Andy Smythe is an accomplished singer-songwriter and a seasoned storyteller with roots in Shropshire and a musical presence that’s charmed audiences for over two decades. With influences ranging from the timeless Nick Drake to the folk echoes of Donovan, Tim Buckley and Van Morrison, Smythe has made his mark on the London folk music scene with his original sound.
The lyrical panache of Andy Smythe is a defining feature of his artistic vision, drawing inspiration from literary greats such as Leonard Cohen, Walt Whitman, Charles Baudelaire and Allen Ginsberg. His performances, marked by a Jeff Buckley-like four-octave voice and virtuosic guitar/piano playing, have left an indelible mark on the UK scene, from intimate venues to festivals.
First unveiling his sound over two decades ago with his debut album Love Unspoken, he’s shared multiple well-received full-length albums over the years since. His previous album, Hard to be Human, received critical acclaim, establishing Smythe as a compelling force in the folk landscape.
Since 2022 he’s been releasing a string of singles in the build up to his upcoming LP Poetry in Exile and now brings us his latest release with his new single titled “Out of My Mind.” The song explores the intricate cycle of life, covering the search for a soulmate against the cinematic backdrop of London.
Opened with Andy’s expressive vocal leads rising above delicate acoustic guitar tones, he casts an alluring folk scene tinged with Latin inflections. As the splash of drums enters, walking bass lines and bouncy piano chords back his elegant vocals before the arrangement shifts with bright brass tones, cymbal tapping percussion and lush female backing vocals.
When all the elements collide, an infectious groove takes hold as Andy’s top lines weave among the vibrant trumpet textures, resulting in a superb slice of folk pop that builds excitement for his upcoming record. We caught up with Andy Smythe to find out more about his musical journey so far, his new single “Out of My Mind” and what he’s got lined up for the future. Check out our interview with Andy Smythe below.
Whatâs your earliest memory of making music?
Playing the recorder at primary school. For some reason they trusted me with a monster recorder, it was like a snake, seemed as big as me. A bass recorder?
Which artists do you draw most inspiration from?
The Beatles are still the yardstick, no group has ever had three such awesome songwriters and four singers! Iâve always loved their melodies and the harmony of their voices, it struck a chord with me thatâs never left me. Subsequent generations of British bands I really love such as The Jam, Madness, Blur and The Verve. There is a certain quirkiness about being English, thatâs mixed up in the weather and how we understand the rules of cricket and it comes out in the music! I love Nick Drake also, you can taste his soul in the string arrangements of Five Leaves Left, he was otherworldly. I also love the sweeping panoramas of American music, Springsteenâs Nebraska and Born to Run and strangely Dylanâs later work rather than his earlier stuff. I love âOh Mercyâ, you can tell it is recorded in New Orleans, you can hear the bugs in the trees!
How else do you find inspiration for your music?
I love looking for quirky everyday expressions and turning them into songs. In lockdown my partner saw the neighbour washing his car on a Tuesday, and she said it âlooks like another Car Wash Tuesdayâ, perfect within an hour it was a song⊠also on my latest album âPoetry in Exileâ, thereâs a song called âLeaves to Burnâ, again my partner just said the neighbour must be bored because there were âno more leaves left to burnâ, so I turned it into a song about the countryside, imagining a lonely farmer whoâs lost his wife and just lives for the changing seasons washing over the landscape⊠whoâd want to live next to me!
What was your highlight of the year for 2023?
Finishing my new album âPoetry in Exileâ in late August. Perfecting one song and playing all the instruments is always a challenge, trying to perfect 13 is verging on insanity! Itâs a crazy amount of singing and playing. This is the first record where it felt like doing a âSergeant Pepperâ, every song was a mini symphony, painted in layers with a wall of sound. At times I had to re-strip the layers and paint again to get it right if that makes sense? So it felt like a DIY project that took me about a year!
What do you love about the London music scene?
I used to enjoy the camaraderie of places such as the 12 Bar, The Borderline and the Green Note, other musicians making their way. Iâve been on the same bill with several who have become âfamousâ. However, the craziest things always happen by co-incidence, serendipity is a powerful force in the universe. My most special night was playing a cellar bar in West London on quite a surreal night on quite a âBeat poetsâ evening where the room was filled with Alan Ginsberg types and in came one of my biggest musical heroes Mike Scott of The Waterboys whilst I was in the middle of my set. It felt like a ghostly apparition, but heâs a lovely bloke.
What would you say is the perfect setting for listeners to enjoy your sound?
Turn it up loud and dance around the living room whilst youâre doing the hoovering!
Who would be your dream artist to collaborate with?
It would be pretty cool to write a song with Paul McCartney. I think we could write something great! I love the way him and John used to mirror each other when they were writing with two guitars, because Paul was left handed. I could be Paulâs mirror for a day, I could live with that!
How did you find making your new single âOut of My Mindâ?
