Why He Takes His Time Making Good Things Happen

Back in June 2013, Andy Bull, whose work has been described as intelligently offbeat synth-pop, signed with US label, Republic Records. It seemed perfect timing, what with a new single, Baby I Am Nobody Now, released the following month, the kind of thing most Australian artists dream of.

However, Bull admits with a chuckle, “To be honest, I've had almost nothing to do with them since signing. That stuff happened but I just felt like there was just so much to do here, so many shows to play and so much locally to be a part of that it’s kept me fully busy and… I don’t know. You’ve got to be careful of over-vaulting ambition, I guess. You’ve just got to do what is real, and it’s felt very real at home, and the Australian music scene has felt very alive. Maybe that’s just my personal perspective but for those reasons I’ve been pretty much fully engaged here. Maybe there’s some overseas stuff to happen, but I just felt I’ve had to do one step at a time, and there’s just been enough here.”

Of course, the big thing “here” has been the release of Bull’s second album, Sea Of Approval, in July last year. It included his two previous singles, Keep On Running and Baby I Am Nobody Now, which both made 2013’s triple j Hottest 100, as well as his next single, Talk Too Much, which made 2014’s Hottest 100.

 "It’s the natural ebb and flow of the whole thing – you’re always building and destroying.”

“I remember when I worked on (2010 EP) Phantom Pains, it felt like I was taking steps towards doing something that was more… I hate this word ‘truthful’ but sort of more personal, lyrically. Like it just felt more specific lyrically, and I think that was something I continued to do. But then sonically things changed a lot. My life around doing Phantom Pains and my life around Sea Of Approval were just completely different things, just on a day-to-day level and a personal level – everything changed in that time. So the album had a different modus operandi, really, through the whole thing. And I guess there’s always a sense where you’re trying to destroy what you did in the past, because that’s how you move forward. It’s the natural ebb and flow of the whole thing – you’re always building and destroying.”

Since the release of the album, Bull has toured it nationally twice and was part of last year’s Groovin The Moo, so this latest tour is pretty much the last based around Sea Of Approval. “We’ll continue to play a lot of songs from this record,” Bull feels, “because live they’ve been very energetic and happy things to do. A lot of the arrangements are very exciting to play, so I think in future there are some things we’ll always play. I think whatever happens next will involve more live playing with other people. So live recording and I guess slightly more collaborative, stretching things out a bit more.”