Andy and Annie Skinner have made a huge impact on the music scene in Indianapolis. The pair own the record store Indy CD and Vinyl and DJ under the team name A-Squared Industries. From selling records in their shop in Broad Ripple to sharing their love for music while DJing at Spellbound, this couple is bringing the dark indie to Indy. Listen to their playlist below on both Spotify and Soundcloud!
Tell us about your musical background.
Annie: I started working at a record store when I was around 15, so over half my life I’ve been working in record stores. I am more of a seller of music but recently I have started making music. I started taking a production class at Deckademics. I have always had a passion about sharing music with people and that is where DJing fills in. DJing is perfect because I get the chance to see peoples reactions to the songs that I play. If I play a song that I love and see that it makes them happy, I am happy. We love remixing and putting our own twist on indie dance music. We DJ at Spellbound, a monthly DJ dance night with DJ Evil Twin that plays darker, industrial, goth, new wave music. It is a fun opportunity for us to do something that is not happening in Indiana but is actually happening in bigger cities. It is nice because it is what is happening in cities like Los Angeles, New York City and Chicago and seeing the success here was shocking at first.
Andy: I started out as just a lover of music but then began touring with bands, booking and promoting shows, being involved with three record labels, managing bands and tours, and now I own the record store with Annie. We have been DJing together since 2006-2007 and still book and promote shows while running the record store. We both have had separate careers in music, but DJing has made it come together. When we started DJing together as a team, we were the first DJ night in Indianapolis that played indie rock dance tracks. It is nice to see what is selling at the record store to see what is hitting with our customers.
Tell us about the mix you curated. Does it give off a type of mood? What should we be doing while listening in?
Annie and Andy: It is more dark wave. It is moody, sexy, dangerous but not super depressed. A lot of this music is not getting played on the radio but is very popular and well respected. We are pushing music that is bubbling underground that is not mainstream yet.
What groups are killing the game right now?
Andy: Boy Harsher and Health are both doing amazing right now.
Annie: Billie Eilish is huge. We sell a lot of Vampire Weekend, Funeral Party, Cage the Elephant, The Big Thief, The Coathangers and Cherry Glazerr is doing great right now.
Tell me about your past and current music projects.
Andy: In the past, I have toured, produced, managed and been in bands. Now, I still book bands and I DJ with Annie.
Annie: I have worked in a record store and now I am DJing and learning how to make my own music.
What are your interests outside of music?
Andy: We have an almost six year old who is really awesome. We took classes at Deckademics and learned so much from that. We are really into traveling, our favorite place being Iceland. When we travel, our first stop is always at record stores and all of our friends around the world work at, live near, or own a record store.
Annie: Our son is really into other things besides music. I am learning a lot about black holes, space, paleontology and other things that I do not know anything about. He is really into the world and it is fun to hang out with a five year old who is opening your mind. I am so focused on music and the things that I am into and he is very deep and is making me think about other things more.
Follow Indy CD & Vinyls Instagram, Andy’s Instagram, and Annie’s Instagram and check out their website to learn more about the record store.
