“Life of Sin” is the third single from modern country duo Adele and Andy, coming off their forthcoming album release. The single is released on October 27th and is a track all about “accepting you, accepting me.” This duo has been creating a stir on “Twitch” where they have built up a strong following in the past two years. Very quickly they are becoming on of the UK’s most popular country acts, hitting the festivals and making a name for themselves on the live circuit.
“Life of Sin” is a real ‘Dirt Road’ Country Rock/Blues Track and this decidedly raunchy single has electricity running all the way through it. The Harmonica/Hammond Organ gives it a real ‘When the Levee Breaks/Tarantino feel and we loved it here in the office! So it was really great to sit down for a chat with the duo and discuss all things music with them. We have a delve into the back catalogue before looking forward to the upcoming album and new single.
We started the interview by talking about an early track by the duo called “Morning Light.” We loved the vocals and the general feel of the track and wondered how the pair felt about that song now, and whether it was part of their live set still (not the answer we were expecting coming up lol).
Andy- To be honest it’s not part of the live show now. The first album we did was very much about finding our feet and towards the end of the recording of that album we got more toward a country blues style. We wanted to be moving toward more of a niche route then, and we felt a few of the tracks had gone too poppy, which is not where we wanted to be. So I feel that two albums and two EPs later we are more where we want to be, but it’s taken thirty odd tracks to get there. We do play “Morning Light” quite a bit on our ‘Twitch’ platform, but we have never actually done that one live.
Well we like it!
Andy- To be fair, it is popular on ‘Twitch,’ and a lot of people do like it.
Adele- We had a stint where I felt I couldn’t do that song. I don’t know what it was about it, but I sometimes need to step away from a song for a while, and that was certainly one. I suppose as we musically grow we do return to songs, and it sometimes features on the live streams, I no longer have a beef with it!
Another earlier track, from 2022, we wanted to touch on was “Whiskey on your Breath” as that song has this lovely melody, but the lyrical content is clearly very difficult and deals with alcoholism. How difficult is it to take a difficult topic such as this and still keep it upbeat?
Adele- I wrote that song. If ever we have written songs, they have always been from personal songs, or things that people around us have experienced. I would say if I have a difficulty with songwriting it is getting the bridges right, and Andy wrote the bridge with that as I suffer a writers block with bridges. It was something that we haven’t been through, but we know a lot of people do struggle with alcohol problems and it does negatively impact relationships. So it came from there.
Andy- We don’t write songs just for the hell of it. We write because either they mean something to us, or because we know they mean something to those around us. We very much hope our music is authentic and real in the terms of what we are trying to get over and that is important. There are a lot of people in relationships who have to cope with a partner who has an addiction and it is a difficult thing to do.
The country scene in the UK appears to be very flexible currently with diversity being the norm here. Country pop is growing in popularity, but you also have Americana and country rock being growth areas musically. We think country music in the US is maybe less free to experiment as it is seen as the “home” for the genre.
Adele- I broadly agree with that. I think with the album we are doing now, and to an extent in the past, we are aware of the different subgenres and the way you can connect into these and explore them. With this new album we certainly show the versatility, and we cover different things in our music.
Andy- We have been put into the country genre by people, but we think many of our songs, and especially “Life of Sin” have a much rockier/blues sound.
We felt the new single did have a heavier feel. We like the heavy sound and love the lyric “Won’t be a Trophy Girl.” The track certainly is quite heavy generally and can appeal to the rocking end of the country market.
Andy- To be fair if you looked at the music both Adele and I listened to previously, both of us listened far more to rock music than any other music. We certainly weren’t necessarily country music fans. That is something that has grown with us. When we say we have found a sound that we really like, I think we have gone full circle back to what we like to listen to. A lot of the time you are placed under pressure to fit into a scene and into a genre, to have a particular sound. But as we have gone on, we are more interested in making a sound that we are passionate about, rather than having to please other people, we also want to please ourselves.
We like that. We have the same attitude toward the magazine here. If we want to include something it is because we like it, not just because it fits into a certain box. So, with this in mind, what makes a great song for Andy and Adele? How do they place the bar on what to discard and what to keep?
