Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how your childhood impacted your musical direction?
A) I pretty much grew up with my Mum’s musical influences which were predominately 80’s & early 90’s pop & pop rock, whatever was on the radio really. When I hit my tween years, I was always on the hunt for music that would keep me entertained on the long train ride to visit my Dad and found an appreciation for great song writers like Cat Stevens, Neil Finn in Crowded House and Van Morrison. There wasn’t a lot of country music in our house growing up aside from the occasional Johnny Cash song, but I did grow up in a small country town and for a period of time on my Grandfathers 100 acre farm, so when I did find country music I was definitely finding a connection with the stories and feel of it.
Q: How are you planning on growing your fan base and sharing your music with the world? What message do you have for anyone who is about to discover “Andrew Swift”
A) Well I’ve just joined the roster of artists at Strut Entertainment in Ontario, we’re talking a lot about ways of introducing my music and I to the Canadian country music scene, which I’m stoked about, it’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. This will be my first real attempt at reaching audiences outside of Australia, so it’s an exciting time. For anyone about to discover me I’d like to say, welcome, thanks for taking the time to have a listen because the best way to get to know me is through my songs, even more so by attending a show. I’ve always said that if people walk away from one of my shows not feeling like they know me a little better then I haven’t done my job.
Q: Who is the most inspiring artist for you right now? And where do you find inspiration for making music?
A) I think Lainey Wilson is pretty inspirational. She’s one of those artists that I’ve been following since before she blew up, so to see it happen in real time has been amazing to watch. I also love that she’s branching out of being just an artist, there’s been some acting, she’s opened a bar, there’s clothing lines, she’s killing it. I’ve always found inspiration for music through real life experiences, the whole reason I started writing songs was as a way to express myself as a teen going through depression. Sometimes I’ll add a splash of fiction or a twist of the truth but the songs always contain inspiration from some moment or experience in my life.
Q: Can you tell us about the story or message behind the song, “Get Lost.”?
A) I’ve always been a fan of seeing somewhere new, I’ve also never been the biggest fan of cities in general. ’Get Lost’ is simply about getting out of town, going out on a whim, seeing somewhere new. There’s so much of the world to see, so why not get out there and see it?!
Q: How would you describe your sound in one word for potential listeners?
A) I don’t know that I could use one word to accurately describe my sound. I feel like I have a blend of influences from different genres that creep into the music I make, but at the core of it my music is honest and authentically me. So I guess the word AUTHENTIC sums it up.
Q: Did you face any challenges while writing or recording “Get Lost”?
A) Not at all really, in fact I think it’s the quickest turnaround I’ve had for a single from start to release. My friend Blake Dantier actually wrote the song, we had been working on a couple of other songs for my album and I mentioned that if he had any songs floating around that would be a good fit for me that I’d be keen to have a listen. He sent through a few songs but I immediately connected with ‘Get Lost’. Anyone that knows me, knows that I love being on the road, it really spoke to me and a few weeks after hearing it, I was in the studio recording it. My producer Matt & I had a whole lot of fun recording it all, I think the biggest challenge we had was finding time to get Gretta Ziller in a studio to get the backing vocals done. But from the moment I first heard the song to the time of release was 3 months.
Q: What is the message of your music? And what are your goals as an artist?
A) I wouldn’t say I have a message in my music, I just love telling my stories and I love when people find common ground and connect with them.
My goal posts as an artist are constantly changing, for years my goal was to be able to make a living touring while performing my songs and telling my stories. I’m so grateful that I get to do that. I guess the current goal is to see if there’s an interest in what I do outside of Australia. I mentioned I love to go places I’ve never been before and if my music can take me somewhere new, I’m keen to explore it.
Q: Who is your dream artist to collaborate with? (dead or alive)
A) There are so many artists that I’d love to collaborate with, so many producers as well. I think that if I have to choose one, at the moment it would be Miranda Lambert. I love her writing, her delivery and her voice. I’d love to see what we could do together.
Q: What is your advice for people interested in pursuing music as a career or for those trying to enter the industry?
A) There are two pieces of advice I always give to people that are considering a career in the music industry.
1- Never stop being open to learning, the industry is constantly changing and the moment you think you’ve got it worked out or that you know it all is the moment you’ll start getting left behind.
2 – Find motivation in the smallest of wins. There is so much rejection in the music industry and it can beat you down, you’ll doubt yourself and your ability, but you have to get very resilient very quickly. Occasionally you’ll start getting little wins, you need to let those moments fuel your fire to keep pushing through.
Q: If you could go back in time and give a younger you some words of wisdom, what would they be?
A) That’s an easy one, I would tell myself not to be so close minded about country music. I was playing guitar in a pop punk band straight out of high school, and living in an area where country music wasn’t considered “cool”. So when I started writing more and people said “it’s got a bit of a country vibe to it”, my response would always be “don’t use that c word with me”. It wasn’t until I got dragged to the Tamworth Country Music Festival in 2015, and received a crash course in country and it’s sub genres, that I realised that it is where I belong. Not finding country music sooner is possibly my biggest regret in life.
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