From cinematic soundscapes to dancefloor transcendence, Ward Andrews is redefining the relationship between emotional depth and electronic music. An emerging force in the world of progressive house and melodic techno, Ward Andrews brings a designer’s eye and a storyteller’s soul to every beat he crafts. His music blurs the line between euphoric energy and introspective journey, melding sweeping filmic textures with driving rhythms to create something that feels both vast and deeply personal.
Since launching his project in 2024, he has carved a fast and formidable path earning over 75 million Instagram streams, and sharing stages with the likes of Genix and Jerro. He also brings his unique vision to the airwaves with a monthly radio show on Insomniac Radio, giving fans a deeper look into the sound and story behind his music.
In the interview, we chat to Ward Andrews about his creative process, the roots of his sound, and what’s next on his journey through the ever-evolving world of electronic music. He also shares an exclusive 1 hour mix below! 
Could you tell us about your earliest musical memory?
I had a Fisher-Price mobile that hung over my head and played Brahms’ Lullaby in my crib. I guess that was the 1970s infant rave scene.
When you compose and produce tracks, do you make music for yourself or do you make it with others in mind?
Great question! It’s both, often a certain order and process. The music is the energy and ideas that start my heart and head. It’s all feelings translated into notes, chords, beats. Often I’ll hear the melody or bassline in my head and put it in place, then start selecting instruments based on what sounds or feels right. Often, I’ll start to hear a section of a record I have loved in the past in my head at this stage in the process, and I can usually recall the exact track and time in the track to pull up and review from whatever decade, artist or record it comes from. This can influence instrument and rhythm choices.
So the music comes from me and it surfaces through my experience and taste, and then the back half of producing a track is all about arrangement and the audience is entirely in mind. Questions in the creative process arise: How will I tell this story? If this were a film score, how would I set the scene? How will the tension build? When will I reveal the melody or enter the drop? How will a dancefloor respond to this? What tracks have I played that have really built the kind of energy I want for this moment? What key in my set needs a new track to connect the storyline?
On social media you mentioned that your latest single ‘Awakening’ is about embodying who you were always meant to be. Was there a particular moment or experience that inspired this powerful message?
When I chose to pursue music intentionally about a year ago, and set aside the time and energy and schedule and focus for it. That was part of my awakening. It was taking time and energy for myself and my needs emotionally and creatively. I’d always heard and left music deeply and wanted to contribute creatively to the conversation but never went for it. As I have created and performed it has been a joyful process and given me a lot of personal peace and positive energy. My goal is to share this energy with others and provide art that is uplifting.
Stream ‘Awakening’ below:
You have a background in design. Can you tell us how this has shaped and influenced your musical journey so far?
Absolutely! Design and music have some many creative similarities. I have a studio art degree and my career path has been in graphic design and the software interface and product studio that I built and have grown over the past 20 years. In both music and design you are creating art for yourself and an audience. So the process of forming an intention and fleshing that out into an idea and a timeline or layout uses the same creative muscles.
I think the ability to learn, grow, accept critique, succeed or fail in an artistic idea are very similar. And for modern design and electronic dance music the software interfaces can be similar. Going from Final Cut Pro to Logic on a Mac had some similarities. I’ve since built music in FL and Ableton and have had the typical learning curve you experience with creation software tools and plugins. One of the big influences that type, motion, graphic and interface design have had on me is that you are always telling a story and moving the audience’s mind from one place to another. Music can have that same effect. I find myself visualizing the timelines and waveforms and designing the journey, the drops, the breakdowns as if it were a visual composition or user journey in software and user experience design.
Walk us through your typical production workflow – from concept to final mix:
- Have a feeling or idea and set an intention for the vibe of the track
- Build a bassline or melody to express it
- Complement that initial idea with rhythm in the notes and drum kit ideas
- Take a step back and loop and listen
- New ideas usually arrive for me, complementary chords, new melodic ideas, vocal ideas
- Try these new ideas and allow new ideas to emerge, or listen to tracks these idas remind me of from the past decades of dance music
- Allow the personality of the track to emerge and once it does, commit to it’s personality
- Refine the instruments and mix and arrange the elements to a storyline and house music structure (it’s important to me that my music is built on an accessible framework for other DJ’s and producers as well as the listener)
- Once these rules are set, decide where I might break the rules and format to further the story or idea or mood
- Finalize the instrument set, and other track elements and bounce it out to listen to in the car, on a walk, on a laptop
- Refine the mix and swap instruments and arrangement as needed
- Share with a few peers and friends for feedback
- Create a demo extended mix and then make a demo/radio edit (not the other way around, I love the extended, long form musical journey and idea first and then edit down a sampling of that big idea vs tacking on extra bars and calling it an extended mix)
Which albums or artists changed your perspective on the music you make?
The long form musical arrangements of New Order and The Cure; their 12’’ mixes stand up as musical journeys decades later. The basslines of Chris Lowe and quirky sophisticated lyrics and melodies of Neil Tennant from Pet Shop Boys, the melodies of Vince Clarke from Depeche Mode, Yazoo and Erasure. The collaboration of Madonna and William Orbit. The 90s sounds of Orbital, Future Sound of London, Underworld, Sun Electric, Global Communication, producers that run the gamut of Brian Eno to Flood to Jack Antonoff to Avicii.
Modern artists and labels such as Bonobo, Ben Bohmer, Dosem, Tinlicker, Lane 8, Luttrell, Rezident, Cassian, Because of Art, Above & Beyond on Anjuna, Colorize, This Never Happened, etc. And the film scores of John Williams, Danny Elfman, Hans Zimmer, Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross and Daft Punk’s iconic Tron score.
Let’s talk about your radio show Creation Park Radio on Insomniac Radio. What’s the vision behind it and what can fans expect from it in the near future?
I’ve always loved discovering and sharing music with others. I used to make mix tape cassettes for my friends in high school. With Creation Park Radio, it’s an opportunity to introduce some new IDs for people who haven’t been to a live set. It’s a way to expose lesser known artists to a broader audience. And I love bringing a fresh pairing of music I love in a new way to those who love melodic, progressive, cinematic house music.
Everyone can listen on the first Wednesday of the month at 8pm PT to hear a new episode through the Insomniac Radio app and the recording is available first Fridays on my SoundCloud account. I’m always interested in new music and featuring some of it on my show, so please DM me on all social channels @wardandrews and share what you have!
Did you always see yourself pursuing music as a career, or did you have other plans?
It’s the reverse for me. I jumped into a very successful design career, I’ve raised three amazing kids who are now off on their own, and I’m enjoying the opportunity to jump into music in a focused way for the first time.
What have you got in the pipeline for the rest of 2025?
I have two insane sets I’m preparing for Burning Man, cannot wait to play these out – more details soon. I’m playing my hometown August 10th at Sunbar in Tempe, Arizona. And I’m very excited about the Off The Grid Campout festival in Happy Valley California this October. More live dates should be announced soon. You’ll also see releases of many of my sets as well as flips and mash-ups on SoundCloud over the coming months. These have been very popular at my live sets and it’s time to share these online, especially the Hans Zimmer – Interstellar x Corn Maze flip which I’ve included in the mix I’ve made for YourEDM.
Stream Ward Andrews mix below, exclusive to YourEDM:
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