Andhi & the O’Neills is a folk rock band from the Hudson Valley, formed in 2021 by singer-songwriter Andhi O’Neill (Origami Sun). Blending classic pop melodicism with introspective folk and early rock ‘n’ roll grooves, the band features Austin Kopec (lead guitar/keys), Stefano Luigi Guida (bass), and Greg Hanson (drums). Their debut album, The Surprise Party, recorded by Seth Applebaum (Ghost Funk Orchestra) and mastered by Heather Jones (So Big Auditory), reflects influences ranging from Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell to Buddy Holly, Ray Charles, Pavement, and Elliott Smith. The album drops today via Mint 400 Records, & showcases their dynamic, genre-spanning sound. (Photo by Seth Applebaum)
Q: In your opinion, what are the essential qualities that make a “good songwriter”?
Songs can take a lot of forms, but at a basic level, a song is a tune set to words. So, to write a good song, you either have to come up with a really good tune or have something interesting to say. The best songwriters can do both.
A sense of empathy is also important. The more you can relate to other people or attempt to understand their perspectives, the better you’ll be at writing songs that people can connect with.
Q: What is the basis for writing attention-grabbing music in this day and age?
If I knew the actual answer to this question, I would probably be in a much different financial situation right now. But in all seriousness, I don’t think that the approach to writing good music in 2025 is all that different than it was in 1925. If you hone your craft & have something honest or interesting to say, it will resonate with some kind of audience. Persistence is probably the most important thing.
But I think the best approach is not to worry too much about being attention grabbing. It’s more important to be in love with the process of making art than it is to use it as an avenue for external validation. If your music isn’t well known or well distributed, it is still a window to who you are or who you were. There’s a lot of value in that.
Q: What has it been like working with an indie record label as opposed to working on your own?
When someone hears what you do & wants to put their stamp on it & invite you into their circle, it’s very flattering & validating. Mint 400 has put out a lot of cool music & we’re proud to be a part of that. I have a lot of respect for anyone who dedicates their time & attention to other people’s artistic endeavors.
This is our debut album as a band & our first experience with this label. I’m hopeful that working with them will help it reach more ears than if we just uploaded it ourselves.
Q: Can you pinpoint some specific songs and songwriters that changed the way you write music?
When I was 15, I got really into the album Reinventing Axl Rose by Against Me!. I started a folk punk band almost immediately with two friends & acoustic guitar became my primary instrument. It also opened up my mind to different genres of music. My CD collection was almost all punk music at that point. Suddenly I was listening to Paul Simon & Bob Dylan & trying to figure out how to fingerpick. In that way, it started me on the path to the kind of music I write now.
I had a similar experience a few years later when I first heard Tall Dwarfs. They were a 2-piece lo-fi band from New Zealand that started in the 80s. They didn’t have a drum set or a drummer, so their percussion came from tape loops & household objects. When you hear a Tall Dwarfs song, you can tell it’s them right away by their use of percussion. They’re a great example of using your limitations as a strength. Their music helped convince me that I didn’t need a big studio or expensive equipment to make something great. My album More Songs About Insects & Fruit by Origami Sun is extremely indebted to Chris Knox, Alec Bathgate, & the music they made together as Tall Dwarfs.
I moved to the Bronx in 2017 & got really into biking on the greenway trails that run through the borough. I would put headphones on & ride for hours. That summer I listened to Frank Ocean’s Blonde in its entirety every single day while riding my bike. I was completely obsessed. I loved the way he used flashes of images & non-sequiturs in his lyrics. To me, it mimicked the way your brain can bounce between interrelated thoughts & memories. I made a solo album called Memorabilia a few years later & Blonde was something I kept in the back of my mind the entire time. I even attempted my own version of the “Nights” beat switch on a song called “Too Soon”.
While I don’t think our music sounds particularly like any of these artists, their impact on my songwriting can’t be overstated.
Q: Do you find it hard to be inspired by artists that are younger than you, or are you motivated by their energy? Can you name any new artists you find inspiring?
