White here, right now

It’s hard work keeping up with Andy White these days. Since the Belfast-born singer/songwriter/poet/troubadour left Dublin to live in Switzerland in 1998 he has become involved in a seemingly endless range of musical adventures.

When not touring the world in a solo capacity, his long-standing association with Peter Gabriel’s WOMAD organisation sees him performing at festivals from Seattle to Singapore. He has recently completed a UK tour with UK folksters Rab Noakes and Michael Weston King, under the banner 'An Englishman, An Irishman And A Scotsman'.

Released earlier this year, his sixth album 'Andy White' was produced in Dublin by Kieran Kennedy and mixed by Radiohead producer/engineer John Leckie. It also features Liam O MaonlaÌ and Nick Seymour (Crowded House) amongst others. Currently on a short Irish tour he stops to catch his breath and talk about the new record – his first in four years.

“My albums before this one were very much rooted in their time and place,” he explains. “This one is far less so. 'Rave On' was about growing up in Belfast in the ’70s and ’80s. Himself was about living in the countryside of Northern Ireland, Teenage was about moving to Dublin.

'Destination Beautiful' was about being in Dublin, the city of possibilities. This one has storylines running through it and Switzerland is reflected in it. But it’s not like I’ve started writing songs about cows with bells, of which there are many or huge mountains but there are elements of the vibe within central Europe.”

Strangely, White has chosen to live in rural isolation in Switzerland rather than the city environment he is more used to. “It’s just so different,” he says. “I live in a creaking wooden house in a valley surrounded by massive mountains. You’d go mad if you didn’t have anything to do. When I come back to Ireland I just want to go right into the city. Switzerland is a very individual, very eccentric country, full of eccentric people. It’s not like visiting Zurich, which is like Dublin’s financial centre.”

Constant touring would appear to be the key to White’s success and he is rarely off the road. “It averages about ten days a month,” says the troubadour, who makes a welcome return to Ireland this month.