This podcast is only temporary

Back home in Melbourne, Andy talks you through the writing of Another Sunny Day, the first song on his new album 'This garden is only temporary'. He plays some of the original recordings, most of which made it to the final version, and talks about some of the earliest inspirations for the song and his early plans for the direction of the album. The interview where Tony Visconti analyses the master tape of 'Heroes' is here and the songs Andy mentions from his own catalogue are The Pale Moonlight, If You Want It, COWP, and James Joyce's Grave. You can hear the full version of Another Sunny Day and listen or download the whole album on Andy's Bandcamp. Please subscribe to here or wherever you get your podcasts and the next episode will appear as if by magic.Listen to and/or order Andy White and Tim Finn's 'AT' album on their BandcampListen to and/or order Andy's 'This garden is only temporary' album on his Bandcamp

Andy talks you through the writing of Tell It How You Feel, the second song on his new album 'This garden is only temporary'. He plays some of the original recordings, most of which made it to the final version, and lets you in on some of the earliest inspirations for the song.Some of the songs Andy mentions are Metal Guru, Sweet Jane and You Never Can Tell. You can listen to Rod's standout piano work with Andy on all of the early albums—check out Street Scenes From My Heart—and One In A Million from Time is a Buffalo in the Art of War is quite a journey.You can hear the full version of Tell It How You Feel and listen or download the whole album on Andy's Bandcamp. Please subscribe to here or wherever you get your podcasts and the next episode will appear as if by magic.Listen to and/or order Andy White and Tim Finn's 'AT' album on their BandcampListen to and/or order Andy's 'This garden is only temporary' album on his Bandcamp

Listen to and/or order Andy White and Tim Finn's 'AT' album on their BandcampListen to and/or order Andy's 'This garden is only temporary' album on his Bandcamp

In this episode Andy takes a deep dive into the writing and recording of the third track on his new album This garden is only temporary. He's been in the studio with the master tape, and shows you how this many-layered song was written and recorded by playing excerpts of the individual instrument and vocal tracks. Andy talks about layering, using effects, inspiration from John Leckie, how simple melodies and chords can work together and, above all, telling the truth when you are expressing something that is important to you.  Did we forget the bass pedals? Yes, and bass pedals.At the end of the first day of writing and recording, the song was ready. Later, Kent, Steve, and Rod took the story even further, but this episode ends with the first version of Everything's Turning White, recorded in four hours. As Andy says, "It has power, because it's true."We're not even half way in, but I hope you're finding part of the album's charm is a combination of spontaneity and attention to detail. Thanks for listening. If you're enjoying the series, please share—and subscribe wherever you find your podcasts. Listen to and/or order Andy White and Tim Finn's 'AT' album on their BandcampListen to and/or order Andy's 'This garden is only temporary' album on his Bandcamp

It's becoming clearer – this podcast is about the elements that go together to make an album! This week, Andy is talking about dreams and expectations, writing about somewhere he  knows well—his hometown of Belfast—from an unexpected point of view. He discusses travelling in dreams, compares songs to dreaming, and discusses how it can be possible to 'make things right' by writing about it.As the layers that go to make up Get it Right This Time are unpeeled, you'll hear isolated mixes from the master recordings. The episode ends with the original version of the song from Andy's studio. The earlier songs Andy mentions are Birds of Passage and The Walking Wounded, and the albums he talks about are Rave on Andy White and Out There. London Calling is here. You can find the released version of Get it Right This Time and stream, download or order Andy's new album 'This garden is only temporary' on Bandcamp.There are many ways to start writing a song or an album, hopefully this will give you some ideas. "Use what you listen to, do it your own way. It's got your fingerprint on it as soon as you do it. That's how tradition works, that's how music and writing works".Please subscribe and share, thanks for your support! Listen to and/or order Andy White and Tim Finn's 'AT' album on their BandcampListen to and/or order Andy's 'This garden is only temporary' album on his Bandcamp

This week's episode is about writing a different kind of love song, because your own story is not like anyone else's. Making it real. Andy discusses Leonard Cohen, Janice Long, metaphors, similes, and admits how annoying it is when he talks over the music. Andy has gone into the original master recordings of Not so Far Away and you'll hear a mellotron, guitar lines, and a glockenspiel you haven't heard before. Did you spot the Marvin Gaye line on the finished album? The older songs he mentions are Vision of You and You and Your Blue Skies."If you're looking for something, it's maybe closer than you think it is."You can find the released version of Not so Far Away and stream, download or order Andy's new album 'This garden is only temporary' on Bandcamp, where all proceeds from Fire Engines, Blue Trains and Trucks, and the album it comes from, Time is a Buffalo, will go to the Ukrainian Red Cross.Please subscribe and share, thanks for your support! Listen to and/or order Andy White and Tim Finn's 'AT' album on their BandcampListen to and/or order Andy's 'This garden is only temporary' album on his Bandcamp

