Website: http://www.andybull.com.au/

In 2009, Sydney singer-songwriter Andy Bull released his impressive debut album, We’re Too Young, a sprawling, imaginative collection of songs that earned him widespread critical acclaim and a reputation among his contemporaries as an inventive and versatile pop songwriter.

In 2010, Andy returned with The Phantom Pains EP, a 7 track EP that casually defied the conventions he established for himself on his first release only a year earlier. Organic and live-sounding, Phantom Pains drew sonically from Andy’s extensive experience touring the country with acts such as Lisa Mitchell, Little Red and Tim Finn. Bull’s elegant lyrics, meanwhile, revealed a surprising irony and melancholia, as on the title track, which tells the story of a man who cuts off his own hands to atone for a shameful past; and on Dog, a song about killing a menacing dog who silently stalks the narrator.

Throughout 2011, The Phantom Pains EP has continued to grow in the public consciousness. Standout tracks Dog and Last Waltz, which feature Lisa Mitchell and The Hungry Kids of Hungary respectively, have become fixtures on the Australian national youth broadcaster, Triple J, with Dog making its way into the station's 2010 Hottest 100 songs.

Bull's music has been placed in a number of high profile commercial television series, including Packed to The Rafters, Offspring, and Winners and Losers; his ingenuity as a songwriter also earned him a role in Tourism Australia’s international advertising campaign Making Tracks, which saw the self-taught singer and pianist compose a classical instrumental piece with a clarinet player from the Youtube Symphony Orchestra.

'You must be playful to be productive, and you must respect and love this process and all of its quirks,' says Bull of his songwriting process. 'I believe by remaining resourceful that the most problematic creative challenges can lead to the most novel and useful insights.' Bull is currently recording new material for his much-awaited next release. Stay tuned.