Andrew Cushin - 'it's up to me to make a statement'

By Jimmy G

“What makes a great song? A story, I always think that if I can take an awful situation I’ve witnessed or been in and turn it into a piece of art, whether that be a song or anything remotely positive, then that piece of art will be ‘great’. However, the song will never be defined as great by everybody, a great song to me could be shit to someone else. It all depends on what people take from the song and how people perceive the lyrics or melody”.

As far as endorsements go, it doesn’t get much better than Noel Gallagher claiming you’ve got something. Andrew Cushin whose fast-growing reputation has already seen him sell out shows is a fresh, authentic and exciting new voice, who is swiftly getting more and more attention from the industry.

His songs are brilliantly honest and authentic and we love how his sound has been inspired by the acoustic & vocal style but is something that is very esoterically Cushin’s.

We had a chance to talk to him about his music, style and future.

First of all, how are you spending quarantine? Is it a good time to write music?

“I’m just the same as everybody else really, stuck in the house bored out me mind. The only difference with me is I’m surrounded by guitars, which helps immensely! I’m enjoying certain aspects of the lockdown if I’m being honest, I’m getting a lot more time to spend with my little sister who I hadn’t seen a lot of in the past 12 months so that’s been good. Although she’s starting to do me head in a bit now”.

How do you want your songs and music to make people feel?

“Anything, I’m not going to be arrogant and say my songs will definitely make you feel sad or this song will make you feel happy. If any of my songs make someone feel any kind of emotion then I’m always overwhelmed as if I feel a certain emotion listening to a song I’m almost always guaranteed to follow the artist who wrote it and or listen to the song again.” 

Tell me more about the making of your debut song: “It’s going to get better”.

“I had a massive argument with my mam, we both said some things we couldn’t take back. I moved to my girlfriends after that argument and one day when the house was empty, I sat in the living room and just thought things have gotta get better. The song really wrote itself and after about 15 minutes it was finished. The idea for the drums and an upbeat chorus really didn’t come until the recording as prior to that, it was quite a doom and gloom song and a song-if I’m being honest -I was starting to dislike. Sean Genockey, our excellent producer came up with the bass tabs and got his son to hammer the pots and pans. Everyone involved in that song did a quality job”.

Where do lyrics come from for you and is there any line you’ve written that has really stuck with you?

"Whenever I pick up the guitar, lyrics just seem to come to me, that’s not to say it will last forever but certainly at the minute, I’m finding it very easy to write a song. A lot of lines I have written will always strike a chord. Anything about my past and things I’ve witnessed always seem to leave a lump in my throat".

You have a strong passion for football as well as music, do you think there have been any lessons you’ve learned from the sport that you’ve applied to music?

"Massively! So I think I answered a similar question to this a little while ago. From my football days, I’ve learned that sometimes it doesn’t matter how hard you work in training or how early you get to the game before kick-off or even how nice you are to coaches etc ... sometimes it just doesn’t work out. This has definitely got me prepared, in the sense that if my music doesn’t plan out the way I want it too then that’s okay. It certainly doesn’t mean I’ll lie down and winge about it, footballs taught me to get up and dust yourself off, carry on sort of thing".

What do you love about live performances?

"You only get one chance to do it, if you balls up a recording it takes nothing to stop and start it again but if your live you only get one chance to play your song and do it justice. At a lot of my gigs at least 60/70 percent of the audience has never seen me before so they don’t know what I’m capable of. It’s up to me in those live performances to make a statement, make them want to see me again.   

What’s surprised you about the music industry so far?

“How close-knit it is. Everyone knows everyone. It’s like a massive family really, but you piss one of them off and you’ve usually pissed off a lot of them. Just smile and be nice and you’ll be sound haha, well I’ve not had a clip round the ear yet anyway.”

What song will you release next? What can fans expect?

“So my next single is called “Waiting For The Rain” it’s a song I wrote when I was 15/16 and without hyping it up too much. Noel Gallagher likes it.”