Andrew Pattie is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, producer, guitar tutor, choir leader, and session musician with more than a decade’s worth of experience working professionally across these fields.
Andrew grew up with music being an enlightenment in an otherwise dull, rural Scottish upbringing. Isolated in a farmhouse; his father’s record collection was a wealth of colour and sound to fill the void. Early memories of discovering Free Jazz, Romantic composers, prog rock, and The Beatles turned Andrew on to the possibilities of what could be created outside the Top of the Pops sounds of the mid-90s. A significant revelation to a young person who didn’t have access to the internet like kids now. For Andrew, esoteric and underground sounds were the norm. As his obsession with hearing new sounds continued his desire to create sound also developed. Starting with a Casio keyboard and a Fisher-Price tape recorder he and his brother would make “Radio Shows”. They would consist of nonsense interviews interspersed with basic compositions created with the keyboard. The impression these early cassette recordings had on his future should not be understated.
Andrew’s first experience learning a real instrument was with the Clarinet. He had the usual opportunities through school to rent an instrument and get tuition. Although he would practice the standard exercises from the schoolbooks his ability to pick out melodies by ear was starting to become apparent. His first experience of this came from hearing Jorge Ben’s ‘Mas Que Nada’ which had been used in an advert for Nike and the ’98 Brazilian football team. Subsequently, Bossa Nova and Brazilian Jazz would play a significant role in Andrew’s musical life.
As Andrew moved up into High school his desire to play Clarinet was quashed with the introduction of electric guitar. Despite owning a small, nylon string acoustic, new rock and metal albums being passed around his friends changed the picture drastically. The early 2000s brought about many technological conveniences too. His music teacher burned him a cracked copy of Steinberg Nuendo 1.2, a DAW that could allow him to use the family computer to make multi-track recordings. A significant upgrade to the kid’s tape player with a built-in mic. Although supportive, his parents were slightly put out by how many new instruments were arriving in the house. He remembers “My friend Tim had a beaten-up Premier Olympic drumkit with holes in the skins. I bargained with him for £30 and a jar of Peanut Butter.” Andrew’s friend accepted and this was the beginning of fuller and more complete productions. He bought a bass guitar from the School music supply catalogue and a cheap mic set from his local music shop, John Douglas in Dumfries. Running everything into an 8-channel mixer procured from the early days of EBAY he set about recording his first record. 2003’s Alkaline GM Crops Against was a self-release that remained on CD-R on the music shelf. Andrew added his compositions to the alphabetised CD rack his dad had built. Over the next five years, He made at least two albums a year. Each album was carefully completed with artwork and production. He would continue to constantly add to his arsenal of instruments including an electric organ he took from the church hall and an Alto Saxophone donated by his parent’s friend. In this early experimental time, he created albums named “Long While for Meat”, “Devil Boy”, “Sodium Coconut”, “Ersatz the Musical”, “Gran is BeeKeeper”, “The Magic Muffin Band”, “Alan Gimroid” and his final Lockerbie album “Roots Banoon”. None of these are available to listen to unless you were to ask Andrew privately.
In 2007 Andrew moved from the small rural setting up to Glasgow where he currently resides. It wasn’t long before Andrew found himself playing drums for solo artist Richard Mailey, headlining King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, the famous Glasgow venue. He played drums for the lesser-known namesake Blood Orange (Dev Hindes sent them a firm email to lose the name), Bass for the then hopeful indie rockers Velcro Quartet and finally encouraged by his close friends to start a band Honey and the Herbs. Honey and the Herbs was Andrew’s main focus from 2008 to 2016 providing songwriting, Guitar, and Lead Vocals. They self-released two EP’s and a full 12” LP in that time. Mostly playing locally or throughout the Scottish music festival circuit.
The first two EP’s were recorded at the Green Door Studio in Glasgow’s Finneston, Hidden Lane. It was here that Andrew got his first big connection. While recording for Honey and the Herbs the engineers, Emily Mclaren and Stuart Evan discovered Andrew’s multi-instrumental ability. It was while The Amazing Snakeheads (Domino) debut, 2013 was being recorded that Emily suggested to Dale Barclay that he should give him a session playing the Saxophone on a couple of tracks. Dale agreed and the following week Andrew was in the studio. He impressed the band with his unique style and music. They asked if he wanted a job in the band there and then.
