To date, Andy West has over 300 self written and co-written songs published worldwide. He has worked alongside such musicians and artists as Alison Krauss and Vince Gill, ex-Richard Thomson sideman Clive Gregson and ex-Bob Dylan drummer Ian Wallace. He also taught and was a guest speaker at the UK Songwriting Festival in 2004 and 2005 and hosted an interview with songwriter Chris Difford at the UK Songwriting Festival in 2006. Presently, he teaches songwriting at Bath Spa University. He is also putting together a Masters Degree in Songwriting, scheduled for October 2007, it will be the first academic course of its kind.
Above: Andy West performing live.
- Interview conducted 09/11/06
How did you get into music and songwriting?
AW - I started writing with Roger Cook in 1991. I started collaborating instead of writing solo, which is probably a little unorthodox, but there you go. I began to write solo about a year later.
How do you go about writing songs?
AW - I almost always start with a title as I find it makes it easier to focus on the subject of the song. As a rule of thumb, if you’ve got a good title, and you put in the hours, then the song is more likely to be near want you want it to be. Occasionally, I start with a musical riff, but the title will follow soon after.
On a blank sheet of paper, I write the title at the top and draw a line about 60% of the way down the page. Under the line I sketch all the ideas that come into my head related to the title, then go about constructing the music with some of those ideas and phrases in mind. In the top 60% of the page I then write in lines that I think I will keep. I find it helpful to always have all the information right in front of me, in the same place.
Who or what has influenced you in your career?
AW - Roger Cook and observing how he worked. He has this wonderful, flowing method of working, making quick decisions and keeping things simple, which I found fit well with me too. Also, discovering the importance of the link between the songwriter and the song, by which I mean the importance of writing about what you know about. All of us, I think, have thought and felt enough to generate a few songs – it’s just a case of working out the best way to go about it.
Are there any current artists you feel possess great songwriting talent?
AW - Amy Winehouse, whose work reminds me in a funny way of Strummer and Jones in that it is unbridled and feels like it represents London. Outkast, who I think have extended and added to their genre, as has Mike Skinner. Kanye West’s ‘Late Registration’ also has a kind of energy that can’t be contained. ‘Essence’ by Lucinda Williams is, in my opinion, one of the great records of recent years. All these people write about their own lives, and are taking a great risk, because if they don’t make it interesting no one will listen. By comparison with other artists who are writing to impress, I find that to be thrilling.
Above: Outkast - 'Have extended and added to their genre.'
What elements do you think make a great song?
AW - An original idea and the appropriate proportion regarding melody and lyric. Depending upon the core idea, every song makes its own rules. In terms of the performance of the song, I usually prefer to hear the writer’s voice.
What is your favourite song and songwriter of all time?
AW - Favourite Song: ‘Johnsburg, Illinois’ by Tom Waits
Favourite Songwriter: That would have to be a tie between Lennon and McCartney.
What are your thoughts about the UNSIGNED SONG CONTEST?
AW - It’s very healthy to have songs brought into a forum and heard. As an academic assessor of songwriting I’m often required to form an opinion as to whether one song works better than another, and I find it more difficult to do that if I don’t know the character and aims and of the songwriter. But, songwriting is a communicative art and, as a songwriter, it’s really important to take on board what the listening audience thinks about your material.
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