Andrew Swift just rolled onto our roster with “Get Lost,” a Matt Fell–produced, windows-down anthem. The Victorian troubadour already boasts three ARIA #1 albums and 2023’s Golden Guitar Male Artist crown, plus hits from Call Out for the Cavalry to the chart-topping Lightning Strikes and Neon Nights. He’s toured with Aussie heavyweights and still champions Gundagai’s Dog on the Tuckerbox. Strap in—Swift’s only picking up speed.
First off, care to introduce yourself to our readers?
Sure thing. G’day folks, my name is Andrew Swift, I’m a country music artist from Melbourne, Australia. I love being on the road, sharing my songs and stories, but when I’m home, I’m very much a homebody, which is made easy by my beautiful girlfriend, Simone, her two boys, our dog Nancy, and most recently our newborn daughter being there.
I write songs inspired by things that have happened in my life, and having grown up on pop music and played in a pop punk band in my teens, and being a little late to find where I belong musically, I tend to have a mix of influences creep into my style of country music that I write & perform.
“Get Lost” feels like the soundtrack to a spontaneous road trip. What inspired the song? Was there a particular moment or place behind it?
I’d love to be able to lay credit for penning this one, but it was written by my friend Blake Dantier, we were doing a couple of co-writes for my next album and I mentioned that if he had any songs floating around that he thought would be a good fit for me that I’d be keen to have a listen. He sent through a few songs and I immediately connected with ‘Get Lost’.
I’m constantly on the road, it’s one of my favourite parts of being an artist, I particularly like going somewhere I’ve never been before, and have never been overly fond of cities. So when I heard ‘Get Lost’ it felt like the song I should’ve written because it fit so well.
In saying that, whenever I hear the song or play it live, I often think of some of the incredible places I’ve had the pleasure of visiting, like the camping trips in the outback or road-tripping across from LA to El Paso, or from Stonehenge to Loch Ness. I love me a good road trip.
You’ve teamed up with Matt Fell for this one – what was the production process like, and how did you collaborate to capture that summer vibe?
I love working with Matt Fell, we’ve done three previous albums together so there’s a real comfort and trust level there that I haven’t had with a producer before.
The recording process with Matt has changed a bit since we first started working together, rather than having a live band recording all at once, now that he’s moved to a remote location in Tasmania, we get the feel and bones of the song together, ship it off to our drummer, Josh Schuberth in Sydney, then get as much as we can build up on the song before sending if over to Nashville for Jeff King to put his guitar parts down.
I think that because it’s naturally such a fun song even in its most basic form, it made it extremely enjoyable to record, every time we had someone record a part on this song, the feedback was always, “that was a fun one”. I think that comes across in the end result.
If you could drop everything and “get lost” on a road trip tomorrow, where would you go and what’s on your playlist?
As much as I love a road trip, having just become a Dad for the first time, the idea of going on one right now isn’t as appealing. But I would love to get back to the Flinders Ranges in outback South Australia. I had a fantastic trip out there a couple of years ago with my Dad and I’d love to go back with the family. Come summertime in Australia though, I have no doubt the coastal roads will be calling my name again.
“Lightning Strikes and Neon Nights” hit #1 last year – congrats! How do you think your sound has evolved between that album and “Get Lost”?
Thank you, I appreciate it. I think ‘Get Lost’ definitely has some more traditional country vibes, I did have a couple of songs on Lightning Strikes with those vibes, but overall it’s probably a little more of some 80s, nostalgic, soundscapes on that record.
I’m always happy for my sound to evolve with a record. I’ve felt it’s been subtle over the past three albums but if I listen to ‘Lightning Strikes & Neon Nights’ and ‘Call Out For The Cavalry’ next to each other it feels like quite a jump in the evolution, but if I listen to ‘The Art Of Letting Go’ in between them, it’s like it’s the missing link and you can see how we got there.
Is “Get Lost” the first taste of a bigger project? What can fans look forward to in the next few months?
It sure is, in fact, it’s technically the third single to come from the next album, which I’m hoping will be released by the end of 2025.
I released ‘(Hot Damn) It’s Been A Minute’ in August last year to align with being an ambassador for the Gympie Music Muster, then ‘Nothing Better’ dropped at the end of January, which was another summer vibe song.
Knowing that we had a baby due mid-year, I managed to duck into the studio in March to finish tracking my parts on the next record so I’m hoping it’s not too far away, I’m keen to get it out into the world.
Upcoming Shows:
July 5, 2025 – Buxton, Australia – Buxton Bush Camp Country Music Festival
August 28, 2025 – Gympie, Australia – Gympie Music Muster
October 9, 2025 – Mareeba, Australia – Savannah in the Round