Andy Martin
Indie pop rock musician Andy Martin's journey into the word of music started at quite a young age on a relatively unusual first instrument. In the subsequent years since then though Andy has taken in a wide range of influences, inspirations & evolved his sound to become an artist that the world needs to be watching. Chatting to Pario in the afternoon before his tour began later that evening Andy spoke about finding a passion for music, chasing that passion all over Australia & how all of these events have played into the creation of his latest album, Reverie.
As we mentioned in the intro Andy's journey began we he was just 8 years old & was handed a trumpet by his parents. Over the course of our life here at Pario we've spoken to many musicians yet this was the first time we'd heard of someone's first musical instrument being a trumpet - typically we've found musicians start with either an acoustic guitar or piano. So we asked Andy how he came to play the trumpet, "I think it was just easy for Mum & Dad to grab the trumpet when I said I wanted to get involved in music because they had originally bought it for my older brother Craig, who played it for a couple of years but it wasn't really his thing."
Over the course of time Andy then expanded his skill sets by undergoing formal training on the trumpet & also by "fumbling around" with an acoustic guitar after his parents got him one for his 13th birthday. According the Andy the passion for music grew & grew from there, ultimately leading to him moving from Cairns to South Australia to study music. Eventually though the drastic climate difference saw Andy returning to Queensland to live in Brisbane & begin pursing music as a career.
"I was living in a small country town called Mount Gambia & I remember the winters were -2 or -3 when I woke up compared to Cairns where it rarely dropped below 22 degrees," recalled Andy. "It was a great year living there attending a jazz academy playing trumpet. I met some amazing musicians which helped fuel my passion for music as well."
Although Andy completed formal training as jazz trumpeter his sound has diverted towards a more indie pop rock style, likely because of his own musical tastes. Even before Andy had completed his formal training he was attempting to write music & those influences have continued to shine through to this day.
"Growing up I'd like to say I was trying to write music quite early, even though it was absolutely rubbish for about 5 years," Andy said playfully. "My influences back then were all rooted in folk music, so I listened to a lot of Jack Johnson & Ben Howard. Later in high school I thought I was pretty cool & was listening to a lot of indie music, so bands like The Wombats, Two Door Cinema Club, Jungle Giants or San Cisco... Growing through the last 3 or 4 years I've been listening to a lot of indie singer-songwriters who are more aligned with the realm that I write & perform in. Artists that I listen to a lot now & take some influence from are; Sam Fender & Tyne James Organ. It's a lot of that indie, Australian soundscape that is quite rocky & driving but it's still got pop elements & singer-songwriter in its bones."
In order to capture that sound in his own music Andy explained to Pario that all of his songs begin at the acoustic guitar level before progressing into a more elaborate studio phase.
"I write all of my songs at the acoustic guitar because in the back of my head I think if it sounds good at the acoustic guitar it will probably translate well into a recorded setting. If I fee like a song is not sounding good at the acoustic guitar I don't think its a good song at the end of the day."
This approach to writing combined with his ethos of writing reflective music about events from his own life has allowed Andy to create an album in Reverie which is very easy for listeners to relate with. As we spoke more about the album we asked Andy the always difficult to answer question, do you have a favourite song on the album? To which he answered, "If you had asked me a while ago I probably would have said the title track, Reverie. As soon as I wrote that song in my room I knew that was what the album would be called. Over the last few months though my favourite song would probably be With You. That's the fifth song on the album & I think that is a song that I have crafted really song writing wise. The melodies in this song are quite sweet & I think everything kind of worked when I recorded it."
Now as Andy's tour continues & winds its way into Sydney & Wollongong local audiences have a wonderful opportunity to hear both sides of Andy's creative, from the foundational acoustic level right through to the big complex stage style.
"For the Bondi show I'm playing a solo acoustic performance, so that will be a more stripped back version of all of the songs on the album," explained Andy before continuing. "Then we're playing at Hiway Bar in Enmore & I'm really excited for that show because it's my first headline show in Sydney. Finally in Wollongong we're playing as part of a big line-up at the North Gong Hotel. I think that's going to be a really fun show as well. I've never been to Wollongong in my life, which is one of the most exciting things about this tour & getting to go to places we've never been before."
Regardless of which style of show Andy will be performing he said he always approaches them with the same mindset, "whether we're playing to 5 or 5000 people" because he wants the audience to always have "fun, dancy, good times."
Follow Andy's Creative Journey on Social Media @__AndyMartin__
Support Pario Magazine
Become A Publisher
$10 / Month
- Name Added To Publisher List
- Physical Print Issue
- Early Access
-
