It seems hard to believe that it's now just over 20 years since Belfast-born singer/songwriter ANDY WHITE first burst into most music fans' consciousness with 'Rave On Andy White', a memorable debut kickstarting a fascinating and varied career which has since found our hero collaborating with Crowded House/ Split Enz mainstay Tim Finn as part of ALT, becoming a prime mover within Peter Gabriel's WOMAD Festival and - of course - continue to release thought-provoking albums mixing and matching a pop sensibility with wryly-observed social commentary.
Now based in Melbourne, Australia, Andy is temporarily back in Europe to promote his excellent new album 'Garageband' (just out on Floating World Records) and is on the road for the next few weeks with and without his 'Garageband' trio, also featuring drummer Marc Krebs and bassist Beat Pachlatko.
W&H catch Andy as he's about to leave for Bath, on the back of a particularly well-received show in Leytonstone, East London. He's having a few problems with his mobile, but after switching to a land line, we come through loud and clear and it's immediately clear that Andy's great company and very much one of rock's all-round good guys.
"Yeah, last night was great...actually it's my first time back in London since 'Speechless' (album from 2000)," he reveals.
"It's a Belfast guy who runs the club ('What's Cookin', in Leytonstone) and it's a really bizarre place...it's a shrine to Freddie Fender and there are Hawaiian garlands all over the place. Amazing atmosphere."
It certainly sounds like it! Of course, the point of Andy's extensive tour is to fully acquaint his audience with the best of his new album 'Garageband', the title of which tricked this reviewer into expecting a noisy, angst-y 'Blood & Chocolate'. However, while 'Garageband' is a boisterous pop record in places, it's layered and very much in touch with catchy pop. 'Garageband' actually refers to the Apple computer programme you used in making the record, doesn't it?
"Yeah, that's true," notes Andy, "though the title works on two levels, because it also refers to the feeling of going back to my roots, rehearsing songs with my mates."
"The idea or concept of 'Garageband' refers to that Punk feeling of starting to make music, being vibed up by listening to The Clash and while it does refer to the computer programme, I wrote the songs on the album very much on the old Jack Kerouac principle...you know, "first word, best word"...very spontaneous."
Just like Dean and Sal in 'On The Road'?
"Yes, absolutely," Andy replies. "I read the book again recently and it made a big impression in terms of attitude."
The album sounds quite live and fresh in many ways, but there are also loops and programmed sounds and a lot of layers in there. Was there a lot of technical input involved?
"Yes and no, really," muses Andy. "Initially, we went to Real World (Peter Gabiral's studio in Box, rural Wiltshire) with me on bass and guitar, Liam Bradley on drums and Radoslav (Lorkovic) on keyboards. That was the core group and we did two days of very live recording, laying down the backing tracks that way."
"From there," he continues, "I went back to Australia and added the World Music elements and other bits and pieces. I was very keen on throwing all my ideas into the pot, not to hold back at all...that's why it's a very dense and layered record and there's a lot of serious content. At present, a song like 'Message To You' (the record's strident recent EP lead track) very much goes out to the people in Burma."
For all the layers and detail involved, in the album's sleevenotes you mention you wrote all the songs in a burst of only ten days. Was there a particular songs that kickstarted the process for you?
"They're in the order I wrote them," replies Andy evenly. "Well, more or less anyway. That was a deliberate strategy and part of the spontanous process. Again that ties in with the the stream-of-consciousness Kerouac rule of creating. I mean, the way the music industry usually works, they tell YOU which order the songs should be...often with the single very early on, but I've found the only way to progress and remain happy with what you do is to listen to them but then do your own thing....not to compromise too much. Maybe I should listen to the record company instead!" he finishes, laughing loudly.
You mentioned the time you spent recording the album at Real World in Wiltshire. Did that come about because of your previous ALT-related WOMAD links with Peter Gabriel? Do you know him well personally?
"Yes, I do, which is fantastic because I was actually a huge fan of his early work when I was thirteen," Andy enthuses.
"I sent him a copy of the 'Out There' record and he came to see a show I did previously in Bath, funnily enough and told me he'd really liked the 'Speechless' record. Being part of the whole WOMAD thing is an incredible experience, too, because it's very much democracy in motion. They have these amazing musicians from all over the world but everyone involved is treated with the same respect. "
OK, so you worked on backing tracks in Wiltshire and then took the songs back to Melbourne, but you also recorded in Anchorage on the way....this is quite a global recording method, isn't it?
"Well, the great thing about the recording process now is that you can take hard disks with you...it's so much more portable than 2 inch tape reels!" Andy laughs.
"I was actually touring in Alaska at the time and I'd recommend it as a creative landscape and a beautiful place to go in general. It might surprise you, actually."
How do you mean?
"Well, Alaska's actually very left-wing," says Andy. "It's a very 'Guardian reader' part of the US, and very beautiful as well. It's very like West Cork where you live, in fact."
Really?
"Yeah, really wild and beautiful, rather like the Ring of Kerry times 1000! There's a great studio in Anchorage too...gorgeous piano, very spontaneous atmosphere and it encourages a very organic approach which attracts me in a big way."
