Released today, Tide/Shore is the latest EP from Bristol-based artist Andy Skellam, one that’s likened to a gently surreal journey. Andy creates intimate worlds, inviting the listener in with the warmth of his baritone voice and the often surprising turns of his fingerpicked acoustic guitar.
Below, you can listen to the EP in full; Andy also takes us through each track in his own words.
Order Tide/Shore EP via Bandcamp
Andy Skellam on Tide/Shore
Alice
Alice is an unconventional love song about a love triangle involving a young lady who can’t make up her mind and her troup of tongue lolling reprobate followers. It is about trying to cling to youthful hedonism until the bitter end, whilst simultaneously reaching for something much more meaningful.
New Spring Shoe String
New Spring Shoe String was written in the springtime when I was skint. It was recorded on acoustic guitar and hung around on my tape machine for a few years before I decided to play around with other instrumentation. It has a slight ragtime feel at points with influences such as John Fahey and Jim O ‘Rourke, with a bit of Gregorian chanting thrown in at the end for good measure.
Tide/Shore
Tide/Shore is a breakup song about a man who wants to wallow in self pity whilst his ex-lover confidently follows her dreams. There is a feeling throughout that he has been treated cruelly and that it is only he who suffers, but with a dawning realisation that she is no different; only she has a very different way of dealing with her heartache. It is one of my oldest songs which I have tried recording in various ways over the years – turns out that keeping it simple; guitar, vocals and harmonica, with backing vocals from regular collaborator A.L.Lacey was the way to go with this one.
I Cry Into The Morning
I Cry Into The Morning was written by my little boy Otis (2.5 yrs). He started singing it one night when I was putting him to bed. I joined in and grabbed my phone to record our first duet – the first of many I hope!
Valley Fog
This is a solo acoustic guitar piece which I wrote on a very small guitar. I recently exchanged that guitar for another small but slightly bigger guitar. I liked the original small guitar (a ‘Brook Weaver’), it really was a beautiful thing to behold but it always felt a little too small for me. The new guitar feels just right, even though it is also quite small. It also sounds like a warm bath, if warm baths could sing – I would tell you the make and model but feel it’s important to maintain a little mystery.
Deep Blue Of Distance
Deep Blue Of Distance is about the way that mountains appear to turn blue in continually darkening shades as they disappear into the distance. It is also about the exhaustion of new parenthood and the conflicting emotions that come with it. The lyrics were written in an old wagon in a field in the Brecon Beacons where we were staying on holiday with our little boy – I wrote them late one night when I couldn’t sleep and was blown away by the immense brightness of the stars when nipping out for a shrivelingly chilly tinkle. Birth, death and weary acceptance of the fleeting nature of existence run side by side in this one like a newborn lamb skipping across a pensioner’s lawn.