Music Q&A: Westerman

What informs your music and songwriting?
It’s always different things. When I’m writing well it’s quite a compulsive thing getting the skeletal form of the song. I just drop everything and go and write. I don’t know why it happens and what triggers it – seems to be quite random.

How have you evolved as an artist over the years?
I like to think I’ve got better at editing my work. I used to write far too many lyrics, and develop overly complex melodies almost to prove a point. I try to leave space for the music to breathe now. The process of writing also pays much more attention to rhythm at a formative stage than it used to.

What are you up to at the moment artistically?
I’m currently rehearsing with a couple of other musicians for a headline show in London on 22 September. It’ll be the first time I’ve played my music in public with other musicians. I’m also about to go back into the studio to record some more stuff.

What’s on your rider?
A couple of beers and some water. I find the whole idea of a rider quite awkward still! I might add a bit of food to it for this tour as it’s quite long and I will probably get hungry.

Tell us your most embarrassing or surreal experience.
I had a surreal experience very recently actually. A few nights ago, I was woken up at three in the morning with a moving furry object on my face. Someone’s cat had climbed through my window, and was sleeping on my face. It’s an alarming way to be woken up.

What song do you wish you’d written?
Let’s Stay Together by Al Green. Easy peasy.

What’s your worst lyric?
By me? I don’t know – I wrote some pretty bad lyrics when I was a teen. “Every time I look at you, my heart starts pounding, I’m not through, ‘cos you just realised why.” It makes no sense and doesn’t lend itself to interpretation either. Bad. By someone else: Some of Paul McCartney’s lyrics are dodgy. I don’t much like to comment on other people in a negative way, but I feel like McCartney is successful enough to take that bit of constructive criticism.