It was a journey of discoveryâŠ
Itâs a song that started on an acoustic guitar, the middle 8 has got a nice twist, I modulated from Bm to Gm and then âgot backâ to the key of D via a series of modulations. The song is interesting in that regard, the harmonies have to flow with the narrative. Once I had the melody and chords, I set a drum pattern and added in the organ part, which gives the track a lot of its rhythmic energy. The bass isnât complicated on this track, it just had to sit.. but the real moment of inspiration was coming up with the brass riff, one night on the keyboard.Â
I then sat with this song for a while, wondering how to get the brass done. I had been collaborating on string parts with my friend Chris Payne in the USA and it occurred to me that he plays in various Mexican bands and he might know a trumpet player. So, Chris embellished and built upon the original riffs I sent him and got in his wonderful bandmate Hank Zorn to play trumpets and flugelhorn. When the parts landed in my dropbox I was so excited!
The story behind the lead vocalâs a bit mad, my neighbours had building work going on and the only place I could escape the noise was on the upstairs landing, it has a natural reverb which generally youâre told to avoid when singing. Itâs meant to be âdryâ, but at times I felt a lightness to my singing up there, kind of felt like Buddy Holly, and imagined him kissing his girl goodbye before the plane crash⊠so the emotion kind of came together performing in this strange place next to the dirty linen basket!
Subsequently we mixed a version of the song with producer Dave Palmer, but I still felt that the song needed another female voice to echo the sentiment. Chris had been telling me what a great singer his daughter was becoming, so we thought it would be great to get her to do it and she did great! I wanted a B52âs meets REM energy to the songâŠ
So, in summary, this song had a complicated journey, it travelled across the Atlantic twice and it wouldnât have been quite the same if my neighbours hadnât been taking their chimney breasts out!
What message did you want to get across with this release?
With the release in general Iâm trying to get across that thereâs a place again for classic melodic Britpop, letâs go back to trying to write and orchestrate a great song, like the Beatles did with George Martin or The Verve did with Bitter Sweet Symphony. Music is an exercise in reflecting our inner world to others, creativity is the most precious gift us humans possess and itâs at its best when humans are throwing ideas at each other and collaborating.Â
What artist have you been listening to most recently?
There is another artist on the grassroots scene in the UK called Jason McNiff. Heâs just written a beautiful song with Gabriel Moreno called âEverythingâs a songâ, I love the sentiment of the song and the arrangement. It is very Leonard Cohen and I love Leonard Cohen!
Whatâs the main thing you want people to get out of listening to your music?
I want it to mean something to them and for them to interpret it in their own way. Music is a therapy, it can be âour friendâ âwhen we find ourselves in times of troubleââŠ
Whatâs been your favourite live performance so far?
Wow so many thousands to choose from⊠I can remember last week! I was playing in a pub with my band, and we stupidly started without sound checking properly. All I could hear was the bass in my ear, so I oversang. When I oversing.. I canât sing the melodic lines well so I go more into a throaty rocky voice.. Anyway at half time I thought how can I possibly sing for another hour? I felt like John Lennon wasted after âTwist and Shoutâ..
Somehow though it came back, I started to get a great vibe back from the audience and launched into all of my latest original songs of my new album âPoetry in Motionâ. The energy of the audience inspired me and at the end they bought a load of music off me⊠we connected with each other. The power of music, it can overcome the limits of the body, itâs a powerful drug!
Who would be 3 artists to headline your dream festival? And where would it be?
I would have the Beatles in black leather from Hamburg, The Waterboyâs from 1986 with Wickham on fiddle and Jeff Buckley singing solo like an angel with just his electric guitar. Weâd have them play in a tiny church hall in Church Aston in Shropshire (where I grew up), and the audience would have access to the cheapest cans of 1980âs beer possible and weâd dance all night and then just stop and stare in amazement when Jeff sang⊠and weâd all cry..
Do you have any advice for a new artist wanting to follow your footsteps?
Be brave, be bold, be the most extreme version of yourself that you can be. Push to the boundaries, great music comes from experiencing tough times as well as good times. There needs to be an equal amount of âying and yangâ, âdark and lightâ, your music needs to excite people but it needs an edge too⊠it took me too long to be brave enough to âlet it all outâ⊠now itâs pouring outâŠ
Finally, what do you have lined up for the rest of 2024?
The new album âPoetry in Exileâ and new single âLeaves to Burnâ are out on March 1st. I have live radio appearances and shows throughout late Feb and March to promote the release. The albumâs a powerful piece of work and I am wary of the need to promote it like a man possessed! Otherwise there was little point in the year spent making it.. Iâm looking forward to all of the new connections that Iâm going to make with new musical friends on this journey. In the Summer I hope to have some festivals. Iâve also got a lot of new songs on the go, and again come the summer I will start recording again, I want to write something even better! Finally, Iâm looking forward to spending quality time with my lovely family.
Listen to Out of My Mind below
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