Andy Smith Music

A Strathalbyn musician has had success on the international stage with a song written about his wife.

Andy Smith took out silver in the International Male Single of the Year category at this year’s International Singer Songwriters Association awards.

“The International Singer Songwriter Association is a global network of 30,000 recording artists and music professionals,” Smith said.

“Each year they put on an award show in Atlanta and you are then selected through a process that combines fans voting to get you into the finals, and then industry pros and past winners decide on the winners on the night.

“There was something like 50,000 votes this year for the people who got through, with each category having 20 finalists.”

Smith’s silver winning single was titled I Want to Take You Far, written about his wife Laura.

“I wrote that song just after I got married, not long after my son was born,” he said.

“Predominately it is all about my wife and the new life we embarked on, married and had a child.

“I wrote that and another one called Always Be This Way, which is also about Laura, and I couldn’t work out how to take them on.

“It sat there as a demo, just acoustic guitar and me – as I record and produce as well – and I just couldn’t work out what to do with them.

“Then a year ago, it must have been the new house in Strath which gave me the inspiration, and I recorded it and produced it, and it came out, and I was just really, really happy.

“It is the best song I have ever written.”

Smith moved to Australia from Bristol, England, in 2018, living in the Riverland for three years, before moving to Mount Barker and then to Strathalbyn a year ago. 

His music journey began as a child learning from his dad, before joining a number of cover bands, progressing to writing his own material – which he describes as a blend of alternative, easy listening, Brit Pop Indie.

He now has three albums to his name, a standalone single, and an EP. 

His debut album came out in 2012 called Rock and Roll Goal, followed by his band Howlin’ Haze’s All That’s Real, and then the album The Equidistant Years – before releasing a best of album on his 50th birthday called The Journeyman.

While the journey to Atlanta took 30 hours, and even more on the way back Smith said the trip was more than worth it.

“I would do it again in a heartbeat,” he said.

“In my musical career it was the best experience, and I played a lot of gigs in front of a lot of people.

“It was amazing… the networking, the people were amazing and I met people I now class as friends.”

It has also led to a collaboration, and a couple of requests for more of them.

“I have collaborated with a female artist from Florida, Emily Finke, and she posted on the ISSA website asking if anyone going to Atlanta wanted to collaborate,” Smith said.

“I answered and we had a couple of Facetime chats, and we got along, and we had the same kind of ideas and we starting writing this song, and built it and built it, and we recorded the vocals together in Atlanta.

“We are at the point now where it is nearly finished, and hopefully will be released towards the end of October.

“The song is called Legends and it is something totally different for me, and for her, but again, it could take the mantle of being the best thing I have done.”

Smith’s day job is to manage a team that runs machines making paper bags for clients such as Coles and Woolworths.

For now though, he is taking a moment to be proud of his silver award, and the feedback he has had about I Want to Take You Far.

“Friends and family on the social network side of things put up likes, (and) after the award the people I met three days prior to the awards show… the feedback I have had (from them) has been phenomenal, like “well deserved” and “the song is amazing” – along with a message from ISSA founder Tamanie Dove to “keep going”.