Andy- I don’t think you can have a great song without a good meaning behind the song. There may be some great songs without that, but , for us, it is important to have a good story.
Adele- It is feeling the emotion, whether fast/slow, happy/sad, whatever, party vibe perhaps. But I need to see the movie in my head as I sing it. Andy is the stronger songwriter between us, where imagery is concerned. But, I would leave a song when those images are not there for me to connect to.
Andy- I think some songs left aside have been decent songs, but they failed to connect with Adele and you don’t want the singer to be going through the motions with a song, you want the singer to live the song from start to end. Songs like “As Much as I Miss You,” were not personal to us, but we had spoken to people who have had the experience. Both of us were emotionally touched with that one, we teared up when we first heard it, just to each other, but it was such an emotional song. That makes that song a great song. “Life of Sin” is a more light song. It has two parts to it really. Initially, it was Adele saying ‘I don’t like horses and I don’t necessarily want to dress like this.”
Adele- No southern drawl to my voice.
Andy- I’m not going to try as that’s not me. I don’t think we fit into norms, and there was one review that described Adele as ‘an odd front woman.’
Adele- I’m not complaining, any person is entitled to an opinion. But I feel it is indicative of me not typifying the country scene.
Andy- But, going back to “Life of Sin,” we spent time getting it right, changing lyrics a bit to accommodate ideas. As individuals, we are quite opposite. I would say I am structured and organised and I’m impatient to get things done. Adele is more laid back, and one of the things that we are happy with and makes us work is that we don’t try to change each other. We embrace the differences between us. The is never a point when I have said to Adele, ‘You need to be more…’ and the song is about that as well. It is about how to be happy with the person you are with and don’t try and change them.
It is certainly a great song to look forward to.
Andy- When we got into the studio, we had a plan in our head. We often listen to a reference track that we think we might use to get us in gear.
Adele- Or we might really like that instrument and look at ways to use it.
Andy- So we are driving to the recording studio and I am playing “When the Levee Breaks” by Led Zeppelin. I know in my mind that is a sound I want, and I am hearing the Hammond organ, a bit of ‘God Iron’ as we call it. We start recording it and it gets to around 11, and Adele is getting hungry as she always does, so as she is going out for food and she whispers to me ‘it’s not dirty enough this track.’ So she goes off to get a sandwich, and Scott and I got the guitars out and ramp it up. When she coms back she is saying that is exactly what we want.
Adele- It needs that sassiness. It needed that attitude, and I couldn’t at first get past this pretty song with the acoustic guitar.
The Hammond organ works well on the track.
Andy- We got someone in called Dave Edmonds to play that on that track. You may not believe it but he actually did that first take. He hadn’t even heard the song, he just came in and he did the Hammond first take. Incredible, and that wasn’t originally on the track. Sometimes you get a track back and its not exactly what you want, but this time we totally knew. On this song we also changed Adele’s vocal a bit which we have never done before, its always been pure vocal. But this time we wanted something a little different. And, of course, we placed the starting bit on with the guy talking about the menu. We are very happy with it, and we are recording at the moment for the album.
Adele- We like it, and we can really feel where this album is heading.
When is the album out?
Andy- We have no release date as yet, however it won’t be long. Possibly, just after Christmas.
Adele- An album of different styles. It is not an album of one sound. There is a wedding style of song, a couple of ballads .
Andy- A couple of heavier tracks and a couple of poppy ones. There is something for everyone.
Of course, look at how Queen could switch from jazz to rag time, to heavy metal on one album.
Andy- The constant on the album is that it tells stories, and although it has different styles it always sounds like Adele on those vocals. When we stream on ‘twitch’ that is the consistency.
And as a last fun question, if the duo could have any artist alive or dead around for a meal, who would it be, and what would you ask them?
Adele- Ozzy Osbourne. I would have Ozzy at my dinner table, not sure what I would ask him, but I’m sure it would be an eventful night!
Andy- Eric Clapton for me, or maybe Prince. Prince would be interesting, I’d have liked to ask him to teach me some guitar moves.
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By Mark C. Chambers
and
Lorraine Foley