Poets on the phone, Jim Morrison shopping for trousers, webless spiders, major/minor changes and so much simile content. Andy takes us on the rollercoaster ride of writing and recording I Miss You, the sixth song on his new album This garden is only temporary."I wanted to send someone a message without it being an email or electronic. I wanted to say I miss you." Andy talks about songs from Time is a Buffalo in the Art of War and its title. Other songs he mentions are Riders on the Storm, Sweet Gene Vincent and Be Bop a Lula. Keeping songs under three minutes, more on bridges, perfect rhymes and tartan. Not forgetting a digression on past lives. You'll hear the original recordings and a mix you haven't heard before. Andy hopes the series is becoming an inspiration for you to write or record. "This song says something real without relying on an outcome. When you're making a record, have fun. It's a good idea."Please share and subscribe wherever you find your podcasts. Thanks for your support! Listen to and/or order Andy White and Tim Finn's 'AT' album on their BandcampListen to and/or order Andy's 'This garden is only temporary' album on his Bandcamp

Most songs take their cue from visual imagery or emotions. Sometimes hearing and touch are mentioned. Take Me Back Home was started when Andy rolled down the window of his out-of-action car one hot Melbourne night and smelt French pancakes cooking in the bar across the road. In this week's episode he discusses how this took him back to another time and place. To teenage photographs, punk guitar and his piano-playing grandmother. Tom Waits and Marcel Proust are mentioned. You'll hear excerpts from the master recordings, Amy the goat, and the episode ends with a different mix of Take Me Back Home from the one on Andy's new album This garden is only temporary.We're seven songs in, with only a couple to go. If you're new to the podcast - welcome! Catch up when you can, and please share and subscribe. If you do so, the next episode will appear as if by magic in your podcast feed. Thanks everyone!Listen to and/or order Andy White and Tim Finn's 'AT' album on their BandcampListen to and/or order Andy's 'This garden is only temporary' album on his Bandcamp

Alarms, reminders, notifications. Church bells and a space shuttle countdown. Hurry up and read me! You're late! This song started with a concept and collecting the sounds that expressed it. Electronic instruments suggested the beat and melody, the lyrics came after that.Telling the story of how the song came together, Andy digs deep into the recording session to reveal the component parts before playing the rough mix he took to the mix sessions in Calgary. There is a tritone warning—and maybe check you have no Zoom meetings scheduled when you listen! Throughout, Andy talks about experimentation and surprising yourself. Some of the tracks he mentions are Born Slippy, Mother,  Mr Blue Sky and Sound and Vision. And from his own albums This is Not a Television Show and Thank You.If you know the lastest album This garden is only temporary and have been following the podcast series exploring the writing and recording of the songs, you'll have noticed that Goodbye My Friend is the first track he's looked at out of sequence. This is because he has a special guest coming in next week. Please share and subscribe and thanks for your support. We have lift off … Listen to and/or order Andy White and Tim Finn's 'AT' album on their BandcampListen to and/or order Andy's 'This garden is only temporary' album on his Bandcamp

This week a special guest drops in to the podcast, freelance designer Sebastian White. Sebastian has designed Andy's albums since 2014, and after chatting about granola for a bit, father and son discuss the process of conceptualising and realising the artwork for This garden is only temporary.  They find the process is remarkably similar to that involved in writing and recording the songs, on the way talking about collecting ideas, balance, conceptual art, favourite album covers and psychological stepping stones. There is at least one Tale from a Rock'n'roll Childhood and Amy the goat contributes to the conversation several times.Visual artists they discuss are Mark Rothko and Gerhard Richter. The interview with Courtney Barnett is here and the album covers they mention are The Next Day, Dark Side of the Moon, Electric Warrior, Out There, Yeezus and The Life of Pablo. If you haven't got a physical copy of the album you can see the artwork on Bandcamp (click the small icons) or Andy's Instagram. Please share and subscribe and thanks for your support. Listen to and/or order Andy White and Tim Finn's 'AT' album on their BandcampListen to and/or order Andy's 'This garden is only temporary' album on his Bandcamp

