Andi Neate is a Scottish singer-songwriter whose work draws on folk, rock and jazz, with occasional gospel influence on the song Shine. She is known for a powerful voice that can move from forceful delivery to a softer, wistful tone, along with melodic writing, strong hooks and offbeat lyrics.

Background and style

Neate grows up on a remote west coast island, an environment that shapes her connection with nature and her sense of independence. That independence also shows in her personal life: she builds her own house brick by brick. Her songwriting often centres on journeys, endings and beginnings, and themes of homecoming and departure. Her songs also include imagery of circuses, rocketships, night driving and fairy tales, and are populated by vivid, lightly sketched characters.

Her image combines confidence and vulnerability, marked by tattoos on her right arm, dark hair and a tendency to perform barefoot or in stockings.

Performances and recognition

Neate performs widely outside Scotland, including in Canada, Georgia, Sicily and the Falkland Islands. She also appears regularly at festivals including Prague, Glastonbury, Wickerman and the Edinburgh Fringe.

She wins the Burnsong Gathering in 2007, a Scottish competition aimed at identifying and promoting new songwriting talent. The winning song, Home, appears on Crows, Rooks and Ravens and reflects on the bittersweet experience of the place you come from.

Recordings

Neate releases five albums, including Crows, Rooks and Ravens in 2009. That album is recorded over a year in Edinburgh and Bath and includes both fuller band arrangements, with strings, brass and backing vocals, and more spare solo voice-and-guitar performances. Songs mentioned from the record include Storm Crow and Too Busy Playing God.

She is also described as a fringe favourite and as an expressive live performer with a strong connection to audiences.