After the Party: Andy Shauf interview
The softly-spoken Andy Shauf has spent the last few years quietly establishing himself as one of the most accomplished singer-songwriters around, and latest album The Party has certainly helped that cause. We caught up with the Saskatchewan native before his show in Manchester
The Skinny: Welcome back to Manchester! Since you were last here you’ve signed to ANTI- and released The Party to widespread acclaim. You also moved from recording in your basement to a proper studio. Did you have a different mindset going into the writing and recording of this album?
Andy Shauf: I think so, because for The Party I kind of knew what I wanted to do when I started out. I wanted to make an album that was focused more on the rhythm of the songs and keeping them, like, pop songs. On Bearer of Bad News [Shauf's previous album, from 2012 and rereleased in 2015] I had no idea what I was trying to make so I wrote a million songs for it – the theme of this album just made it even more focused. I didn’t really have any songs that I threw away; I knew what I wanted to write and I did that.
So choosing to set the album at a party was something that developed as you were writing it?
Yeah, ‘cause a lot of the songs I was writing – Martha Sways was one of the first ones that I wrote – were about drinking and dancing. The others ended up having a similar thing to them where they could easily just be in the setting of a party, so I decided to put them specifically into one.
Did you ever find that framework restrictive or does it help creatively?
I think it was a bit of both. I wouldn’t have written a song like To You – it wouldn’t have turned out the same way – if I hadn’t set the album at a party. Maybe I would have written about that kind of conversation differently. But it helps me to finish it. Some of the songs I had on the album I had finished before I had the party theme so I ended up changing lyrics. That felt a little weird; to try and force them into the album.
Are you sitting on alternate takes of other songs?
Yeah, the song Eyes of Them All – I actually don’t think I ever finished the lyrics to it. Initially it was about a guy and his ex-girlfriend walking to a party and then I switched a couple of other things in the lyrics. It didn’t really fit any more with how the characters were, so I had to change it and now it’s kind of in a compromised spot.
So how do you know when to draw a line and say 'this song’s done'?
I’m pretty bad with knowing when to stop, especially working by myself because there’s no one to tell you, 'That’s good, stop messing with that part.' All the songs have, like, four different versions. So I keep working on it ‘til it feels right.
You produced the whole album and played almost everything on it. How do you know what instrument to start with when you have ten to choose from?
For The Party I wrote most of the songs on the piano. Now every time I sit down at the piano I just end up playing the same shit, so I’m trying to go back to guitar.
I’ll do a ghost track and go through the whole song, then I’ll add the rhythm section; I’ll usually take away whatever the scratch track was and then you just kind of build it up rhythmically. The Magician started out as just piano and vocals with a lot of space in it – I switched it to acoustic guitar and added this long intro. Eventually I came up with that melody and then put a wicked fuzz guitar at the end, then Colin [Nealis, aka Pocket Orchestra] filled up the rest of the space with strings.
Gotta love that fuzz guitar. Although it doesn’t feature too much on the rest of the album...?
No, that’s the only place.
You're not using keyboards on this tour but they feature quite heavily on the album. What was the decision behind not bringing keys?
It was either keys or clarinets, and clarinets won!
Is it true that the clarinet was an instrument you learned to play for the album?
Yeah, my mom bought me the clarinet for Christmas, like, five years ago. This year she bought me a flute so I’m trying to get good at that – good enough! Flute’s a little bit harder to learn.
You could go for an Anchorman jazz flute kind of thing.
Yeah!
I know Randy Newman is a big influence and he’s written some amazing music for films. Have you ever considered writing for film, or been approached to do it?
I’ve not been approached, but I hear it’s very lucrative. [Laughing] I’d be into it.
If you could have written an original song for a film which one would it be?
I want the Bond song. Like that Paul McCartney one and break into reggae halfway through.
Does the music always come first, or do you start with an idea for a story and build a song around it?
Sometimes I have an idea for one plot twist. When I wrote To You I already had an idea of a friend telling a friend that he loved him, but I didn’t know how I was going to do it. I probably got halfway through that song before I realised that was going to happen. So I have small ideas like that – like a feeling – and it’ll end up in a song sooner or later.
A lot of your songs come from the perspective of other people. Does that allow you to explore ideas you otherwise couldn’t?
Yeah. When you try to step into someone’s shoes and make something up and see what would happen to them, you can do anything with them.
Do you think that playing those songs live blurs the boundary between you and a character?
I don’t think too much onstage. [Laughing] I just think about not screwing up.
Fair enough! Finally, who should we be listening to right now?
Chris Cohen. He's amazing. His album Overgrown Path is, like, perfect.
The Party is out now via ANTI-