Moving and speaking with steadfast intentionality, New York based artist Andrya Ambro of Gold Dime delivers a commanding presence. Having just released their second album, My House, off Fire Talk Records, Ambro forges new ground and collaborative energy. With a musical affinity running through her blood as an adolescent, Ambro took piano lessons through the eighth grade and auditioned for the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra before delving into a newfound love for percussion and drums. Looking up to her brother for his musical taste and guidance, she came to admire lots of alternative radio bands of the 90’s like Fugazi and Sonic Youth. “I was always in weirdo bands even though I started to take up classical percussion”, Ambro mentions. “I was playing piano and I really had to convince my mother to let me get a drumset. I think my brother was actually helpful with that!”, she laughs. With an unbounded amount of vitality for creativity, Ambro mentions her fondness for unorthodox rhythms and figuring out how to best articulate the grander rhythm of a song. Always notoriously shy when it came to using her voice and admitting to fake singing in her school choir, the multi-talented instrumentalist gained her chops in 2003 when she started her first band. After a month long retreat in Africa where singing and playing drums simultaneously was encouraged, Ambro learned that “it was just a part of the music and a way you learned the music, they affected the other. Through that, I was much more into using my voice and using my voice when playing drums. Now those things together give me a deep joy.”
Recorded in stages throughout 2018, My House is comprised of nine tracks written by Ambro or as a collective effort with her bandmates, Ian Douglas-Moore on bass and John Bohannon on guitar. A connection of the minds, the trio split their ideas and talents into a greater force that makes up Gold Dime’s sophomore record. Leading with the opening track “Hindsight II” as a subtle link to her initial track “Hindsight” on their 2017 debut album Nerves, Ambro treats each track as a distinct entity, a room with a view and clarity of its own residing in its pronounced dwelling — whether with her tension-ridden vocals, creeping percussive experimentation or soaring wails of emotive strength, My House is structurally and sonically sound from start to finish and a deliberate artistic scope that provides layers of immersion for its listener. Says Ambro of opening up windows and letting go of some of her reins of independence, “I would never do anything I wasn’t totally comfortable with. As long as you use that as a guide I think you’ll be fine.” Delving into the directorial field when it came to making her music video for her self-titled track “My House”, Ambro had the initial thought of being dragged through fields and debris, carefully and artfully concocting a moving head mouthing the lyrics without deeming itself as overtly violent or sexualized. Working with editor Chris Mulligan, she praises his efforts collecting various scenic footage and contributing to the entire Lynchian feeling of the video.
While working on the record, the band primarily listened to specific and individual songs that incited ideas rather than favorite or revisted albums from start to finish. Bohannon passed along various Captain Beefheart and Chrome tracks and Bill Withers’ record Just As I Am had a special place during that time, especially with his track “Hope She’ll Be Happier”. Currently on a run of October tour dates, Ambro also has plans in the near future to continue to learn and gain independence with video editing software and plunge into the visual aspects of music. On top of her current ambitions, she also mentions that she wants to start a solo project. “I’m not sure how or when, I just need to find a way to break the format. I feel like I’ve been recreating things with my last two bands, or been doing it in a specific way.” Whatever Ambro intends to do, there’s no doubt she’ll find her own assertive and unique path. You can catch Gold Dime in the following cities:
October 16th - Chicago, IL - The Hideout
October 17th - Detroit, MI - Trumbullplex
October 18th - Cincinnati, OH - The Comet
October 19th - Columbus, OH - Skylab
October 22nd - Boston, MA - Dorchester Art Project
October 23rd - Washington DC - Rhizome
October 30th - New York City - Trans Pecos
