Diandra Interviews Hamish Anderson: Songwriting As Human Understanding

Hamish Anderson is rising because, whatever category you place his music in, there is an undeniable soul to his essence. As a man using song to observe human behavior, you would think Hamish Anderson is writing the pop-rock version of Westworld; amiably observant of what it is to have a choice and a conscience. Yet, the truth is that, as a songwriter, Hamish sees the world as pages of unwritten lyrics, and, in my interview, I got to understand how he understands his art.

Diandra: Touring around the world, how do you find music scenes differ and are similar to Melbourne’s ?

Hamish: Touring is great. I love seeing different cities’ music scenes. I would say they all differ quite a bit, in parts of Europe, like the Netherlands, it seems that people love music so much that they just go out and see live music, no matter who is playing. It’s really interesting to see how they’ll just take a chance on something. In the States, I was amazed that people will go out and see music any night of the week; in Australia, and particularly in Melbourne, there is a great music scene, but it seems that it really only is thriving towards the end of the week/weekends. In places like Los Angeles, California and Austin, Texas, there will be a huge crowd of people to see music every night of the week, and I really love that. I would say the main similarity is just how passionate people are about seeing live music and that, wherever you go, there will be a really broad range of musical styles and musicians.

Diandra: You write music about human behavior. What have your songs taught you about relationships, and made clearer about how humanity behaves?

Hamish: I think regarding both relationships and human behaviours, writing songs have taught me how unpredictable everything is. You have no real way of knowing what is going to happen and where it’s all going to go. And my way of understanding and processing it all is through being able to write about it.

On my new album, there are a lot of songs about relationships I’ve been through with people I’ve known for a very long time that I wouldn’t have been able to predict would play out in the way they have. In those cases, my way of trying to make sense of it is writing about it. Also, there are songs that are more of an observation on what is going on in the world around us and how it can be hard to make sense of it all, especially in the times we are living in. I had written about that a little bit before, but never as openly and direct as I have on some of these songs, so it’s interesting to see how things change and how that affects you as a writer.

Diandra: When analyzing how you work creatively, what are the certain rituals or things you always do?
Hamish: If an idea suddenly comes to me out of nowhere, I always try to stop whatever I’m doing to follow it and try and finish as much of it as I can in that moment. You have to almost not think about it, because that can break your focus on the song–I’ve found whenever I’ve ignored it or decided to come back to it later, it hasn’t been as rewarding as the songs I’ve written when I’ve just stopped everything and given it my full attention. I try, whenever possible, not to write on my phone, because it’s just too distracting with messages and calls coming in, and it’s really easy to get sidetracked very quickly.

Diandra: You have said, “think just as long as you feel you’re honest with yourself and putting out music that you enjoy, that’s the most important part.” How does songwriting help you keep emotional honest with yourself?

Hamish: Writing, for me, has been a cathartic experience. I’ve really been able to work through a lot of things through my writing and music that I don’t know how I would have done otherwise. One of the main things I’ve learnt about myself, through my writing, is how hard I find it to express myself and my feelings if its not through music. I have a hard time explaining things, but for some reason, when it comes to writing about them, I can be really honest and open.

Diandra: Has there ever been a track you have written that surprised you in showing how you feel or think about love?

Hamish: There’s a song on the new album called ‘You Really Know What Love Is’, which was a song that wasn’t about any one person in particular but, instead, just about how love is the common thread that runs through all your relationships with anyone you are really close to. In the past, I might not have written a song like that for fear of it sounding cheesy, but it just felt really honest to me and I just want to be honest in my writing.

Diandra: Your music has been described as blues and rock & roll. Yet, if you could describe your music according to emotions, what would they be?
Hamish: Passionate. Honest. Energetic.
Diandra: How about if your music was a planet?
Hamish: Mars
Diandra: Superpower?
Hamish: Maybe the ability to fly–music can make you feel like you’re flying.
Diandra: Earthly element or landscape?
Hamish: I could see it as a canyon, I like the imagery of old westerns and those big open canyons.
Diandra; Experience?
Hamish: Moving, hopefully it moves people.

Diandra: You love cover songs. What is a song you are dying to cover? Has anyone covered one of your songs, and left you utterly impressed?

Hamish: We’ve recently been playing a song by The Beatles called ‘She Said, She Said’ in our set. It’s a great psychedelic rocker off Revolver with a really hypnotic riff. It’s always really daunting covering a song, and especially a Beatles song, because they are untouchable. But I feel like, in The Beatles catalogue, it’s maybe a slightly lesser known song of theirs, compared to others, and I hope we do it some justice!

It’s really flattering when someone covers your song–recently I saw an Instagram post of a guy covering my song ‘U,’ which I thought was really cool!

Diandra: Australia is such a dynamic, fun country. What have your friends said about your travels and rising stardom? Have you had a moment when you really impressed them?

Hamish: Australia in general is a pretty laid back place, I don’t think my friends pay all that much attention to it. I had one of my really good friends come over and visit when I was playing a festival in Quebec, Canada and that was really awesome! It was two nights that were sold out, which was a really nice surprise, and some of my favourite shows I’ve played. It was really great to have her be part of it!

For More Information On Hamish Anderson Click Here.