Yandrew bucks indie trends

Yan Westerlund and Andrew Anagnost practice their intricate style of music in a dusty, fluorescent-lit room, with a bass amp sitting on a rusty stool and baking pans rattling atop tom drumheads.

Anagnost’s classical training is evident as he weaves through notes played in changing time signatures, tempos and dynamics, effortlessly switching between bowing and fingerpicking his cello. Westerlund picks up on every tempo change and swells with the sound of Anagnost’s cello, showcasing his expertise in jazz drumming.

The Trekky House, on the border of Chapel Hill and Durham, is a communal practice space for friends and members of Trekky Records. On a typical weeknight at the house, standard outfit indie rock bands like the Embarrassing Fruits and Butterflies make use of the practice space’s guitar amps and microphones.

“The average listener might be drawn to our performances because it’s something they haven’t seen before,” said Westerlund.

Anagnost and Westerlund are the only members of Yandrew, a band that has no vocalist and no guitar player.

This classical- and jazz-based instrumental outfit may seem alien to the Triangle’s indie rock scene, but Westerlund grew up listening to progressive music like this.

“Minneapolis has plenty of the instrumental, jazz-oriented music and we’re kind of branching off that scene,” Westerlund said.

Westerlund moved to Chapel Hill after his brother Joe Westerlund, of the widely successful folk freaks, Megafaun. When asked about a sibling rivalry between the brothers, Westerlund was quick to quell the notion.

“Joe has been a huge influence and exposed me to music I never would have listened to,” Westerlund said.

In any other setting, attending a concert that featured musicians with the expertise of Westerlund and Anagnost would make for a fancy Friday night. But the pair believes a Yandrew concert is as informal and accessible to the indie-rock crowd as the concerts of Megafaun and the likes of Trekky Records.

“You can go out on a Friday night, crack a beer, tap your foot and get in to it,” Anagnost said.

Anagnost is a founding member of local band Lost in the Trees, which has experienced widespread success after a performance on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert. Westerlund, after a stint with Lost in the Trees, now plays with the Raleigh-based folk band Bowerbirds, who have toured with the Mountain Goats.

In their other bands, Anagnost and Westerlund agree their roles are largely contained to being “background musicians.” Overshadowed by the singer-songwriter frontmen and cushioned during concerts by the many musicians onstage, they do not make the decisions in songwriting, touring and recording.

“This is the first time we’re calling the shots,” Anagnost said.

Anagnost, who graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2008 and worked in various restaurants, now gives cello lessons. Westerlund used to teach music, but now works at Carolina Brewery. He especially looks forward to recording with Yandrew.

“Working a day job makes you more ambitious,” he said. The duo’s real intention is to make Yandrew a full-time gig.

“The goal is to be a middle-class musician,” Anagnost said. “If you can make as much as a public-school teacher and be playing music, that would be a wonderful thing.”

Yandrew plans to record an album by the fall after they return from touring with their respective bands and play some more on their own.

“The more we play them live, the more the songs will evolve and that’s when we should record them,” Anagnost said.

“We’re doing the same thing Lost in the Trees did four years ago, just playing the local scene and hopefully we’ll get to play around the state,” Anagnost said.

Contact the Diversions Editor at diversions@dailytarheel.com.