Rising Dublin artist ANDI is set to release her debut EP Cedarward tomorrow, and we at Hot Press are excited to be able to premiere its final single today.

'Cedarward' is the title track from the Dublin vocalist's first EP,  and is based on mental health from a whole number of different perspectives based on ANDI’s personal experience, her family, friends and news headlines. With snarling and powerful vocals, a relentless bassline and frenzied guitars that build to a explosive bridge, the track is a perfect distillation how it feels to deal with mental health. Stream it below.

"For... 'Cedarward', I was taken back by a tragic story on the news," explains ANDI (real name Amy Kelly). "It really affected me so I found myself furiously writing my feelings down and coming up with fictional and non-fictional scenarios which were influenced from growing up visiting mental health clinics which then formed the song and whole EP. We are all living in very hard times these days and it is so important to get that message out there that it is okay to not feel okay and to reach out for help.

"When I feel really low or very strongly about things I like to pick up the guitar and write how I am feeling. It's very therapeutic and sometimes it ends up sounding like pure tripe, other times I might be lucky enough to get a solid tune from it but the main thing is I feel a lot better afterwards. We need to mind ourselves."

A born performer, Kelly uses ANDI to showcase not just her presence as a live act but also her skill as a songwriter. The project started as an acoustic 2-piece and developed into a full band for a performance at Knockanstockan Music Festival in 2019. A stream of shows later that year led to the recording of ANDI’s debut single, ‘Hermit’. Influenced by Tame Impala, The Pixies, Jeff Buckley & Elliot Smith, it was featured in Nialler 9, Hot Press, The Last Mixtape, and  on a number of Spotify Playlists and received national radio airplay.

ANDI’s recent releases 'Housewife' and 'Giving Up' have also taken press support by storm, and she is now ready to release her debut EP Cedarward which is her most powerful piece of work to date. The EP is set to launch at Whelan's Upstairs on Friday November 12th at 8pm. Tickets are €11 and available on whelanslive.com.

Cedarward, the debut EP from ANDI, will be released Friday November 12th. Stream the title track and latest single 'Cedarwood' below.