A Q&A with rising producer Alex Farrar

Meet the producer behind albums from MJ Lenderman, Indigo De Souza, Wednesday, Snail Mail, Plains, and more

Wednesday’s Rat Saw God. Indigo De Souza’s back-to-back classics. MJ Lenderman’s Boat Songs. Snail Mail’s Valentine. Plains’ self-titled debut.

There’s a link between these six stellar albums, all with their distinct take on new-school indie twang: Alex Farrar, co-founder of the cozy-looking Asheville studio Drop of Sun. Farrar has played a role of some kind — either producing, mixing, engineering, or some combination — across all of them.

When I noticed this common thread, I had to reach out to Farrar and ask him directly about this impressive catalog. What makes these albums so accessible? And what’s making Asheville such a hotspot for the indie music scene right now? Below is our full conversation, conducted over email. And check out the latest issue of Hear Hear for a look at four rising artists Farrar is working with: Squirrel Flower, Fust, Hotline TNT, and Truth Club.

From your website, I read that Drop of Sun was founded as a home studio in 2015, then expanded in 2021 with a new location. How have you been feeling about the growth of the studio over the last few years since opening that new space?

The new building in the middle of West Asheville has allowed us to host more projects at once and have more people working in the studio, but thankfully we’ve been able to maintain the same ethos and vision. We’ve been committed from the studio’s inception to serving the creative community and facilitating artists/projects we believe in. That commitment hasn’t wavered in our transition, but we’re very happy in the new space and have had some amazing projects come through.

How would you summarize your overall approach to production? In other words, what do you think makes recording an album at Drop of Sun a unique experience for an artist? 

Creating a space that feels inviting, welcoming, and inspiring is a crucial part of getting the most from a project. We take great care at Drop of Sun to foster that by having instruments plugged in and ready to play, tailoring the environment to the artist, and being sensitive to what makes them feel comfortable and creative. Production goals vary widely in projects that I work on, so remaining flexible and attentive to an artist’s vision is very important. At the core, I’m there to be a creative collaborator and care for the technical needs of the project. The tech stuff is often pretty uninteresting so I do my best to keep the focus on the creative aspects. (Unless the artist is a gearhead!) Sometimes it’s just me and the artist playing all the instruments and coming up with arrangement ideas on the fly. Other times there may be a band of six people in the live room hashing it out with me making sure the session is moving smoothly, that everyone is comfortable and chiming in with ideas in moments that make sense. I feel incredibly grateful and flattered to be asked to work on someone’s art with them, so it only makes sense to me to tailor my approach to best fit their goals.

Between Indigo de Souza, MJ Lenderman, Wednesday, and Truth Club, there's clearly an emerging "scene" in North Carolina. I read your takes on this in a West Virginia Public Broadcasting piece, where you mentioned the impact of Moog and Make Noise being local businesses. How would you explain the overall sound or the "vibe" of the artists that have been bubbling up in Asheville, and how do you think you've played a role?

Asheville has a really special concentration of creative energy. There’s tons of really thoughtful and remarkable work being done here.  I think the biggest resource Asheville has is its community. There’s a rock-solid support system for people looking to explore their artistic goals in Asheville and I think that’s reflected in the prolific output the city has. We love to champion artists here who embody that creative ambition regardless of their resources or experience. To provide artists a place to create without judgment or need for pre-existing credentials is a defining principle of the studio and contributes to the momentum of the Asheville creative community.

To be honest, I wouldn't call myself a particularly big fan of country or grunge, but I've found the albums and songs you've produced with those sounds to be instantly accessible and approachable. (And I've shared them with friends who might not typically listen to similar artists.) Do you consider accessibility or approachability for new fans in your work? Do the artists you work with mind if they sound too "mainstream" as they try to define their unique sound?

For better or worse, I can’t say I much consider the accessibility for anyone other than the artist and myself. I am, however, so happy when their music reaches new ears. I do think there is a recurring quality in projects I work on of them sounding eclectic or overall aesthetically varied in comparison to peers working in a similar genre. Likely because while I typically work in the indie rock world, I’m sure I subconsciously pull influence indiscriminately from any music or art that inspires me which is a pretty mixed bag. I also think that artists often feel like the result of our work together is a noticeable step out from their previous output, but that’s always felt positive and exciting.

Not to flatter you, but you've worked on four of my favorite "indie rock" albums of the last few years: Plains' debut, both Indigo de Souza albums, and Boat Songs. Do you think there's a throughline to the way you approached production on these albums that makes them special or stand out in a really crowded musical landscape? Similarly, do you think there's a specific quality you look for in the artists you've working with?

That’s very kind of you to say! I think there is inevitably an aesthetic throughline to anything I work on that reflects my taste, choices, and tendencies, but I think the quality of projects I work on is ultimately a result of the artist‘s vision. I take great care to make the process fun and the final product the best it can possibly be, but it really only reaches full potential I think when an artist is being honest and is truly inspired. That can manifest in a lot of different ways, but it is something I see consistently in works that I admire or am lucky enough to be a part of.