WOMAD

Singer Songwriters

10:00 27th July on the

The Singer and the Song- Monday 27th July to Friday 31st July 2009

Singer songwriter host for the week: Andy White (Ireland)

Lyrics that spring from the heart and mind can give voice to experience and emotions that touch us all. Come and find out what makes a great song or a song great. This week will bring an opportunity to write, explore ideas, collaborate, perform - or just listen and take it all in.

Each day will explore different aspects of songwriting.
[list]
o Inspiration - where songs spring from, what makes us write. What excites you about songs - yours or others
o Production - working on something you have already written. Looking at lyrics, melody and structure
o Creation - writing and arranging new work, either on your own or in collaboration with others
o Performance - getting up there and doing it - putting your song across in public

Andy White will share his ideas on songwriting, and give practical help on songwriting methods he has found most helpful. He will encourage and inspire you to write during the week - on your own, or in partnership with others, working through every stage of the songwriting process.

Andy will perform some of his own songs to illustrate how they are written. He will show how a producer/arranger aims to bring out the best in the artist, and translate this into encouraging you to write new songs, either on your own or with our fellow writers.

There will also be the chance for one to one time with the host, co-writing, or simply time and space on your own for reflection. There will also be an opportunity for informal performances throughout the week and a chance to be part of a collective showcase on the Friday evening. Cross-disciplinary exchange is encouraged - everything is possible!

Andy is a long-time friend of WOMAD, performing at many WOMAD festivals all over the world, and hosting gala finales in Las Palmas and Reading. WOMAD Select released Andy's live performance album 'Speechless', and lead track on Peter Gabriel's 'Big Blue Ball' album project was co-written by Andy, Peter, Karl Wallinger and Geoffrey Oryema.

Andy White Biography

Northern Irish songwriter Andy White plays WOMAD Charlton Park, Sunday July 26, before taking the songwriting strand of the WOMAD Summer School at Bath Spa University, July 27-31. At the festival, Andy will preview his forthcoming album 'Songwriter' (Floating World), on release this September.

It's been twenty three years since Andy burst onto the UK music scene with his debut album 'Rave On'. "Yer Man's Brilliant" proclaimed Melody Maker, and the singer the UK press called 'Belfast's Bob Dylan' or alternately 'Ireland's Billy Bragg' was born.

Since then, Andy has become very much his own man. His lyric-driven acoustic rock, which owes as much to David Gray or the Waterboys as Dylan or Bragg, has become more engaging-and his social commentary more relevant-each year.

Andy has been closely involved with WOMAD for a number of years, sharing its core values and appearing at many WOMAD festivals worldwide. In 2000, the WOMAD Select label released 'Speechless', a live performance album featuring Andy's best-known songs and poems.

Lead track on Peter Gabriel's current album 'Big Blue Ball' is 'Whole Thing', a song Andy wrote with Peter, Karl Wallinger, Geoffrey Oryema and others at a Real World recording week.

Andy's career highlights include winning Ireland's Hot Press Songwriter of the Year award, recording and touring as the A in ALT along with Liam O Maonlai and Tim Finn, and working and writing with the some of the great names in the music world-the Finn Brothers, Sinead O'Connor, Van Morrison.

Andy's new album 'Songwriter' was co-written over the past few years with a number of collaborators, and recorded live in the studio in Vancouver, with a rootsy all-star line-up. A shift from the layered textures of his current album 'Garageband' which was recorded in Andy's new home of Melbourne, Australia, and Real World, and mixed by old friend and national treasure John Leckie.

As MOJO magazine said about Andy, "From rage to sage, it's not too late to discover one of our best kept secrets."

http://www.andywhite.com
Click here to sample Andy's sounds

Andy White Products At Our Store

• Speechless
• Big Blue Ball