The Ghost Of Buster Crabb

Parachute

Nightwalkers

I forget the original spark of inspiration it may have been something on the science podcast ‘The Infinite Monkey Cage’ or general knowledge podcast ‘Answer Me This’. Whatever it was it talked about a time when there wasn’t street lighting as we know it today and how this meant that night crime was obviously much more widespread and common. This got my brain going as a creepy subject normally does and I decided to write a song that tries to encapsulate the night criminals about their dirty deeds amongst the backdrop of darkness. 

I imagined an underworld that operated once the sun goes down, almost like nocturnal creatures rising out from their secret hideaways. It’s a track that I imagined being played at the end of BBC hit Luther or some gritty Police drama! The night and its shadows has always fascinated me since I was a kid. When I was young I was scared of the dark like most kids, but as I got older it’s unpredictability and mystery made the imagination run wild. 

It’s vibe I guess was partly inspired by Marika Hackman’s more creepy moments and if you haven’t checked her out I suggest you do. Just don’t put it on at parties ;-)

As government cuts on power resources means that lights are dimmer and sometimes go out altogether to save electricity this seems all the more poignant. I have read accounts of crime rising since the lights have gone out ...this of course I’d imagine is arguable. Either way its an interesting concept that we have come full circle.

‘You’ll never see the nightwalkers’

x

ANDREW FOSTER - Nightwalkers

Arcades & Crashing Waves

Having lived in various seaside towns and spent a lot of time gigging along the South Coast, its become a huge resource and love for me. Decaying Art Deco piers, melting ice creams, seagulls stealing chips, pin-up girl postcards, stripy deck chairs and arcade machines are snapshots engraved in many of us. I wanted to try and capture that in a song that celebrated the peeling paint of these seaside towns and celebrate its dated but much loved nod to a different era.

It sometimes feels like seaside culture is hanging on for dear life especially through the winter months when these places can be harsh and abrasive as the weather takes over. Also amongst our information age it seems preposterous that a funny painting that you stick your head through and pretend you are an odd cartoon could entertain the most hardened smart phone user child. But for whatever reason once the sun is out people flock to the 2p machines and lay strewn across the beaches of the British Isles like its the 50’s again!

For me places like Portsmouth, Hayling Island, Brighton, Worthing & Bognor encapsulate that vibe perfectly and long may it continue.

Anyone for a dusty game of Sega Rally or maybe try and grab a Whinnie the Pooh?
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ANDREW FOSTER - Arcades & Crashing Waves

Andrew Foster

‘WHERE THE SEA MEETS THE SKY’ - PRESS RELEASE

His on-stage persona is charming and the stories behind the songs are told with a twinkle in the eye and a nice line in self-deprecation’ .
THE NEWS

'A winning collection of acoustic songs from Andrew Foster...opaque lyrics overlay memorable melodies.'
ACOUSTIC MAGAZINE

Andrew has a firm but gentle voice, a melodic acoustic guitar style which is allied with intelligent lyrics’.
R2 ROCK N REEL MAGAZINE ****

