Andy Stochansky

Born and raised in Toronto, he began tinkering with the family piano at the age of five. Shortly thereafter, his parents bought him a drum kit. By the time he was in his 20s, He had become a hired-gun for Ani Difranco, one of the world’s most revered independent folk artists. DiFranco asked him to play on her new album and, within months, he became her touring co-pilot. With Difranco, Andy played 200 shows a year for seven years, until he felt it was time to start expressing himself beyond the drums.

Splitting amicably with DiFranco, he forged ahead on his own, making what he called a "soundtrack pop" record. I was very much into Brian Eno meets West African drums meets Bjork strings and noises. The result was a critically acclaimed debut solo album called "Radio Fusebox".

It was frequently hailed as one of the best albums of the year. The Times dubbed it an “outright gem” and described it as “glorious, textured world-pop,” while Boston Globe columnist, Jon Anderman, proclaimed Andy “the best thing at South by Southwest.” Even David Byrne professed himself a fan.

After releasing Radio Fusebox, he wanted to create something a little more radio-friendly. “I wanted something with hook,” shares Andy. “I wanted feel-good music. I wanted something that made people move so, I taught my guitar and wrote ‘Stutter,’ and that opened the flood gates. He soon had 25 new songs, and an itch to play them in front of audiences. In February of 2000, he played six shows in and around Los Angeles, using the opportunity to showcase the new material he was seen by 3 different record companies and ended up signing with RCA Victor. I felt I had to sign with a record company because I started my solo career so late in my life. I thought I could get a jump start with my career.

In the summer of 2002, Andy released his album "5 Star Motel". Produced by Ian LeFeuvre (Starling ) while singles "Stutter" produced by Tom Rothrock (Badly Drawn Boy, Elliot Smith) and “Wonderful (It’s Superman) produced by Dennis Herring and mixed by Jacquire King, both of which received considerable radio airplay.

The following album was called "100" but this quickly needed a home since every record company was reshuffling at the time of Napster and had no idea what lay ahead in the future. "100" was turned down by all record companies except an indie label named Linus in Canada. Nevertheless “Shine,” the first single from 100, was featured in the 2008 television series, Oprah’s Big Give, and in the film Keeping up with the Steins. After its success in the U.S., “Shine” was covered by Australian Idol runner-up, Shannon Noll. The song became a bona fide hit, selling eight times platinum and becoming the theme song for both the Australian and U.K cricket teams, as well as the 2008 Commonwealth Games.

By 2009, Andy took up residence in Los Angeles to write and produce for other artists. Some notable highlights include: "Northern Lights," a song chosen for the Twilight Breaking Dawn (film/soundtrack) performed by Cider Sky, "The Best" (feat Dragonette), which became the first worldwide single for Lenno (Universal), and "Pale" single for Lola Lennox co-produced by Annie Lennox" was voted Top 20 Songs of 2020 by DailyMail.UK alongside Billie Eilish and Paul McCartney among others.

Andy's newest project, White Elephant Orchestra, is an art-pop project which released a new album, entitled Debut. Highlights included singles being played by NPR World Cafe. KCRW KEXP radio airplay

Written, produced and played by Andy, Debut features Lola Lennox and Martina Sorbara (Dragonette) on back-up vocals and tracks mixed by Grammy award winning mixing engineer Dave Pensado (Michael Jackson, Pink, Peaches).

“I think it’s the first time I’ve made a record where I don’t know how to make it any better,” says Andy. “This is the best I’ve got.”

He is currently writing the follow-up

Andy is also a writer and producer for and with other artists.

His writing highlights have included;

• "Northern Lights" a song chosen for the Twilight Breaking Dawn (film / soundtrack) performed by Cider Sky.
• "Pale" single Lola Lennox
• "The Best" (feat Dragonette) - first worldwide single for Lenno (Casablanca / Universal)
• "Hyper Love"" single for Ferry Corsten on "Flashover Recordings" – Billboard Dance Top 10
• "Everybody Feeling Something" single, "Your Only Love" – Marlon Roudette (Columbia Records U.S.)
• "Shine" Shannon Noll ( 11 consecutive weeks at Number One on the Australian Airplay Chart – a record that still remains today).
• "Midnight Girl" and "Great Bright Morning" recorded by Casey Abrams (Concord Music Group)
• "Bulletproof Angel" – Goo Goo Dolls from 2013 album called "Magnetic"

• While You Slept (1996)
• Radio Fusebox (1999)
• Five Star Motel (2002)
• Shine E.P. (2004)[2]
• 100 (2005)

• Debut—upcoming release (2020)

• White Elephant Orchestra Website