Andy Bull - Interview

The last four years have been a period of experimentation and development for Andy Bull, but now, as he prepares to embark on a nation-wide tour, everything has fallen into place. In support of his second album Sea Of Approval, Andy chats to Ruben Seaton about his producing and songwriting process, his ‘ballsy’ live performance, and the importance of living your own life.

All Ages Concerts Sydney: Congratulations on the release on your second album, Sea Of Approval! How does it feel to have new music out to the world, especially since it’s been so long since your past records?

Andy Bull: I guess it feels like a release, because I’ve worked really hard on this one. It’s been five years since my last album, and the whole process of making Sea Of Approval took about a year. It was a year of quite hard work, so it’s nice to feel like I’m out in the public again, interacting with the people. This interaction is amazing for me – it’s crazy how quickly it changes when you’ve been on your own for a year and then in three of four weeks it’s totally public and you’re talking to everyone about it.

AACS: Sea Of Approval is a mature yet experimental album and a definite departure from the sounds of Phantom Pains [EP, 2011]; can you give us an insight into what inspired that change? Do you see it as an example of your development as a songwriter and producer?

AB: It came about from a lot of personal decisions about how I wanted to work. I wanted to take control myself so after Phantom Pains I wanted to work on my own, I wanted to learn how to start recording myself, I wanted to learn how to play synthesiser. I knew as soon as I picked up the synthesiser back in 2011 that that was the sound I was looking for. Then came the time where I knew that I could record an album on my own, with the sounds that I wanted to use, and I really knew that I wanted to produce on my own and play as many of the instruments as I could myself. Those two things, I think, inspired the change: a new sound and a new approach.

AACS: What sort of messages are you trying to convey through Sea Of Approval? Is there a track on the album which best exemplifies your feelings?

AB: I always go back to ‘Baby I Am Nobody Now’: I see it as the real cornerstone of the album. It manages to eye in a lot of the things I am looking for, and it really married in the combination of song writing and electronic music. I feel like the mood of that song is really the crux of that record.

AACS: Were there certain songs on the album that were harder to perfect than others? I’ve noticed that you’ve ended up with an alternate version of ‘Baby I Am Nobody Now’.

AB: Yeah, definitely. That track took about four months to tinker away at and perfect, and it didn’t have a chorus until right at the end. Since I was writing and producing at the same time, it was quite an inefficient process. There was lots of experimenting on the record, and lots of playing around until things felt right. It just has to be that way when you’re working on your own – you can’t chuck it to a band and say ‘Yeah, awesome!’, because you have to form the song one layer at a time.

AACS: You’ve talked about working with yourself – do you think the freedom of working solo is worth all the time it’s taken?

AB: Absolutely. There’s no perfect process. To me, in life there are certain things that just feel right at that time, and certain challenges and obstacles are just part and parcel with the choice you make.

AACS: Can you explain the mindset that forms ‘Keep on Running’? Do you think a reliance on outside forces govern the way we live?

AB: I can’t speak for anyone else, but personally I felt like I had maybe inherited habit, values and goals from other people without even realising it. If you don’t spend time reflecting and thinking about your interactions, you can end up not thinking for yourself at all – which can be dangerous. I don’t want to end up being some guy holding a burning torch and a pitchfork – I want to take time and think about if I’m doing things the right way, because this is my life. We are living in a swamp of information at the moment, so it’s hard to calmly and gently decide what you think without reacting to the world all the time. But, having said that, disregarding the outside world completely can lead you to become the psychopath and you don’t want that! You have to tread the line carefully.

AACS: You’ve become well known for your prolific touring – what can we expect from your upcoming tour in September?

AB: We are completely reinterpreting the album for the live stage. The live band reimagines it, so I think it’s actually pretty brave, pretty ballsy stuff we’re doing, so hopefully the crowd enjoys it.

AACS: How will your on-stage setup differ from previous tours with your adaptation of other genres? Will it be similar to your great performance at Groovin the Moo this year?

AB: Yeah, it’s the same band as those shows, which makes it more like a traditional rock-n-roll performance than a DJ set. If I were to try and recreate what was on the record, it would be pretty boring.

AACS: Your highly-anticipated show at the Metro in Sydney is all ages which we are very excited about: how do you compare all ages shows to over 18s?

AB: Oh man, I really like all ages shows. I reckon they’re louder. By far. (laughs) I think it’s shitty that you can’t go to shows if you’re under 18 – I’d love all my shows to be all ages, but with some venues it’s just hard to negotiate. But the I can’t wait for the Metro show – it’s going to be a good one.

AACS: You’ve been a supporting artist at many shows over the years – how do you see the role of a support slot changing in the modern age?

AB: Good question. I’ve done a lot of support slots over the years and some of them have been useless and depressing and some of them have been awesome and really important. It really depends, but it’s important to give it your all, because you don’t really get any money as a support act. Sure, you’ll sell a few CDs, but what really matters is getting your name out there and making it viable. You’ve got to be a support act before you get radio play – it’s the first small step in a long, long process.

AACS: What is your advice to young musicians?

AB: I could give you a long, long list, but basically what I would’ve told myself at age 18 is to practice as much as possible. It may take a long time to improve, but that’s why you have to do a lot of it to get any better: learn how to approach your weaknesses, so if there’s anything you’re not good at, you can work to improve it. If you’re not good at recording, or writing, or production, move towards your weakness. Because in the end, what you want is autonomy: you need to be in control and to be able to do things for yourself and decide things for yourself. I see so many young people saying to themselves “I’ll get a manager and a booking agent and they’ll do this for me” – in my eyes, that’s an error. You need to make those decisions yourself, or they’ll be made by other people for the rest of your life. Autonomy needs time, and time means patience.

AACS: Andy Bull, once again, congratulations on the release of your album and we’ll see you at the Metro Theatre on the 13th of September!

AB: Awesome, thanks for the chat.

Andy Bull’s album Sea of Approval (Deluxe Version) is available now: http://bit.ly/1kTC4GS

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