An interview with Andreya Triana

Andreya Triana, experimental and self taught singer and songwriter from South East London. During the epic Tune Munch summer festival tour we had the chance to meet her at Soundwave Croatia in Tisno. 

Tune Munch: So, how do you feel about the set?

Andreya Triana: Amazing! Yeah, I just come onstage, awesome vibes, amazing energy. So, yeah.

TM: You’ve been here at Soundwave before?

AT: I haven’t been to this site before, but I’ve been to Croatia quite a few times. So it’s always great to come back and the vibe that’s around all this.

TM: It is so good. So, the set you had right now with the guitarist, is that your normal kind of set?

AT: No, I normally I have a full live band with a bassist and a key player and an electronic system. So, it was very stripped down. You know, you never quite know how it’s going to go down, but I think it was good. It was an amazing crowd.

TM: Your new album “Giants” is out! Do you want to tell us what happened in between? What did you change? Did the music change?

AT: The first album “Lost where I belong” came out in 2010 and after that it was kind of a crazy whirlwind of touring. I also got to work with Bonobo, I guess starred in his album and that was very busy in the kind of underground scene. We were touring all over the world. And then after that, you know, I just felt like I really needed to be in my own space and to really push myself as hard as I could, so I just concentrated purely on songwriting and wrote about seventy songs.

TM: Wow!

AT: And that got down to the twelve that are on the album now.

TM: Great! Do you write any songs for other artists or just yourself?

AT: Well, I mean I wrote songs for myself but it’s amazing you know that stuff I didn’t use on my album is totally available for other people. So, it’s amazing to be able to do that. It finds a new life and then a new voice. There’s a few in the pipeline.

TM: So, if we would have to tell our readers how to get an idea of your sound, what’s the first song that they should listen to?

AT: That’s a tough one! I think that should probably be Giant, my new album’s called Giant. And, yeah, I think it kind of really talks about how I got from A to B from probably, you know, the very beginning. It’s not been the easiest journey, it’s not the easiest thing being a musician. So, this song kind of talks about having strength to carry on, despite the world sometimes.

TM: Do you think that you’re at the right place to get your music out there?

AT: Um, yeah. I mean, you never know. You never know, that’s the scariest thing. You work so hard on songs and putting your soul into it and you never know…

TM: It’s so personal as well.

AT: It’s very personal and you never know till it’s out there. So, you know, at this moment in time I definitely feel like I’m in the right place at the right time, you know, the album is at the moment number one on the indie charts, which is (you know) well done, amazing.

TM: So tell us, what’s coming up?

AT: Next is, I guess it’s just touring the world. Yeah.

TM: Touring the world?

AT: I have an amazing tour group, I’m doing my biggest shows in the UK. Playing at Koko in November, which is my biggest gig to date. We’re going to have full string and horn section, and hopefully like backup vocalists and stuff. So, it’s going to be insane! And then, you know, I live day to day. Like, my life has been insane for the past few months.

TM: Tell us a bit about it, what’s the insane thing?

AT: The most insane bit is probably being like meeting Samuel L. Jackson and like hanging out and playing live for his charity events. That’s insane!

TM: Is that in the States?

AT: No, that was in London only a few months ago. And then supporting one of my favorite artists, Paolo Nutini in Leeds, which is where I used to live and go to uni. And, you know, I’ve been on amazing TV shows like Jools Holland. That is like the kind of at the moment the only credible TV show in the UK. It’s something that I’ve wanted to do for like ten years or something. So it was easily the most amazing, the most scary experience of my… it’s a bit scary.

Andreya Triana’s album Giants is out now and it is full of heartfelt honest songs, you can buy it HERE

To catch Andreya at a gig in Europe, all you need to do is follow Caro Emerald‘s tour – she’ll be the supporting artist!