Andrew Rudy is a beacon for self-expression

Andrew Rudy is telling stories and empowering the LGBTQ+ community through his music.

Rudy, a sophomore majoring in music industry, is working on creating his second album. As an artist, singer, songwriter and producer, he also collaborates with other artists to help them write songs. His first album, “Gold Blooded,” fully created and produced by him, just hit its one year anniversary this month.

Rudy’s first album was inspired by the sound of Melanie Martinez, particularly because of the story-like pattern she uses to construct her work.

“If you’re listening to it from track one all the way to track 12, I want you to walk away with this idea of this full arc story,” Rudy said. “And that’s exactly kind of how I’m continuing on for my second album, because I, as an artist really want to have this big story that allows people who’ve been listening from day one to follow along with the story.”

The album includes twelve songs, with the most popular singles being “Devil’s Contract” and “Do U Like Me.”
Rudy is currently working on producing singles to release in addition to his second album. Although he has just recently begun producing music for others on streaming services, he has been involved in music and songwriting for much of his life. 

“I just fell in love with everything [Melanie Martinez] was doing,” Rudy said. “The songs were really not your typical songs. They touched on so many different things that pop music doesn’t really touch on, and I was like, I found that I can do this and I want to do this.”

Ever since, he has been filling up books and books with songs and ideas. Over time, he learned to add production and instrumentation behind them, allowing his music process to really evolve.

George Heffley, a sophomore majoring in jazz studies and music industry, has also spent lots of creative time with Rudy. The two started talking when they found they were in the same major and joined clubs together, including a songwriters’ forum, where the two composed songs together.

“With songwriters’ forum, we worked on a song with a few other people …, but that was our first song together. And then from there we continued to shoot ideas back and forth with each other,” Heffley said. “I actually released my first song under my name on Friday, but he helped me with the mastering process for that so we continually write ideas, share with each other.”

On the other hand, when Rudy works on solo songwriting, he often starts with the chorus to get an idea for the message and then builds from there. 

“So sometimes when I’m writing a song, I’ll have a guitar part in mind like already and I have to get that down so I’ll record the guitar part, and then I’ll build stuff off of there. Or sometimes I’ll just have a really cool kind of beat in mind like with drums and bass and everything, and I’ll get those down,” Rudy said.

Similarly, the production process has lots of unique aspects for Rudy, especially because he is fully taught and does the entirety of production on his own, from writing the song to deciding which instruments to use for production.

“The production process, it is so different for me like every time,” Rudy said. “I’m a little bit unorthodox, in the way that I do it because I produce all my songs from scratch so I don’t use any samples from like other people so everything completely comes out of my head

Sami De, a fellow artist and longtime friend of Rudy, often collaborates with him when it comes to creating album art and music videos. She has seen him grow in his musical talent, as well as confidence. 

“Speaking from someone who’s also queer, having clear representation and showing that to break the binary and to just do what he wants, and to be what you want and to show your confidence is something that listeners will definitely gain from listening to him,” De said. “Watching his music videos, it’s very unique and original and he has a very powerful voice.” 

Rudy’s song “Do You Like Me” has been his most satisfying so far. It was one of his first times writing a love song, and all the pieces fell together perfectly. However, beyond a traditional love song it addresses some of the struggles of the LGBTQ+ community.

“I felt really proud of it because on first listen, it sounds like you’re kind of just like a typical love song but I was really writing about this social anxiety that a lot of gay people face when it comes to trying to find out if if someone’s interested in them or not and the harmful repercussions that could come from asking someone,” Rudy said. 

Moving forward in his music career, Rudy hopes to continue being successful and producing music that resonates with his listeners and makes a difference in their lives.

“I just hope that when people look at me and look at my music videos and my songs, that they just feel really inspired to be themselves and to express themselves in any way that they want, no matter if they’re scared of what the people around them think,” Rudy said. “I think if I could have that effect on people that would, that would just be the best thing in the world.”