'A creative masterpiece'
24OUR MUSIC MAGAZINE

After releasing the acclaimed ‘Check Signal Aspect’ EP in the summer of 2015, Andrew was exploring a much purer folk sound that led to Art Centre gigs around the country and an increasingly comfortable musical progression. Fast forward to 2016 and the result is ‘Where The Sea Meets The Sky’ – a raw, honest, cohesive 8 track collection, which marries the thought provoking concepts of modern folk-tales and their crossover into our actual lives. It’s a beautifully honest but still accessible record, fusing contemporary writing into the spirit of the classic acoustic albums of the 70’s.
Exploring Andrew’s love of the South Coast and its cultures; opener ‘When The Mist Swept Through the Town’ is a dark lament of the repercussions of the destruction of our natural habitat and it fighting back to seek revenge. With just man and guitar it’s a striking opener which leads onto the melancholic musing on the human condition ‘The Lives We’ve Led Before’ inspired after watching some men fight on top of a multi-story car park!
‘Moondial’ then takes its cues from an old live favourite ‘The Garden’ a psychedelic reinterpretation of a recurring dream with its trance-like drone and dream state melodies. ‘Arcades & Crashing Waves’ is also quickly becoming a live favourite encapsulating the Art Deco decay of English seaside culture and the celebration of it.
Nightwalkers’ Is a menacing whisper about the thieves of the night before the time of proper street lighting. ‘Parachute’ is the dreamy love-song that Neil Young never wrote, intimate yet anthemic; peddling the fine line between the two. ‘The Ghost Of Buster Crabb’ is a modern day folk song Inspired by the Portsmouth ghost tales of the disappearance of MI6 frogman ‘Buster’ potentially triggering the Cold War. This is the perfect fairytale fodder for Andrew’s love of bringing a subject to life in song. Which brings us to the final track on the album ‘Down The Rabbit Hole’ a twisting, trippy and dark tale of the dangers of addiction, tempting you into the twisted influence of Alice in Wonderland. 

Referencing the same intimacy as Laura Marling, Nick Drake, Seth Lakeman and industry disappearing act Stephen Fretwell, this record is stripped back, honest and pure, showcasing Andrew’s lyrical prowess, subtle acoustic guitar skills and penchant for storytelling.

ANDREW FOSTER - Moondial

The Lives We've Led Before

When The Mist Swept Through The Town

When I was a kid I spent my time split between Havant & Emsworth. Two small towns right on the edge of the South Coast. Emsworth is a little fishing village that prides itself on keeping its independence and still has that village vibe today. Its synonymous with fishing, sea life and is battered by the elements to prove it. 

I had a vivid imagination as a kid and still do today to some extent and fog and mist always triggered the macabre in me as it does with most small boys I’d expect. I’ve always loved the autumnal celebrations such as Fireworks night, Halloween and the myths behind them so am quite fascinated with ghost stories and folk-tales of a place. 

Emsworth quay and down by the millpond is a gorgeous place to be in the summer; friendly, and relaxing with nesting birds and protected wildlife. But in the colder months when I was a kid it was a different story… Street lamps would struggle to penetrate the deep sea fogs that would roll in, high tides battered the old stone walls and ice would freeze over the millpond. The sea fog seems to be alive, deadening sound and changing the atmosphere into a dark brooding feel that never failed to spark my imagination.

For this song I wanted to tap into that feeling as a kid I had about the area but develop it into a story of conservation. A dark Greenpeace anthem if you will! 

What if the Earth fought back from our plundering of her resources? What if she sent out the fog to cleanse herself of the only thing in nature that has evolved past the natural order of things… ie… us!

So taking elements of the B-Movie ‘The Fog’ and my own memories of the boat masts ghostly screams in the autumn mist, I wrote this song.

Andy x

P.S…. Stay safe out there...in the fog...alone! ;-)

ANDREW FOSTER - When The Mist Swept Through The Town

I was messing about with a cover version of one of my favorite Oasis tracks and this is what happened. It was originally going to be a fingerpicked acoustic version but things got out of hand when the synths came out!

I've always loved the lyrics, its psychedelic nonsense but seems to make perfect sense as a slight social commentary. It's always felt quite dark to me until the chorus.

So in celebration of Noel Gallagher 's Victorious Festival appearance this summer, 20 years of Knebworth, and the Oasis documentary out soon.. here's my cobbled together demo in ode to this monster of a track that encapsulated everything about being a teenager and leaving school out into the big wide world. :-)

Let me know what you think x

D'You Know What I Mean? (Oasis cover)

Moondial (48 Minutes Behind Remix)

Andrew Foster - Then & Now (The Abbey Road Master)

Songwriter and musician conjuring atmospheric indie-pop and folk music. 


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