This episode starts off thinking it is going to be a short one but Andy gets his guitar out to take you through Shine a Light, the last track he's looking at on his latest album This garden is only temporary and discovers how even the simplest song can contain hidden complexities.  Some of these remain hidden after he tries to explain the chords (thanks to friend and mentor Joe Bennett for starting him off on this journey of explanation!)On the way he refers to The Lyre of Orpheus, The Faces, My Perfect Cousin, his own songs Get Back Home, Between a Man and a Woman and the album Destination Beautiful, in particular The Government of Love. It's been quite a ride through the album and the final episode next week should have two special guests, Steve who mixed and co-produced, and Kent who played drums. If you're new to the series it's never too late to share and subscribe! Thanks for all your support.Listen to and/or order Andy White and Tim Finn's 'AT' album on their BandcampListen to and/or order Andy's 'This garden is only temporary' album on his Bandcamp

This week's penultimate episode is all about the bass and includes an official bass warning. Often hiding behind everything else, this one is all about the bass. Andy's looking at Bass Priority, a track that didn't make it onto his latest album This garden is only temporary and talking about the sequencing of an album. How important this is, and suggesting some ways you could go about it. There are digressions on vulnerability in your playing style, leaving some musical ideas for another time, how the order tracks are recorded isn't necessarily the order you find them on the final version of the album, and things to think about if you're putting songs together for an album that will come out on vinyl. On the way he mentions Seventeen Seconds and Hello, as well as his own albums Rave on Andy White and Garageband. In this episode, the track is instrumental. The words were the last to arrive but turned out to be the start of his next album. In October 2023 Andy released the completed version of Bass Priority on Bandcamp. Take a listen to find out what happened next.This is the penultimate episode of the first series. As ever, please share and subscribe. See you next week.Listen to and/or order Andy White and Tim Finn's 'AT' album on their BandcampListen to and/or order Andy's 'This garden is only temporary' album on his Bandcamp

In the final episode of the series, Andy takes a look at the last song he wrote for This garden is only temporary, but didn't make it to the album's final running order."Sometimes the last song you write for an album makes sense of the whole album and jumps straight into the running order, but in this case I was happy that nothing would make sense of the questions that were being asked on the record. This is where I started from…"Mysterious! As is The Answers to the Questions. Thanks for your support during the first (?) series. Make sure to catch up with any episodes you may have missed, and go to Andy's Bandcamp to download this song. This podcast is only temporary. Thanks for listening. Listen to and/or order Andy White and Tim Finn's 'AT' album on their BandcampListen to and/or order Andy's 'This garden is only temporary' album on his Bandcamp

The podcast is back! This is the first episode of Series 2 which looks at Andy White and Tim Finn's 'AT' album song by song. Andy has dug out their original writing demos plus some of the emails that whizzed back and forwards across the Tasman Sea between the two pals. This week you'll hear what inspired Andy and Tim to get writing and how this first song came into being – an interview their ALT band mate Liam did with a Dun Laoghaire magazine, a couple of poems, and how they dragged Brian into the studio from the betting club down the road to finish the initial recording. During each episode you'll hear each song several times in different ways but not as many times as we did (or John). Why? Because it is fun and this winter is very very cold. If you subscribe wherever you find your podcasts you will get an episode each week, as if by magic.The Sea Holds the Memory by Finn/WhitePlayed and recorded by Andy and Tim in Melbourne and AucklandPodcast artwork by Sebastian WhiteListen to and/or order Andy White and Tim Finn's 'AT' album on their BandcampListen to and/or order Andy's 'This garden is only temporary' album on his Bandcamp

After The Sea Holds the Memory, Andy and Tim started writing Three Sheep Grazing straight away. It started after a conversation with a friend about the village green and globalisation. Find out more in this second episode of the new series and hear the mysterious and marvellous  musical elements that contribute to one of the lads' favourite songs on the 'AT' album.Andy mentions two Oliver Postgate TV series he watched when he was a child (and perhaps more recently) Camberwick Green and Trumpton. Radiohead used Trumpton as the basis for the Burn the Witch video. The instrument that started the string arrangement is the Mellotron.After you listen, do check out the video of Three Sheep Grazing. Directed by Sebastian White and animated by Kai Higham it is the cutest clip ever made. Can you spot the starfish? Please share and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Enjoy the ride and see you next week!Three Sheep Grazing by Finn/WhitePlayed and recorded by Andy and Tim in Melbourne and AucklandStrings by Jonathan DreyfusPodcast artwork by Sebastian WhiteListen to and/or order Andy White and Tim Finn's 'AT' album on their BandcampListen to and/or order Andy's 'This garden is only temporary' album on his Bandcamp

