Music Review and Interview for Andi Young – Time To Say Goodbye
There is a fearless quality to And! Young’s music that both confronts and empowers the listener. Gifted with a unique, shiver-inducing voice, he brings something fresh to the singer-songwriter tradition. Young’s debut EP introduces an artist at once vulnerable and confident, willing to confess his longings and expose his scars while touching upon something universally human.
“Everything I write is genuine from my own life or lives I see around me,” he says. “People may lie about many things, even their own feelings, but I find it too hard to lie in my music… I have strong feelings inside me, but I’ve never known how to communicate with the world in the right way. So I’ve put everything into music.”
Raw emotion lies at the core of Young’s work. You can hear it in his yearning vocal style and the unguarded content of his lyrics. Rich, well-sculpted melodies and an inspired talent for arrangement make his songs as accessible as they are honest. Themes of love, loss, self-discovery and rebirth run through songs like “Mutated Love,” “Lonely Child” and “It’s Time to Say Goodbye.” From the piano balladry of “You Go Left and I Go Right” to the propulsive EDM flow of “Star,” his work transcends categories as it combines musical elegance with an intensity that aims straight for the heart.
If Young’s songs cross creative boundaries, it may be a reflection of his own international upbringing. Born of Asian-American heritage and spending his early years on three continents, he began his musical journey as a four year-old violin student. Daily practice on the instrument helped him develop a real passion for music (as well as a talent for composition that he channeled into songwriting). Singing allowed him the freedom to fully express his emotions, enhancing the skill and discipline he gained from his classical music studies.
Early on, he began improvising melodies and making up lyrics to his tunes. “The words that came out were not always positive and that would make me feel so sinful,” he recalls. “The words delivered sophisticated emotions that made me scared, so I tried to force myself to stop creating lyrics and melodies. But that was impossible.”
Over time, writing songs became a way for Young to find solace and healing: “Living in different parts of the world as a child, everything in my life cast sharp contradictions. I had a very difficult time identifying myself – I didn’t seem to belong to any particular community. The issue of identity was something I had to deal with when I was a child and teenager, but I gradually grew out of it and started to accept myself as just a human being.” These topics would find expression in his music as he matured and mastered his craft.
Young grew steadily more serious about music while attending high school in Europe on scholarship. He auditioned for a singing competition in Holland at age 17, winning Best Stage Award as a finalist. The strong encouragement he received from the judges led to his entering further contests and to performing at musical festivals and special events with various cover bands around Europe.
Though the applause earned from singing other people’s songs could be gratifying, Young’s real goal was to develop his own music to its fullest potential.
After relocating to Australia, Young applied for admission as a composition student at a music conservatory. The head of the composition department Greg White evaluated his original material and pronounced him a “natural songwriter.” Ultimately, though, Young passed up formal training as a composer in favor of creating his music his own way, with its raw edges intact.
When the time was right, he sought out partners in the pop music industry to help him realize his vision. New York-based producer/engineer Robert L. Smith – known for his work with the cast of TV’s Glee as well as projects with Lady Gaga, Aerosmith and David Bowie – agreed to produce tracks for Young after hearing one of his songs. For his dance tune “Star,” he teamed up with producer John Ho, whose credits include Number One Japanese hits with ShiNee (“Obsession”), Lil Eddie, Mya and Kimbra, among other artists. The results of these collaborations will be heard on Young’s debut EP as well as his first album.
Young continues to stretch and deepen his talents as he records new songs. “Star” is a particularly impressive breakthrough, revealing a warm, expansive vocal range that soars above its sleek, pulsating track.
If there’s pain and conflict coursing through the music of And! Young, there’s also a ringing note of hope amidst the struggle. His songs are confessions, anthems and prayers – sometimes all three at once. Come into his world and be prepared to be moved, uplifted and more than a little startled.
In his first two singles, the artist has demonstrated his broad vocal range by singing notes that went below E2 in Time To Say Goodbye and one note higher than the high C in the EDM Star. In his small body lives a quiet soul, and with his boyband look, you may think he can’t sing, but when he opens his mouth, this new vocal powerhouse surprises everyone. Will he become the next biggest idol?
Music Review for “Time To Say Goodbye”
Andi Young’s music is unapologetically honest, real, and fearless. He’s a talented musician, with finely developed skills on a number of instruments, and a voice that is well practised and ready to take to the stage.
His music is very personal to him. His background, his time growing up and moving around a lot, affected him quite deeply – the results of which are a series of sincerely honest and reflective songs; a lyrical openness that it must have taken an awful lot of courage and integrity to produce. “I had a very difficult time identifying myself – I didn’t seem to belong to any particular community.”
