“Andy Pratt (Not That One)”

-Steve Albini

This is what was scribbled with a sharpie pen onto a CD of mixes handed to Andy on July 16^th, 2016. After receiving an email from Pratt in January of the same year, legendary recording engineer Steve Albini quickly realized that he was not dealing with the Boston rock icon of the ‘70s, but a new & different Andy Pratt.

As a vocalist, guitarist, songwriter & photographer, Pratt loves the fuzz, blur, grain, & beautiful imperfections of analog music and live art. With an affinity for tape, vintage instruments, film cameras, string quartets, & brooding melodies, his music lives within a modern impressionist world of his own creation. Pratt is a storyteller who sings to clearly evoke a mood, space or time. With a dry vocal and reverberating guitar, he brings his listeners into the world he’s created.

Pratt’s music has been featured in local & national publications such as Magnet, Goldmine, Newcity, The Vinyl District, A Chicago Thing with Billy Dec, Radio One Chicago, Revolution 360, & Medium Daily Digest. He has been a guest on Cincinnati’s NPR affiliate WVXU in interview with Around Cincinnati’s Ron Esposito. He has performed on WGN Radio’s Pretty Late with Patti Vasquez and is also a regular on Mike Rice’s Chicago Lives at Que4 Radio. Pratt’s spoken word piece “Happiness Is Home” was a semi-finalist in the 2016 International Songwriting Competition.      

The summers of 2017 through 2019 found Pratt on tour in support of his debut album, “Horizon Disrupted” and the EP companion, “Further Disruption.” After handing his band members a few solo demos that he recorded on a 4-track Tascam cassette recorder, he knew that he’d want a similar analog sound on the final product. Pratt naturally sought out Steve Albini at Electrical Audio Studios in Chicago and asked him to track and mix the album. “Further Disruption” is a five song EP that is the follow-up to Pratt’s 2017 debut “Horizon Disrupted.” Recorded during the same session as Horizon and initially planned to be on the debut album, Pratt explains “I felt these songs deserved a separate documentation. They’re a little more gritty, rockin’ and down to earth than Horizon’s dreamy/ethereal feel.” With topics ranging from adultery, to alcoholism, to a girl obsessed with thrift shopping, the listener might wonder if this is the same Andy Pratt. The album features a classic vocals/guitar, bass, & drums trio. With the music, lyrics, arrangements & artwork for both albums all created by Pratt, there is a cohesive thread that ties these elements together, proving they are one & the same.

Andy Pratt is a Chicago-based singer-songwriter & jazz artist. He has toured across the country as both a leader and sideman. In the summers of 2017 through 2019, Pratt toured the U.S. and Canada in support of his debut LP and sophomore EP. He can be found playing guitar & singing most nights throughout the city & Midwest region. Pratt is often a featured guest with the Joe Policastro Trio & appears on the group’s 2016 sophomore release, “Pops.” He has also recorded with singer-songwriter Adam James Sorensen & appears on his debut “Midwest” album. Pratt is currently recording new material for his next full-length album. 

“…a style that sounds raspy and ancient!” -Dusty Groove, Chicago