MUSICIAN Finn Andrews may feel like a fraud, but his musical success came earlier than most Kiwis.
As frontman for The Veils, a band that started in New Zealand, Andrews lives in the UK after moving there when he was 17.
“I went there to record my first album, which I’d written here while I was at High School. I went from school to being signed to a record label within a week of being in London, it was all very foreign,” he says.
Some might say that recognition came too early, and Andrews, 27, admits to having a lot to deal with for someone his age.
“I developed quite a few strange mental complexes from being thrust into that quite early on. I felt fraudulent for the first few years, like I was a lie waiting to be uncovered.
“I still worry occasionally about being discovered as a fraud, it’s a daunting thing walking onto a stage in front of so many pairs of eyes. It took a while for me to relax and feel more comfortable, but I feel a lot better now,” he says.
Andrews’ internal narrative changed as he grew older.
“I was always worried what everyone else thought when I was younger, I was convinced that everyone was thinking about how shit I was. As I’ve gotten older I worry more about how I feel about it.”
It’s a strange concept to get your head around, but in approaching music in this way, Andrews has managed to take himself out of the picture.
“You are your biggest obstacle. When you’re over-thinking and double guessing yourself you get in the way of the writing, and it essentially destroys the whole point. The less you and everyone else is in the way, the more clearly you can write and the better everything turns out.”
Andrew’s self-reflective nature seemingly helped protect him from the perils of big success at a young age.
“I still feel like I’m learning; I’m always discovering new parts to my relationship with writing and performing. That journey is really the exciting part.”
With three albums under their belts, The Veils’ latest release is six-track EP Troubles of the Brain.
“I wanted to make something that feels the way I do at the moment, showing the more relaxed and playful side of what we do. The structure of an EP is very different to an album, it’s unpretentious and you can have more fun with it. I’m really proud of it and I feel like I’ve gotten something out of my system, I feel ready to make another album.”
Andrews has been signed to Rough Trade Records for almost nine years, but The Veils’ new label Pitch Beast Records will release Troubles of the Brain.
“You’d think there’d be extra stress attached to being the one in control of the money for recording and all that, but it’s actually relieved that constant fear that the thing you write may never get heard. That’s the hardest pressure, dealing with the fear of someday having to stop.
“It feels very freeing.”