Review Fix chats with singer/songwriter Andrew Paley, who discusses his new seven-song EP. A very rough, but beautiful and personal recording, Paley discusses the creative process behind the work and his goals for the future. The lead singer of The Static Age, Paley also discusses how he’s able to manage his solo career as well as a band.
Review Fix: What was the creative influence behind this album?
Andrew Paley: This record came together a bit differently from most records I’ve done. It’s a collection picked from a bunch of songs I’ve been writing and recording over the past handful of years. So, the creative influences for this record span maybe 5 years of time, multiple relationships and living situations, and two cities (New York and Chicago). My life has changed a lot during that stretch, and I think the songs reflect that scope.
Review Fix: What song on this album do you think is most indicative of your sound?
Paley: I don’t know if there’s a precise answer to that question. I picked these seven from all the possibilities because I thought they worked well as a single entity. There’s a thread that pulls them together. All that said, maybe the two that most embody the overall sound are “Feeling Detroit†and “Ellie.â€
Review Fix: What song do you think has the best story behind it?
Paley: They all pull from events or ideas that were significant to me at different places and times. And, in that way, they’re all related — given the time period over which they were written, certain songs actually continue the stories started in others.
Review Fix: What made you step away from The Static Age and record this album?
Paley: I didn’t quite step away from The Static Age to do it. It’s been a long-running process, during which The Static Age has been quite busy. Throughout all the stuff the band’s done, I’ve always written and recorded songs that fall outside of what we do together. Sometimes those songs find their way onto The Static Age’s records, and I guess that partially explains how the band has grown musically over the years. That said, a lot of this stuff just wouldn’t make sense on a TSA album.
Review Fix: How is your sound different here?
Paley: Well, the orchestration is quite different. I’m working with a lot less than with the band, especially considering the way we build layers into our recordings. These are songs that could be written and recorded in one evening — one or two guitar parts, sometimes a minor keyboard part, and vocals. That’s it.
Review Fix: For those who haven’t heard you yet, who are your influences?
Paley: I always have a hard time answering this sort of question. Some possibilities that come to mind are Sun Kil Moon, Nick Drake, Elliott Smith, Billy Bragg, Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel…but there are many others. I was also listening to a lot of Scout, a really great band out of New York, while cobbling the songs together and recording the last couple. And I imagine you could count my father as an influence, too. After all, all of the songs were written and recorded on his old guitar — a 1973 Yamaha — that he gave me when I was maybe 13.
Review Fix: Do you want to continue to produce work as a solo performer?
Paley: Yeah, like I said, it’s always happening in the background, and I can’t imagine it’ll stop any time soon.
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