As a member of The Amazing Snakeheads he extensively toured the UK and Europe as a headline act or in support of artists such as Jack White of the White Stripes. The band exploded in popularity but with that came a very quick demise. Tensions between members came to a head and the group folded after only 1 album and a handful of singles.
Andrew continued to work with Honey and the Herbs at this time. He recruited a new band and started to put together more elaborate compositions than the previous garage rock had been. Some exciting headline and support shows followed with BMX Bandits so the band focussed on self-releasing their debut album, ‘Gloaming’ available to purchase on Bandcamp.
Honey and the Herbs dissolved around 2016 when he was allowed to play guitar for Mercury Prize-nominated artist C Duncan. Andrew was back on the road again touring the UK and Europe as a Headline act, Festivals, and a full UK Support tour with ELBOW. Spending three weeks with Guy Garvey and his band was another important experience in his career.
Through his now Brother-in-Law Andrew met Duglas Stewart the frontman of BMX Bandits. He has been a significant figure in the Glasgow indie music scene for 40 years. Duglas saw great potential in not only Andrew’s live musicianship but also his songwriting and production skills. To date, he has made two LPs and a 7” single with Duglas and the BMX Bandits. His name is credited to the majority of the music produced in the last 4 years of the band’s history. The most recent release is 2024’s Dreamer’s on the Run which features some of Andrew’s songs that never made it to Honey and the Herbs.
In all this time Andrew continued to write and record music in his home. The experiences and influences that he’d been exposed to in the last 15 years made their way into his subconscious. The Vault, as he refers to it, had been brimming with demo ideas and song sketches. He went back to his favourite Green Door studio to work with Ronan Fay, Liam Chapman, and Alexis Stearns to record drums and vocals for a debut release. He, feeling the compulsion to return to his early days of album production set about creating his best production yet. “Melding Upbeat, Art Pop with heavy drums and Synths”.
His first release “You Think About It” was picked up by US indie label Exquisite Noise who have now released subsequent singles “Make you Lonely”, “True Love Ain’t Easy”, “Right of Way” and “Hooptalk”.
Andrew’s debut album, REPAIR, was released on Exquisite Noise. Throughout all of this Andrew never set out to make music his career. He found a positive channel to communicate through. He has a long history of battling mental health issues. Music has always been a form of therapy in his life. He states, “I feel that people misinterpret artists to be troubled, I feel that troubled people choose art and music as a way of communicating abstract thought processes that can’t be spoken”.
His latest single ‘You Are’, is an indie, synth-pop offering that embraces an upbeat and dreamy mood while transporting listeners into a realm of engaging soundscapes. The track was a reaction to TOPS’s song ‘Picture You Staring’. This guitar riff, which Andrew adored, combined with the flavours of West African guitar playing to produce a clear, pleasing sound. Most of the arrangement is still in line with the upbeat new wave. To intensify the synth dance vibe, he added a synth bass in place of the bass guitar in the final mix. It was mastered by Hifi Sean Dickson of Soup Dragons.
The song’s lyrics discuss acceptance of oneself. A conversation in which we battle the person we think we should be and the person our environment and society demand us to be. It has been difficult for Andrew to remain a musician for the past 11 years for both mental health and financial reasons. He sees these compositions as a means of self-repair as he looks for methods to convey challenging and ethereal emotions through music. His wife, Alexis, contributed her voice to this, expanding on the idea of the dialogue.
On the release, Andrew Pattie comments, “‘You Are’ deals with acceptance. Acceptance of yourself. A dialogue fighting with who we feel we should be against how our society and surroundings expect us to act. To have continued to be a musician through the last 11 years has been a struggle for me. Not only financially but with my mental health. Much of REPAIR deals with coming to terms with a lifelong struggle with depression and anxiety. I look at these musical creations as a way to repair myself. To find ways of communicating difficult and abstract feelings in music, lyrics, and mood. My wife, Alexis added her voice to this furthering the dialogue concept.”
In what is yet another outstanding effort, this song in particular seems to embody Andrew Pattie’s character as a musician and artist. As he advances in the music industry, he is committed to creating music that leaves a lasting emotive impression on listeners.