Three tracks into the AT album and Andy steps up with a song that started in a similar way to I Decided to Fly from Altitude.  This time, Tim and he go back and forward writing a song about their parents, although some of it ends up being about a certain Irish mongrel.The latest dive into the AT master tapes reveals Bundle of their Dreams' relationship to Seventeen and uncovers the secrets of the dreaded Melodica.  But most of all, that writing around a theme close to your heart is a good thing to do.You'll hear demo versions of the song as a work-in-progress and the bundle they sent to John Leckie to mix. Plus Andy's toy piano. The only unanswered question is—why does he have a  toy piano? Please share and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Enjoy the ride and see you next week!Bundle of their Dreams by Finn/WhitePlayed and recorded by Andy and Tim in Melbourne and AucklandSebastian White on drumsI Decided to Fly by Finn/Ó Maonlaí/WhitePlayed and recorded by ALT in MelbournePodcast artwork by Sebastian WhiteListen to and/or order Andy White and Tim Finn's 'AT' album on their BandcampListen to and/or order Andy's 'This garden is only temporary' album on his Bandcamp

In this episode Andy turns his attention to Everything Twice, the fourth song he and Tim Finn wrote for the 'AT' album. The three previous songs had worked – the two chums were doing it again, and that was how the songs started. You can do it twice. You'll hear how the song started with one phrase and a method songwriters use for jotting down a melody. Then a variety of increasingly crazed story lines before coming back to the original one. Doing it again, in Melbourne and Auckland.If you are interested in Molly Bloom, there is a cute video guide to Ulysses here. 'You Know My Name Look Up The Number' is here.As ever, you will hear early demos of the songs with alternative lyrics and a beautiful vocals-only recording of the song. At the end of the episode there is the final version  they sent to John Leckie to mix.Please share and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. See you next week!Everything Twice by Finn/WhitePlayed and recorded by Andy and Tim in Melbourne and AucklandPodcast artwork by Sebastian WhiteListen to and/or order Andy White and Tim Finn's 'AT' album on their BandcampListen to and/or order Andy's 'This garden is only temporary' album on his Bandcamp

Sometimes everyone is too busy to talk. Or to meet. Andy has reached Save me a Weekend, the last track on side one of 'AT', the album co-written with Tim Finn. In Episode 5, the pals start off with one of them feeling grumpy and end up writing a wider lament. Thankfully, Andy has edited out the update on his tooth situation, but there are digressions on singing harmony and Harriet the double bass. You can listen to her on I Will Wait and One in a Million. Poetry fans will be all over pathetic fallacy.As always, you will hear early demo versions of the song as a work-in progress and one of the final rough mixes before it was sent to John Leckie to mix. Please share and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. See you next week!Save me a Weekend by Finn/WhitePlayed and recorded by Andy and Tim in Melbourne and AucklandPodcast artwork by Sebastian WhiteListen to and/or order Andy White and Tim Finn's 'AT' album on their BandcampListen to and/or order Andy's 'This garden is only temporary' album on his Bandcamp

"Hotels." No, "old hotels". "Thick walls." No, "thick thick walls." Pericles, a caterpillar and dashboard lights. If you have only heard the single version of My Regeneration,  you will find the whole story here. Andy is halfway through his exploration of the 'AT' album he wrote with Tim Finn.The sleep-inducing yet fascinating BBC series Andy mentions is In Our Time.  The other Shakespeare plays are The Winter's Tale and The Tempest. We have no links for Andy's bass playing digression or his lack of interest in The Who. At least he sounds like he is having fun!As ever, this episode contains a version of My Regeneration you won't have heard before. Changing your life is hard. There's only so much affliction you can choose to ignore. Hesitation and then … regeneration. Please share and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. See you next week!My Regeneration by Finn/WhitePlayed and recorded by Andy and Tim in Melbourne and AucklandDrums and podcast artwork by Sebastian WhiteListen to and/or order Andy White and Tim Finn's 'AT' album on their BandcampListen to and/or order Andy's 'This garden is only temporary' album on his Bandcamp

In the latest episode of Andy's journey through the 'AT' album he wrote with Tim Finn, he goes off to Canada to play the Edmonton Folk Music Festival. Where folk is not, perhaps, what it seems. He encounters the Warrior backstage and a new song is born.Mostly, Andy waxes lyrical on Canadian folk festivals, their vibe, food, and hotels (always with thick thick walls). However, it is also about co-writing songs with A and B sections—and writing things down immediately, when they happen. As always, there are versions and mixes of the songs you haven't heard before. Please share and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. See you next week!Warrior of Love by Finn/WhitePlayed and recorded by Andy and Tim in Melbourne and AucklandDrums and podcast artwork by Sebastian WhiteListen to and/or order Andy White and Tim Finn's 'AT' album on their BandcampListen to and/or order Andy's 'This garden is only temporary' album on his Bandcamp