Wahl of sound: this guy means music

Every week, I will be profiling an extraordinary human being who lives in our community. If you know someone who is doing something interesting with their life, I want to hear about it. Send me an email at [email protected].

Andre Wahl doesn’t want it sugar coated. He wants it real, raw and from the heart.

“I don’t like selling candy to kids,” he says. It’s an analogy that he uses frequently. It sums up and describes his amazing work ethic.

Andre is a big-time music producer and one of his favourite places to get some work done is at the Huntsville Train Station. At nighttime, when most of the town is sleeping, it’s quiet down at the station. During the early morning hours, if it’s raining, there’s shelter from the storm thanks to an overhang. But then again, he’s also found some serious inspiration (not to mention solitude) floating down the Muskoka River with his laptop and headphones and nothing but the gentle lapping sound of the lake hitting the sides of his canoe.

His workplace setting differs greatly from what it did 13 years ago. He came to Huntsville from Vancouver where he often used Brian Adams’ home studio to master recordings. It was out on the west coast that Andre also worked at one of Canada’s most prestigious golf clubs. He’s always had roots here, though. His family has been cottaging in the area since 1975. His father, Harry, who passed away three years ago, was a well-liked, community-minded man who was all about the people.

(Above) Andre says it’s amazing how much work he can get done down at the train station in the early morning before the town comes alive. It’s quiet and provides a comfortable and relaxing atmosphere. Even if it’s raining, he won’t get wet!

Andre has travelled all over the world producing records for the rich and famous. He’s worked with the likes of Pink Floyd, Duran Duran, Kim Mitchell, Shania Twain, Rush, Tom Cochrane, Alana Miles – and there’s just so many others too numerous to mention.

“You do an Anne Murray record and the world is yours,” says Andre. He was just 21 when he worked alongside Anne. “So far, nothing has topped that experience. Everything ran so fluently and effortlessly. They were 9 to 5 gigs. Most other records you make you’re working 16 hours a day.”

Music is all Andre’s ever known, starting from the time he was just 16 doing a co-op at a music store in Burlington. As a teenager, he learned to play the guitar but he didn’t have a natural gift like a lot of musicians. It was something he had to work at. It was more of the technical side – the engineering part – controlling and manipulating sound and adding elements to enhance it that turned him on. One opportunity lead to another, and once the door was opened, Andre was in the music scene. Flash forward more than two decades and he still is.

A special moment in time: Andre (sitting) with the legendary Anne Murray, who he worked with when he was just 21.

“Ninety per cent of my clients in the last 6 years I’ve never met,” explains Andre. “They’ll send me everything in a Dropbox folder, I mix it, and from there it gets manufactured.” He adds that the beauty about his big move from the west coast to here has been that he still gets to do what he loves but now it’s from the comfort of his own home (or the train station). “You watch them, and it’s like your old friend… but you’ve gone through this creative experience together. I have a family now. I can stay here in Huntsville and do my work. I don’t have to leave my family. I can regulate my own hours and make more money mixing as opposed to being involved in engineering and mixing. I’ve been lucky these last few years with that.”

Being in the game as long as he has means Andre’s seen a lot of change in the music industry over the years. He remembers the early 90s when drugs, sex and rock and roll was still the pinnacle of the music scene. These days, money often overrules substance and that’s a damn shame if you ask him. It seems making a million dollars from a record that lacks heart and soul has become more important to musicians than taking the time to create something that’s truly a masterpiece from the first track to the last. He’s worked with hundreds of artists and has so many stories but “most are unable to be told.”

These people we call our rock idols… you’ve heard it before. When you meet them, you wished you hadn’t.

But Huntsville, says Andre, is one of those places that is overflowing with incredibly talented musicians. He doesn’t get out much, he admits, and he’s still getting acquainted with the local music scene. But there’s been the odd discovery of local singing sensations (think Gina Horswood and Pam Millar) thanks to people like Sean Cotton, Grant Nickalls and Jeff Carter. Andre, with his expertise, has been able to lend a hand in helping some homegrown talent shine. He speaks highly of James Jones from Big East and his good friend/musician Paul Lagendyk who he teamed up with alongside Gina to write a tribute song to the late James Carroll who recently passed away after a courageous battle with cancer.

(Clockwise from top left) The Craig Cardiff sessions. | Andre takes his business very seriously and is constantly driven to find people who share the same goal: to make music from the heart. Here he’s pictured with Joe Barresi. | In the zone: Andre at Revolution Studios. (Photos courtesy of Andre Wahl.) | Andre with Dan Akroyd, Canada’s favourite funny man.

And as long as there are still musicians out there who like to keep it real, Andre’s foot will remain in the door. His desire to want to keep creating and producing is ignited when he connects with people who share the same willingness to take ownership of their music and not want to sound like anyone else. For him, that’s the greatest reward. It’s what keeps him going. It makes him tick, gets him going in the morning. He loves his job. Music runs so deep in Andre.

“Anyone can make records these days but not everyone has the ability to be original,” says Andre. “I believe that’s where my strength lies… in the push to make the artist create something new for themselves.”

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