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Andrew Baschyn and Bobbi Miller have come a long way together. Autonomous is their project, but it’s more than just a moniker for their musical alter ego or a classification for their songs. It’s also a great way to describe their songwriting process. Baschyn serves as the foundation, making mini discs for the rest of the group. Miller and the other collaborating musicians repeatedly listen to those mini discs until they construct their parts. Once they get together again, thay shape the song with what they have come up with separately. “I guess I never really thought about it,” said Baschyn, who said it comes naturally that way.

    “It doesn’t always work,” laughed Miller about the way their music is created. “I think we’re both introverted and very into secluding ourselves when we write. Musically, it seems to work best. We’ve tried creating a song organically and it just has never worked. It’s very strange. Any other project I’ve ever worked on, has been more organic but in this project it just doesn’t work.”
    Baschyn and Miller clearly work well together; throughout our conversation, both were finishing each other’s sentences and thoughts, which is how their musical relationship is as well. Miller finishes Baschyn’s airy songs with her moody vocals and poignant lyrics. With two main people, they obviously recruit other musicians to come in and play parts for these songs. It’s ever changing and even harder to keep up with who you might see at their next live show. But they don’t claim to be a “band” anyway.
    “It’s a question that always seems to be there,” said Baschyn while pondering the state of their project.
    “Of course they are going to be credited. Some of the songs on this recording were shaped by them more than anything. Some of them were done our traditional way. It’s gotten very difficult because of the way that we write. Most people aren’t used to that. People come into the project wanting to be a band, but it eventually cycles back into being a project,” Miller explained with a warm voice. “It’s hard to call us a band, even though it would be nice to always have the same people; to rely on each other as a unit. It eventually trickles back to the two of us doing our thing first.”
    Andrew Bibi, one of the collaborators, is a schooled jazz bassist who has been with the project for about a year and who Baschyn seems very impressed by. Bibi originally came in to fill keyboard duties, Baschyn and Miller found his skills in bass playing and eventually, he fell into that place.
    The music is best described by simply stating that it is beautiful. It’s calm and provides an atmosphere of relaxation. Lacking any sort of hidden climax, the music is comfortable to enclose yourself in. As are the smiles of both Miller and Baschyn. They describe their sound as having big beats, airy strings and ethereal vocals with a warm fuzzy studio sound. Comparisons would catagorize them with Morcheeba and Esthero.
    Autonomous is a feeling, a mood. The music is like those dreams with no beginning and no end, with no strong fears or overwhelming happiness — just perfect comfort. The songs are dreamscapes. Unlike others of the same label, they actually look like regular people with an air of class. Originality is what they’d like to convey to their audience.
    “Whenever people ask me ‘What kind of band are you in?’ I honestly don’t know what to say. After three or so years, I honestly don’t know how to categorize us. And I think that’s a good thing,” Miller said as he smiled at Baschyn. “It’s hard in this town. It’s almost essential to be labeled as indie rock.”
    Their CD release party this Friday, presents their stomping grounds of Minneapolis with their new album Lovelorn. Which, Baschyn revealed, is a mutual feeling he and Miller are being overwhelmed with of late. The album was produced by Ev of 12Rods and Autonomous is ecstatic about his work on their record and how it’s turned out.

    Lovelorn, the new CD by Autonomous, is reason to party. Join the fun with Autonomous and supporters Medication, The Morning Stars, and DJs Alexander East and H. Mhoon at the 7th Street Entry, 8 p.m., $6, 21+, ID Required.

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