This week I had the pleasure of speaking with Adele & Andy about their brand new single ‘As Much As I Miss You’. During Lockdown Adele and Andy have been very very busy. Not only have they been working on their music and reaching out to people via live-streams, they have had jobs to maintain and their 6 year old little boy to homeschool. Andy has continued his work at a Dental Practice part-time while Adele has worked on new ideas for their own store, dedicated to dancewear, costumes and band merchandise. Due to restrictions on essential retail they had to close throughout Lockdown, but thankfully are now back open and running as usual.
Although challenging at time, lockdown given them the time to focus on their music and use different methods across social platforms to engage with their audience and fans. They have taken to using Twitch on a regular basis as they find they can have more interaction with fans, people can request songs and more people tune in to listen live than on other streaming sites. They have also linked up their merchandise store through ‘disk cord’ where listeners can purchase products.
Throughout the last year Adele & Andy have found music has helped them open up their creativity. With more time to dedicate to writing and focusing on their live-streams they have allowed their music to take a new direction. Their new single ‘As Much As I Miss You’ is unlike anything they have written before which typically draws on personal experiences or the experiences of those around them. This song is about how it must feel for mothers when their children go to war. They talk us through a story of a young lad who wants to go and serve his country, just like his dad did. He goes to tell his mother he is off to war, where she tries to hide her emotions. Then he visits his fathers graveside where he is told, metaphorically, “as much as I miss you, your momma she needs you more”. The mother then helps dress him ready to leave. During this time, the boy realises that war is not what he thought and that his friends are continually dying around him. His fathers words ring in his ears and his mother reflects on the days of waiting for her husband to come home. The boy continues to fight until the day he can tell his mother his tour is over and he's coming home.
Emotional, captivating and real, this song is like nothing else. It draws on the emotions and experience of the families who have lived through this. Personally, it reminds me of watching my grandmother worry while my uncle was away on duty with the Royal Air Force. This song will resonate with audiences everywhere.
Following the release of this poignant song, Adele & Andy continue to work on their new EP and use Twitch as a focal point for engagement moving forward. They are not in a rush to go back out to gigs right now as everyone is fighting for the same spot so for the foreseeable future you can catch Adele & Andy on Twitch Sunday and Wednesdays @ 9pm.
Keep an eye out on their social media platforms for other ways to engage with the duo throughout the week. I am very excited to see the premier of the new music video for ‘As Much As I Miss You’ - it promises to be full of emotion. As they were unable to go out and shoot a music video like usual, they have taken a more artistic approach to the process and have used people affected by the issues within the story itself.
You can catch a little teaser on Adele & Andy’s twitter page @AdeleAndy1.