When Adam McDaniel ‘16, co-owner of West Asheville Drop of Sun Studios, attended UNC Asheville's prestigious Music Technology program, he and his fellow students often used the school’s studios to record after hours. Their passion for their work and collaborations kept them there out of their shared passion for music, he says, not a grade.
While still a student in 2015, McDaniel opened Drop of Sun Studios inside his home with friend and business partner Alex Farrar ‘14. Thanks in part to the many connections they made at UNC Asheville, the studio quickly gained momentum and became a success.
Eventually, growth led the studio to move to its current Haywood Road location, where it's since become a destination for both locally and nationally renowned artists, including Angel Olsen, Animal Collective, MJ Lenderman, and Indigo de Souza.
Drop of Sun has also recently become a temporary home for UNC Asheville’s Music Technology program while its on-campus space in Lipinsky Hall undergoes renovation. The partnership has felt natural. For years, Assistant Professor of Music Carolina Perez and Director of Music Technology and Lecturer in Music Technology and Electronics Charles Jude Thornton Weinberg have brought students to Drop of Sun for tours, to sit in on sessions, and participate in hands-on workshops. So when Lipinsky Hall, home to UNC Asheville’s Music Technology program’s studios, started remodeling, it made sense to turn to McDaniel and Farrar.
“We have what we have thanks to the building blocks that UNC Asheville afforded us,” McDaniel shares of his and Ferrar’s experience in the Music Technology program. UNC Asheville provided “the resources to be creative and explore on my own. I had guidance and encouragement from professors who were dedicated beyond what they were expected to be,” McDaniel says. By sharing ideas in collaborative spaces, like their own studio, McDaniel and Farrar see hosting current students as an opportunity to help build the same skills and confidence they once developed.
“What we found most rewarding was having access to resources while we were developing our own craft, McDaniel explains.” Recording skills and techniques can be learned on YouTube, he says, but you can’t replicate the kinds of connections and mentorship that happen in a real studio. “Relationships are what we try to foster first and foremost at the studio. And Asheville lends itself to collaboration and cooperation—it's an encouraged ethos here.”
Drop of Sun Studio Manager Lauren Van Epps ‘13 agrees. She’s also an alumna of UNC Asheville with a B.A. in Photography. She sees firsthand how the studio bridges campus and community.
“Asheville isn’t just a college town. There's this looped-in community of artists, so it’s much easier to go from being on campus to [post-graduation] already having your foot in the community and developing relationships.” Drop of Sun often attracts interns and assistant engineers from UNC Asheville’s Music Technology program. “For a lot of these students, Adam and Alex are their heroes; they listen to the music that comes out of this studio,” she says.
That admiration extends beyond campus. Internationally acclaimed artist and Asheville native Indigo de Souza also found Drop of Sun to be a creative home. “Drop of Sun has been an important space for me and my band. I have so many wonderful memories recording and practicing there,” de Souza says.
She adds that the heart behind the studio is just as meaningful as the music it helps create.
“Asheville is so truly blessed with the love Adam and Emily McDaniel and Alex have poured into Drop of Sun, and their presence in our community. They really care about uplifting the community and helping artists connect with the resources they need to reach their goals.”
Beyond the recording studio, Drop of Sun also hosts an artist residency space through Lamplight AVL, a nonprofit founded by McDaniel and his wife, Emily. The goal behind Lamplight is similar to what Drop of Sun offers UNC Asheville students: access to spaces where they can experiment, collaborate, and create community.
By building places that nurture creativity, these UNC Asheville alumni are strengthening Asheville’s cultural community and ensuring artists have the support they need to grow. “We want to increase the opportunities for people to make art and collaborate without expectations,” McDaniel explains of his motivation. “It’s the taproot of what makes a scene.”
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