All troubles aside, his journey has led him to where he is now, and the music speaks for itself. It speaks loudly. His expression is raw, his musical style is soft but intense, and his voice is gentle and quite vulnerable sounding; the clarity is so sharp that you can almost hear every single thought and emotion as he sings the words he’s written.
Time to Say Goodbye is an unplugged and uninhibited song featuring Piano, Violin,Viola, Cello and Vocal. It’s a stunning musical performance, the piano work is superb, the vocal performance is very raw and genuine – the emotion hung upon it is a little overwhelming at times, but it makes sense within the concept of the song, among the lyrics he’s singing. It’s clearly something that means a lot to him.
There’s a subtle touch of musical theatre in the song, but perhaps that is an innate part of Andi’s personality and background, and it’s not a negative. It works equally well as an acoustic ballad, and the great thing is that melodically it doesn’t strike up any reminders of other piano ballads – a strong achievement, a sound unique to the artist.
There is sadness in the music, but there is also a sense of optimism, of overcoming struggle, of hope. Time To Say Goodbye is just one of an array of gorgeous songs written, performed, and shared with the world by Andi Young. The collection is more than worthy of your time if you appreciate heartfelt and softly soulful music. His vocal tone varies a little throughout the songs, perhaps indicative of the genuine honesty in his performance; the emotion behind each song is directly reflected in the voice that presents them. A wonderful quality that makes the artist really easy to like.
By Rebecca Cullen
Travelling musician and writer from Manchester, UK.
Exclusive Interview:
Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?
Andi Young: I grew up in Australia, Asia and Europe. I’ve always loved music and I was classically trained in violin playing. I guess playing music has always been a part of me.
Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?
Andi Young: I’ve always been called Andi Young. My original name is Andy though.
Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?
Andi Young: Sharing music only is a great way to gain more exposure and that’s how many new artists made their breakthrough these days, so I appreciate that. I do give my fans some free music actually, usually when they subscribe to my Youtube channel or my website, well the songs I give away are all costly productions, but I really like sharing my music with them and hopefully they will like them and support me in the long term.
Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?
Andi Young: I think it’s important to have some good productions to start with, when you’ve got good music in hand, the rest becomes easier.
Exposed Vocals: Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?
Andi Young: Yes haha, I forget lyrics sometimes and I usually just make up new ones. When I sing I always sink myself in that song and feel each word very deeply, and that often makes me forget the next word hahaha.
Exposed Vocals: Do you tour? Anything interesting happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about?
Andi Young: I am planning to tour when my EP Time To Say Goodbye comes out. It will be mainly acoustic, so anyone who’s interested in vocals or just wanna have some great time with friends and family should come and join me.
Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?
Andi Young: Usually I write when I can’t get my feelings out in every day life. Like when my heart is broken, when I lose someone, and have things to say but can’t find any outlet, and that’s when I turn to music and let music help me find a way out.
Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?
Andi Young: Yes my website is andiyoung.com I use my own website, and I have Facebook, which is facebook.com/andiyoungofficial, and twitter@andiyoungisme and my music is also available on Amazon, iTunes and Spotify
Exposed Vocals: What are some really embarrassing songs that we might find on your mp3 player?
Andi Young: My own drafts? Haha I usually record my drafts on my phone wherever I go, and I record vocal demos whenever I can, and they can be about anything, anything that comes to my mind when I feel it, very random things and ideas that don’t make sense at all, so I feel very funny when I hear them back.
Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?
Andi Young: I would wanna set up a charity organization and help those in need.
Exposed Vocals: Any planned studio upgrades? What are you working with now?
Andi Young: I always record my songs in top studios, and at the moment I am still working on my EP, and hopefully it will be out very soon.
Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?
Andi Young: I never thought about promoting my music. I just put my songs on Soundcloud, and one day I found that I got more than 1 Million plays already and many people sent me messages saying they loved my songs. So I think now we’ve got all the resources online and if your music is good it will be heard.
Exposed Vocals: If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive) where and who would it be with? Why?
Andi Young: I wanna tour with Christina Aguilera, we can do some amazing high notes together haha, or maybe Adam Lambert, it’ll be fun.
Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?
Andi Young: Next I might do some collab with other artists, do some Youtube videos for the world and write more songs.
Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?
Andi Young: I’d be acting maybe, or become a journalist.
Exposed Vocals: Do you remember buying your first album? Who was it? What was going through your head?
Andi Young: Christina Aguilera. I just wanted to find out if a pretty girl could actually sing.
Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?
Andi Young: Music is all my responsibilities now haha, I still eat and sleep though.
Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016?
Andi Young: My first EP, absolutely!
