Andi Neate - a class above
by
GreyOldMan
"Honesty"; "Masterful"; "Natural"; "It's like she's channelling raw music", and "wow, she's just brilliant!" - comments heard at Andi Neate's gigs.
Wherever Andi plays, people new to her music sit up and take notice; those of us who've already discovered her just enjoy a master at her craft.
So what makes Andi so special?
First, the sheer rhythm that flows through everything she writes.
Forget the dull and formulaic 4/4 songs, hamstrung by convention and lack of vision that spawn so much dull, angst-ridden mediocrity; Andi's music crackles with melody, flow, imagination, talent and positivity. It's no wonder that she spills over from singer/songwriter into jazz because she just feels the music so deeply. Andi sings with whatever rhythm her music demands; just enjoy being swept along with it.
Second, her gift for melody.
Listen to "Home" from her live album, "Lion Taming for Astronauts" (LTfA); anyone who's native landscape is upland will relax into the sweep of their homeland hills as they follow the rise and fall of the music. Anyone from the lowlands will be carried back to time spent being uplifted among hills and mountains by the flow that Andi's music sparkles with. There's just never a dull tune on her albums.
Third, her gift for arrangement.
First album, first track begins with a tenor sax intro followed by a string section, and that, plus Andi, and a bit of electric guitar is all you get. The string arrangements are full of vitality and the sax is dotting about throughout the track. It's a ballsy start; to trust our first impressions of her music to something so far out of the mainstream; but it works, because Andi knows what she's doing. Her invention is always present, from her first album to the present; nothing is a formula, everything is just right.
Fourth, her gift for picking her collaborators.
The ever-present, always excellent Paul Gilbody on upright double bass is the rock that Andi builds on, watching them together is always a joy. Frequently a backing vox colours the vocals with well honed harmonies. Sometimes a cello compliment's Andi's guitar and Paul's bass for further depth. On "Home" on LTfA, Lauren Hayes' keyboards are the epitome of musical intelligence; deceptively simple, but such a well-thought out arrangement, you just think "wow; that was perfect."
What does she write about?
Same as most other people; Happy love, sad love, the world around her, her journey to get to here. It's straightforward songwriting stuff, but it is just so very well done. Listen to "Icarus", also on LTfA to see how an image we all know is used to hang a song on. Unlike many who try and use well-known metaphors or imagery, Andi makes it work; superbly.
With each new album the songs from Andi are not so much "ho hum, what song shall I write today?", but more a case of "Music incoming - open up, let it flow and grab it as it goes past ." Listen to what music should be like; flowing free with its own life; sparkling, uplifting, joyous.
