Andy Bull

Bull is at a stage where he is a respected, commended songwriter and performer. He’s had four of his songs appear in the triple j Hottest 100 and has sold out rooms across the country. With over a decade of experience, he’s now turning his attention to sharing what he’s learned along the way in a one-on-one conversation with former Bluejuice frontman Jake Stone as part of Vivid Sydney’s music conference, Feedback.

“There’s a few people who are speaking at this thing – I know that The Presets are doing a talk, and I know that [The Preatures’ lead singer] Isabella Manfredi is as well,” says Bull. “I’m in pretty excellent company, actually. I think what Jake wants to do with our one-on-one is essentially paint a bit of a picture of how I started playing music, recording my own album, touring, that sort of thing. People coming to the talk might be on a similar path, starting out a journey of their own. It’s to give people a sense of what it can look like.”

The talk, titled Keep On Running after one of Bull’s own hits, is intended to be an in-depth conversation regarding his career thus far. Not only will it give younger and aspiring musicians in attendance an idea of what awaits them should they pursue their career further, it’s a first for Bull, who is looking forward to sharing his story with an audience that may be seeking to follow – at least some of the way – in his proverbial footsteps.

“It’s really nice to be able to reflect on what you’ve done and make sense of it,” he says. “You can then communicate with others what went right and what went wrong – as well as expanding and elaborating on both of them. I feel as though I would have really appreciated something like that when I was starting out. I’m not presenting myself as any kind of expert, just as someone who’s had a few more years’ experience than most. Everyone’s got their own process, but you can always learn from others. I feel like something like this might be able to help people in different situations figure out where they are and what it is that they want out of what they’re doing.”

Of course, discussing something as widely spanning as one’s career leads to talk of retrospect – and, in turn, the regret that can come with it. When looking back on where he has come from, Bull can think of a few things he wishes he knew then that he knows now: chiefly, the value of understanding your mistakes, as well as accepting them.

“There’s so many things, on the one hand,” he begins. “If I could go back and advise myself on one particular thing, it would be to make more time for yourself. Move slowly. Make up your own mind. Don’t always base your decisions based on what other people think. Maybe there’s a certain style happening at the time, or there’s a done way of doing things. If you get a sense that it doesn’t feel right for you, trust that instinct – even if you fear being totally out of the loop because of that. It’s important to learn to trust your beliefs.”

Bull is open about some of the errors he has made over the years – he has practically disowned his debut album, 2009’s We’re Too Young, and feels as though he was not being true to what he wanted out of music until he started work on his second EP, Phantom Pains, in 2010.