Finn Andrews (born 24 August 1983) is a British/New Zealand musician. He is a solo artist and lead singer and songwriter of London-based rock band

The Veils The Veils are an English/New Zealand indie rock band fronted by singer and songwriter Finn Andrews. History Early years, ''The Runaway Found'' (2001–2004) Finn Andrews was born in London but spent his teenage years at high school in A ...

. His father Barry Andrews is a current member of

Shriekback Shriekback are an English rock band formed in 1981 in Kentish Town by Barry Andrews, formerly of XTC and the League of Gentlemen (keyboards/synthesizers/vocals), and Dave Allen, formerly of Gang of Four (bass), with Carl Marsh, formerly of ...

, was a member of

XTC XTC were an English rock band formed in Swindon in 1972. Fronted by songwriters Andy Partridge (guitars, vocals) and Colin Moulding (bass, vocals), the band gained popularity during the rise of punk and new wave in the 1970s, later playing in ...

, and also played with Iggy Pop,

Robert Fripp Robert Fripp (born 16 May 1946) is a British musician, songwriter, record producer, and author, best known as the guitarist, founder and longest-lasting member of the progressive rock band King Crimson. He has worked extensively as a session ...

and

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

. Finn was born in

Kentish Town Kentish Town is an area of northwest London, England in the London Borough of Camden, immediately north of Camden Town. Less than four miles north of central London, Kentish Town has good transport connections and is situated close to the open ...

, London and grew up between his father in London and his mother, an English and Sociology professor in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

, New Zealand. He attended

Takapuna Grammar School Takapuna Grammar School is a state coeducational secondary school located in the suburb of Belmont on the North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand. Established in 1927, the school mainly serves the eponymous suburb of Takapuna and the entire Devo ...

during his teens where he met

bass player Sophia Burn, before leaving for London shortly after his 16th birthday to make

debut album

The Runaway Found ''The Runaway Found'' is The Veils debut album, released on 16 February 2004. The record was preceded by several singles, from "More Heat Than Light" (November 2002) to "The Wild Son" (January 2004). The last single "Lavinia" was released in ...

. As of 2016, he has released five records with

: ''

'' (2004), '' Nux Vomica'' (2006), '' Sun Gangs'' (2009), '' Time Stays, We Go'' (2013), and ''

Total Depravity Total depravity (also called radical corruption or pervasive depravity) is a Protestant theological doctrine derived from the concept of original sin. It teaches that, as a consequence of man's fall, every person born into the world is enslav ...

'' (2016). He's known for his extremely cathartic live performances and his unique singing voice guesting on albums by Brian Eno,

and

The Mint Chicks The Mint Chicks were a New Zealand noise rock/art punk group (the band began to refer to their style of music as "troublegum" and have been referred to as anything from neo-punk to schizo-pop to the only half-serious genre definition of shit-gaz ...

on backing vocals. In 2011, Finn started his own record label Pitch Beast Records to release The Veils fourth studio album ''Time Stays, We Go''. In 2014, Finn Andrews revealed that as well as writing The Veils new record, he had also been commissioned to write an orchestral piece to commemorate the antipodean dead of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in Belgium in 2016. In 2017, Finn appeared in David Lynch's new series of ''

Twin Peaks ''Twin Peaks'' is an American mystery serial drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It premiered on ABC on April 8, 1990, and originally ran for two seasons until its cancellation in 1991. The show returned in 2017 for ...

'' performing "Axolotl".

Guitars and equipment used

Since The Veils formed in 2004 Finn has predominantly used Fender electric guitars and

Gibson Gibson may refer to: People * Gibson (surname) Businesses * Gibson Brands, Inc., an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and audio equipment * Gibson Technology, and English automotive and motorsport company based * Gi ...

acoustic guitars, specifically a 1960s

Fender Jazzmaster The Fender Jazzmaster is an electric guitar designed as a more expensive sibling of the Fender Stratocaster. First introduced at the 1958 NAMM Show, it was initially marketed to jazz guitarists, but found favor among surf rock guitarists in t ...

Fender Jaguar The Fender Jaguar is an electric guitar by Fender Musical Instruments characterized by an offset-waist body, a relatively unusual switching system with two separate circuits for lead and rhythm, and a short-scale 24" neck. Owing some roots to t ...

and a 1960s Gibson Dove acoustic. During the ' Time Stays, We Go' tour in 2013 he also began using a 1960s

ES-355. He uses very few

guitar pedal An effects unit or effects pedal is an electronic device that alters the sound of a musical instrument or other audio source through audio signal processing. Common effects include distortion/overdrive, often used with electric guitar in ele ...

s generally restricted to just a Boss tuner, Diamond

Delay Delay (from Latin: dilatio) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Delay 1968'', a 1981 album by German experimental rock band Can * ''The Delay'', a 2012 Uruguayan film People * B. H. DeLay (1891–1923), American aviator and acto ...

and a Crowther Audio Hot-Cake Overdrive. Finn uses vintage

Fender Deluxe Reverb The Fender Deluxe Reverb is a guitar amplifier made by the Fender Electric Instrument Company and its successors. It was first introduced in 1963 by incorporating an onboard spring reverb tank to the newly redesigned Fender Deluxe amplifier. Spe ...

Amplifier An amplifier, electronic amplifier or (informally) amp is an electronic device that can increase the magnitude of a signal (a time-varying voltage or current). It may increase the power significantly, or its main effect may be to boost t ...

s in the studio and a reissue for touring purposes.

Discography

Studio albums with The Veils

EPs

Studio solo albums

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Andrews, Finn 1983 births Living people People from Camden Town English rock singers English rock guitarists English songwriters 21st-century English singers New Zealand musicians People educated at Takapuna Grammar School