“... this latest offering once again unveils a deeply personal journey, intricately crafted to take us through moments of loss and grief, mental health struggles, discovering queerness and the chaos of the pandemic, packaged as a peek into McLeod’s life but stretching into something far more resonant and expansive…”
— Earmilk
“‘Float In Circles’ is a fittingly buoyant and dreamy diversion for McLeod, tinged with plush layered synth melodies, shoegaze guitars, and expansive production. The track is an especially strong showcase for McLeod’s talents as a producer and composer, showing off his penchant for cinematic soundscapes. Equally though, McLeod also finds space for entrancing pop melodies on ‘Float In Circles,’ burying gems of saccharine melody beneath the thick layers of effects and emotive songcraft”
— Under the Radar
“Always open and forthright, McLeod’s music moves with energy and a conviction that even in the darkest moments, there are enough cracks for light and hope to break through.”
— DOMINIONATED
BIO
Sunnsetter is the Long running solo project of producer and mixing engineer Andrew McLeod.
Based now in Norfolk County, Ontario, they’ve always been a DIY artist, single-handedly fusing together every element of their music, including the recording and mixing process; And while the creation is entirely them, the music itself draws from various genres; ambient, singer-songwriter, shoegaze, post-rock, slowcore and moves nimbly between them.
McLeod wants each song and album to be distinct. “One of my biggest fears as an artist is to make a series of albums or songs that sound exactly the same.”
With, ‘The best that I can be’, McLeod melds a sound that’s all their own. It’s their debut album on Paper Bag Records and follows 2020’s independently released, ‘The Love you withhold is the pain you carry,’ and 2022’s ambient album ‘All watched over by machines of Loving grace.’
Citing influences such as My Bloody Valentine, Sigur Ros, Mount Eerie and Godspeed you! Black Emporer, among many others.
‘The best that I can be.’ was written over the course of three years-some of the most complicated but rewarding personally for McLeod.
Not only did they grieve the loss of a close friend and bandmate, but they were dealing with newly found sobriety, their mental health, and concepts around gender identity and queerness. More chaos courtesy of a pandemic added to the mix, but McLeod came out the other side, trying to rebuild their life around more positive and emotionally healthy habits. “Going on five years sober, this experience has been one that has shaped me like no other has,” they say.
Andrew is also a member and collaborator with Daniel Monkman’s project Zoon as well as JUNO nominated Ombiigizi ( Monkman and Adam sturgeon of Status-non-status ) - both of which are polaris prize shortlisted artists.