I don’t think the age of other artists matters very much at all. If someone is making music that resonates with me, I’m just happy to have something to get lost in.
Earl Sweatshirt is 5 years younger than me & he’s easily one of my favorite lyricists. Some Rap Songs & the album Voir Dire he put out with The Alchemist a couple years ago are some of my favorites ever. Voir Dire hit me especially hard because a lot of the songs were about becoming a parent, which is something I was experiencing around the same time.
Q: For your new album, what inspired the lyrical content, album title, and overall vibe?
The Surprise Party is named after the last song on the album. I wrote it after my grandma’s 90th birthday party. A lot of the songs I was writing at the time felt bitter & negative. I remember consciously wanting to write something more optimistic. It’s a song about telling the people you love that you appreciate them. I’m proud of that one, it’s a nice song with a sincere sentiment. It feels like a closing track & there’s something fitting about it as the album title.
From a recording standpoint, we wanted this album to sound like a band playing together in a room. Outside of some hand percussion & backing vocals, most of what you hear was recorded live. I think that gives the music a very different feel than if we were to record to a click track.
Lyrically, there’s a pretty wide range of topics. “I Went to the Opera”, is a somewhat true story about going to the Metropolitan Opera & feeling out of place. At the end of the song, the narrator gets on the subway, which smells like pee, & falls asleep because he’s finally in a space where he feels comfortable. “Wichita”, on the other hand, is a fictional account of someone who never wants to leave their hometown. I’ve never actually set foot in Kansas, but I know plenty of people that have no interest or in leaving their hometown. I have one family member in particular that refuses to drive south of a very specific traffic light. It could have just as easily been called “Pittsburgh” or “Dover Plains”, but Wichita is a lot more fun to sing.
Q: Do you find that you ruminate over writing songs and hold on to them for a long time before including them on a record? Or do you prefer to write them, release them, and be done with them? Do you ever re-visit old material to do a re-write or once it’s done it’s done?
I’m definitely more of a ruminator. Sometimes it takes years before I attempt to record a song. Honestly, I think that can be a helpful part of the process. When I write a new song, it will probably be more exciting to play than an old one. But I find that if I record it right away, there’s a bigger chance I’ll be dissatisfied with the results. Playing songs for an audience can help you hone an arrangement. It’s a good opportunity to try different tempos or mix up the dynamics. I think it does more justice to the song to try different approaches & let it marinate for a while.
Some of the songs on The Surprise Party have been kicking around for almost a decade. “Caffeine” was written on a Casio keyboard in 2015. This is actually the third time I’ve recorded it, but it’s also the best version by far.
I think revising & rewriting are useful tools for any artist. I’m 35 & I’ve been writing songs in one form or another since middle school. One of my favorite ways to work lately is to take a song that I no longer play & turn it into something new. This could mean recycling a lyric or chord progression, changing a song from major to minor, or trying a different time signature. If I’m not happy with a song anymore, I think it’s better to give it new life than to let it rot.
Q: Were there any lessons you learned in the writing and recording process for your current release that you will take with you into your next project?
The Surprise Party is the most collaborative album I’ve been a part of. Greg has a really good sense of structure & dynamics. He’s got great instincts when it comes to breaking down or building up a song. Stefano brings a lot of energy to the band, not just in terms of his bouncy basslines, but his presence adds a lightness to the practice room. It helps so that things never get over serious. Austin’s a great musician & there’s a few songs on The Surprise Party that benefited from him suggesting chord alterations or substitutions. His guitar solos are easily some of my favorite moments on the record.
Working with Seth Applebaum was also a really great experience. He’s a talented person in many different fields & he has a really good ear for arranging. It was nice to have a third party involved to bounce ideas off of & make suggestions. If something wasn’t working, he was good about pinpointing it & figuring out solutions. He also mixed the album. I love his use of delay & reverb to create space & atmosphere. You can really hear it on “Sunlight is Blue”.
I’d love to be able to continue working collaboratively like this because everyone brings their own strengths to the table & leaves their own unique fingerprints on it.
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