Howling for Hamish

Hamish Anderson is an exciting songwriter, guitarist and vocalist from Melbourne, he sings a mix of blues, folk and rock.

Hamish is about to release his self named EP . Angus and Julia Stone” and the Foofighters are just some of the musicians featured.

On April 19 Hamish will be releasing his ‘EP’ and first single “Howl”. He will celebrate with a launch show on Wednesday May 1 at ‘the Toff in Town’ venue in Melbourne.

Hamish is excited about and keen to tour Tasmania in the near future.

I posed some questions to Hamish about his career, Tasmania and much more.

Do you get to Tasmania very often either for leisure or performance?

As of yet I haven’t been to Tasmania, but I’ve heard such great things from friends about places like MONA and the Cascade Brewery so I can’t wait to go there!

Any particular Tasmanian memories or reflections you can share with us?

This is a tricky one, as I haven’t been to Tassie before I obviously don’t have any reflections that I can share with you – but as I plan to tour their later this year, I’ll be able to answer this question next time around!

You are only 21 years old but already have the ability to write and perform songs with great emotional weight. How do you account for this?

A lot of it has probably come from listening to so much music and just having a great appreciation for the art of song writing.

Smoke and Mirrors takes a cynical look at love? Was this song prompted by real life experience?

I’d definitely say that song and pretty much all of my songs have been inspired by real life experiences. It definitely has a more cynical look at love, which would just be a reflection of what I was feeling at the time I wrote it.

Looking at the video clip for’ Howl’ it seems to depict a protagonist captured by love/passion but also, dare I say ‘fox hunter’ as we see images akin to him being ‘blooded’ after the hunt.

The title even hints at werewolf mythology and has a very primal feel to it.

Do you like explaining your symbolism or do you prefer listeners to come to come to their own interpretation in what Morris Gleitzman called the ‘magic spaces’ where listeners brings their own life experiences to your lyrics and images?

I prefer listeners to have their own interpretations of what a song means to them. It’s always been interesting to me how a song can have so many different meanings to the person who is listening to it, that’s one thing I love about songs and song-writing. I wanted the song and the video to have a very primal feel to it.

How long does it take you for the realisation of this complex imagery?

It definitely is present during the song-writing stage. I’ve begun to use imagery more and more in my songs and writing.

You started playing guitar at 12 and have an abiding love of the blues although your music also encompasses folk and rock. Can you tell us a bit about your progression into music?

What initially got me in to music and made me want to play guitar when I was around 12, were bands like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Cream etc, and as I got older I started to go even further back to the artists the influenced them like Muddy Waters, Albert King, Howlin’ Wolf, Son House, Robert Johnson. Songwriters that have really inspired me are people like Bob Dylan, Neil Young and J.J. Cale. It’s all these influences that have helped me develop and find my style.

Is there or has there ever been another career choice for you?

Pretty much since I was 12 years old I knew I wanted my career to be in music, it’s really what drives me.

When can we expect to see you in Tasmania?

I hope to get to Tasmania very soon! I’m in the middle of sorting out some interstate gig dates (at this stage I’ve got a launch show in Melbourne at The Toff on May 1, and a show in Sydney at The Standard (supporting Jess Dunbar) on May 2) and playing some shows in Tasmania this year is definitely on the cards!

Hamish’s new single ‘Howl’ and new self-titled EP are available now on ITUNES and you can view the single here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SqHCCJuTY
Paula Xiberras