Despite this globe-trotting approach to work, though, Andy's now very settled in his adopted home town of Melbourne, Australia. Andy, as an English bloke living in West Cork, what's the attraction of Australia? The reason I'm curious is because about 50% of the population under 25 from this part of the world now appears to have re-located to Australia.
"Basically, it's because it's like a more relaxed version of modern day Ireland but with much better weather and it's more multi-cultural," says Andy matter-of-factly.
"You have to remember that since Colonisation, the Irish have been going there," he continues, "so, for me, in many ways it's a relief to live there because I understand the vibe and the mentality."
So that's primarily why the Irish diaspora now makes a beeline for the Southern Hemisphere instead of North America...
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"Well, I personally think America has lost it, it's out of control," says Andy.
"Modern day America is very threatening, whereas Australia offers familiarity as well as the weather, which is much more important than you'd imagine. For me, the catalyst for coming here stems back to working with Tim Finn, actually, plus I then wrote or collaborated in the writing of a song which became a theme tune for Kathy Freeman, a female sportswoman of Aborigine origin who's become a hero for the new Australia. That was inspirational for me. Besides, there's the simple fact that I can't afford to live in Dublin or Belfast any more, much as I love both cities."
Too true. You're talking telephone numbers if you want to buy a property down my way these days. Speaking of Dublin, especially, though, on the song 'A Long Time Coming', there are loads of Dublin references. Is the "Dino's Bar" image a Phil Lynott reference?
"Yeah, totally" Andy admits. "'The Boys Are Back In Town' is one of my favourite songs from the '70s. Also, the song refers to David Bowie's 'The Jean Genie' (the lyric goes "hey darling you look alright" at one stage), and that's my other favourite '70s anthem...so really that song's quite nostalgic for that kind of time when Dublin was quite Bohemian and I myself lived in a typically big Georgian house. Before the prices went up and everything got converted into offices. It's very much a case of me remembering when I could afford to live in Dublin."
Still on the subject of Dublin and the Irish music industry in general, you've previously won the Hot Press Songwriter of the Year award and have been lauded at home, so you're not exactly a prophet without honour in Ireland. From the distance of living in Australia, though, how do you feel you're viewed as an artist in Ireland these days?
"That's an interesting one and I think it changes," muses Andy.
"In the North, things have gradually got better for me and I've gradually gained a better position in the hierarachy, if you like. For example, I can go to see Snow Patrol because I know Gary (Lightbody) personally," he laughs.
"In England, though, I tend to get people coming to the gigs who remember me from 'Rave On' and 20 years back. In Ireland - and Dublin especially - it was around the period of 'Destination Beautiful' that I seemed to be doing especially well, but that co-incided with the period I was living there, so probably my profile was bigger at the time."
Do you get out much on the live scene in Melbourne? I know Sydney's a real hotbed of talent and in fact I'm about to interview Perry Keyes, a terrific ex-taxi driver, turned singer/ songwriter who's definitely one to watch.
"Yeah, Melbourne's very fertile in terms of music and performers," Andy confirms.
"But then Australia's got it's own established scene anyway and mostly it's only people who have enjoyed a decent level of success who come to tour in Aus. But once they get into something, it's huge. For example, they're really into surfer dudes, people like Michael Franti (Spearhead) and Ben Harper are huge out there. In my case, I play maybe once a year, but I don't tour extensively like I do in Europe, the UK and Ireland."
Talking of travelling extensively, you've potentially got another favourite along the lines of 'James Joyce's Grave' with 'Samuel Beckett', where the song's hero makes reference to bumping into three Irish literary giants - alive and deceased - in Seamus Heaney, Oscar Wilde and of course Beckett himself - in a variety of unlikely settings. It's a really witty, wry tune set to a more traditional acoustic backdrop than most of the 'Garageband' record. I got the impression it was a sly dig at people who love to drop names, you know "You'll never guess who I had a drink with last night" sort of thing. Is this anywhere near the truth?
"It's a very surreal song," chuckles Andy.
"It's very much written as a kind of counterpart to 'James Joyce's Grave' and in terms of meaning it can be whatever you take it to be. If that's what you take from it, that's great becuase people are always telling me their individual spin on it. It's funny because I did that one last night in Leytonstone and saying Beckett's name alone got a massive cheer. The one thing I have to modify, though, is the reference to Gay Byrne (well-known Irish broadcaster)...often I change that to George Best in a live context, because more people get it!"
Sadly, by this stage, our time is drawing to a close, but finally Andy, there's one more detail about the making of 'Garageband' that I'm completely mystified aout: you're credited as playing 'aubergine' on the sleeve, but to the best of my knowledge you can't busk much of a tune from dark purple vegetables...unless it's like that Beach Boys record where they recorded Paul McCartney munching vegetables...
"Hur hur! Sorry to disappoint you, but an Aubergine in this sense is actually a tiny little 12-string guitar. I wanted to call it Prince..."
...Because it's small and purple?
"Yeah, yeah, exactly, but I couldn't do that in the end so 'Aubergine' it became because it looks like one, as does its' case. It does exactly what it says on the case, so to speak."
Which, indeed, does 'Garageband', if you're searching for great, vibrant pop music with something to say. If so, then Andy White - to badly paraphrase another Irish literary giant - is still very much your only man.
('Garageband' is out now on Floating World Records.)
(www.andywhite.com )
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