer or whatever noise you like. That’s part of the basis for this.”
Embedded in these sounds is a story, one that comes together both in the songs and in a series of accompanying videos. The first chapter takes the listener to a post-apocalyptic world, recounting a tale of two people dancing through the ruins of New York, [and the failing surveillance system, which tries to monitor them. The pair finds, through the course of the songs, that with all the structures of society gone, there are actually more freedoms to be found. It’s one piece of a larger whole that Mistier feels will slowly come together as the chapters are released.
“It’s an exploration of our modern relationship to technology and human-ness,” Mistier says. “To me, it’s one of the big issues we’re all grappling with, or at some point have to grapple with. Does technology lose humanity? Does technology facilitate humanity? And clearly, it’s kind of doing both. I’m really interested in exploring that process and setting it in a not-present-day context makes it easy to extrapolate how far it can and can’t go.”
The accompanying videos and forthcoming live show will lend a visual aesthetic to this ongoing narrative, clearly inspired by Mistier’s work in theater over the years. Each chapter will feature one video that connects to a specific song – for Chapter 1: The Ruins, that track is “Maybelline.” The clips don’t just reflect the songs; they augment them, offering the audience a chance to fill in the pieces of the story left open in the Chapters. The live show, too, will extend the experience of the music, providing a visual spectacle related to the narrative. The music, melodic and relatable although experimental and exploratory in nature, reveals itself more fully through these visual elements. Those familiar with Mistier’s work, both musical and otherwise, may not be surprised that his journey has brought him here, to this place of solo, multimedia expression.
“I feel like there’s two main experiences you’re getting out of music as a writer,” Mistier says. “One is this beautiful collaboration. And the other is sound painting. And the solo process to me is very much like painting, but like four-dimensional painting. Painting with time. At any given moment there’s all these different sounds going on and they function like colors. But also it moves through the duration of a song and changes and contours as it goes. I’ve found that process really rewarding and it’s taken me to where I am today. And now I’m looking forward to bringing these two pieces of the musical experience together with the live version of The Adversary.”
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