Songwriter, producer and musician Dimitri Andic prepares for his debut project, First Listen– an unconventional EP where the artist flips the typical album structure upside down. Instead of the vocalist’s name on the project, accrediting the producers involved, First Listen is a producer’s album, accrediting a different vocalist on each track.
“I don’t sing, myself,” Andic told Sidedoor. “I wanted to turn the producer and artist dynamic on its head, and have the artist feature instead of the producer. So it’s my project, and my songs as a producer, featuring vocalists on each track.”
Dimi was introduced to the world of music production by his older brother, who works as Lil Yachty’s creative director.
“I just finished highschool last year, I’m 19,” said Andic. “When I was in grade ten, or I want to say at the end of grade nine, I got involved when I saw my older brother do it. He would always play around with it, he’s actually Lil Yachty’s creative director, but it started as a hobby. He had a song on one of Lil Yachty’s albums, the Teenage Emotions album- ever since he produced that song, I just thought it was so cool, so I wanted to get into it. Right after that I downloaded Logic and just started making beats. I didn’t even watch YouTube videos or anything to learn how, so it took me a little longer to get used to the program- so I want to say I’ve been producing since 2018.”
When it comes to signature style, the producer doesn’t like to limit himself. He takes inspiration from his favourite artists and producers, then adds that special Dimi twist- usually including atmospheric sounds to transport his listeners to a different setting.
“There are artists that I work with on a day-to-day basis that would say I have a style, but I honestly don’t like to box myself in,” said Andic. “I try to keep it true to me. I like all kinds of music, so I try to produce in all genres- like R&B, alternative, and hip hop, but you’ll never see me make a repetitive beat.”
Andic says that earning the opportunity to work on Lil Yachty’s Lil Boat 3.5 was a dream come true.
“Recently I produced on Lil Yachty’s recent album, Lil Boat 3.5, it’s the deluxe to his Lil Boat 3,” said Andic. “Yachty is one of my top artists, so it was so surreal to land that project. It’s crazy how in one year you could be listening to these artists, and the next you’re producing for them. It was really unexpected. I can get really in my head about my work, get insecure, so it felt so crazy when someone at his standard or level loved one of my beats.”
While the artist doesn’t like to aim for a specific sound, he’s heavily inspired by local artists like Drake, Travis Scott, or The Weeknd.
“I honestly wanted this sound to fit together, feel contemporary, but not all be the same genre,” said Andic. “The work on this EP is mainly contemporary R&B and rap, featuring mainly Toronto rappers. Very inspired by T.O. rap like Drake, or The Weeknd. There’s slow R&B, hard rap- they’re very different, but don’t sound out of place.”
Andic wanted to release his debut project in September of 2020, but was dissatisfied with what he’d created so far.
“I felt like it wasn’t ready,” said Andic. “I felt like certain aspects were rushed, it didn’t feel cohesive enough. It was also going to be a full album, but I shortened it into an EP so my listeners can get a taste first. I started working on it probably last June, so about a year and a month or so.”
The introduction to First Listen, “Rather Be Alone”, opens the EP on an instrumental track featuring frequent collaborator Carrie. (@carri.el) and Jodah (@222jodah).
“I mainly wanted to keep it my own, besides Carrie. and Jodah, obviously,” said Andic. “This song is very production heavy, I wanted to add a lot of details. This really feels like an introduction, leading up to something exciting.”
The secondary track is “Separate Occasions”, a song featuring Derek Wise (@derekwise) from 88glam in Toronto, and one that Dimi describes as a more relaxed, feel-good single.
“When I show ”Separate Occasions” to my friends, they say it reminds them of going to Mexico, or like in a Havana,” said Andic. “I get the vibe, I think we’re going for that for the music video.”
Andic follows up with a song featuring Swagger Rite (@swaggerrite), “Tit for Tat” is the most energetic on the project.
“He actually freestyled the whole thing, it was actually all one take- the main vocals,” said Andic. “We had to literally stop the tape for him to stop.”
Taking up the fourth spot, “Maybelline” features Castro Guapo, (@castrocmdwn) sitting right in front of number five, “Unwind” featuring Xanni (@xanni_so).
“This is the kind of song you could play at a party,” said Andic. “It’s got a very ‘party next door’ kind of feel.”
The EP’s finale, “Hold On” featuring Carrie. And Notifi (@Notifi) closes the doors on First Listen with a gentle thud.
“This is definitely one of the most mellow, chillest songs on the track,” said Andic.
Musician, producer, and songwriter Andic treats his debut EP with specialized care.
“It holds a special place in my heart,” said Andic. “It’s me, it’s my sound, it’s what I like. I don’t have a ton of music out that I’ve made myself, so I feel like this will be the first time people can fully see my production and the music I can create. I’m excited for people to see, like, “Oh, this is a Dimi beat. This is what Dimi sounds like.””
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“I hope they’ll see what direction I was going in,” said Andic. “I hope they’ll be like, “Oh yeah, he knows what he’s doing.” That it doesn’t just sound like a bunch of random songs thrown together. I didn’t want anything to be subtle, I want people to hear it and say, “Okay, this isn’t something I’ve heard before.””
