Kat Harlton
Australian music legend Andrew Farriss, formerly of Grammy-nominated, Diamond selling (Canada), award-winning group INXS recently released his new EP “Love Makes The World“. “Love Makes The World” is perfect for the times as its main musical focus is on human relationships and the world around us, drilling into what is really important – the relationships between people and how we interact.
We had the opportunity to chat with Andrew about his new EP, creating in the moment and how he’s staying connected.
Kat: Can you share some of the inspiration behind your EP “Love Makes The World”? How do you feel it differs from your previous work?
Andrew: Earlier during 2020, I had already released two tracks “Come Midnight “and “Good Momma Bad “(Both with dedicated videos on YouTube) from the “Andrew Farriss” LP. Then the pandemic kicked in around the world and as such the record label BMG – BBR suggested I pause my album release due to the chaos caused by the pandemic. (My LP will now be released in March 2021) And so: The 5 song EP concept “Love Makes the World” was born by accident.
The inspiration for the songs and EP is:
- Tears in The Rain- About nature/ the environment
- My Brother- About loss of a significant male figure in your life
- Love Makes the World- About the cycle of life
- All the Stars Are Mine – From an international perspective about embracing and recognizing that we are all the same but also different culturally, which is a beautiful part of our human journey
- First Man on Earth – About us as biological humans and the increasing obsession we have with technology
Kat: It’s been mentioned that your music is hard to categorize. How would you describe your sound? Or do you prefer to leave that up to your fans?
Andrew: I don’t know how to categorize my music. I write what I feel at the time and I play what I write. Thank you to all those who support my music.
Kat: After sharing the success of selling over 50 million records, and earning several awards and nominations as the songwriter, keyboardist/guitarist, backing vocalist for the band INXS, and being inducted into the Australian Songwriters Hall of Fame, what has been a career highlight for you? Is there still something you have not done, that you would love to do? Or an artist you’d love to perform or create with?
Andrew: All the above have been massive career highlights. I am grateful and blown away by years of worldwide success, yet as a songwriter, I feel I still have songs to write. Awards & accolades are most meaningful when you have family and friends who care about you. I am writing by myself more at the moment but would love to perform and write with other writers/artists when restrictions eventually ease.
Kat: Do you have any advice for emerging artists? Or have you ever been given any advice that really stuck with you or made an impact?
Andrew: Be yourself and be true to what you believe in. When the train has left the station, be the first on the next train.
Kat: Covid-19 threw everyone a curveball, prompting you to release your EP early. How has Covid-19 and the world in general impacted your music and song writing? Has it inspired you to find other ways of reaching out and creating?
Andrew: The world was and still is struggling with the pandemic and trying to contain it, and by coincidence, I had recently recorded most of the songs on my EP and it made sense to me as one body of work, especially the song lyrics to release at this time. I was fortunate to have the 5 songs on my EP which are really all interconnected lyrically and as we only have one earth and we all live on it together, let’s reach out together for positive solutions.
For more on Andrew Farriss visit: www.andrewfarriss.com