New Zealand musician Finn Andrews is excited to finally tour on home ground again. The Veils frontman lifts the veil on his career so far to JULE SCHERER of NZPA.

Wellington, Nov 5 NZPA - Finn Andrews is happy to be home. Or -- to be more accurate -- one of the places closest to anywhere he might call a home.

He was raised between London, where his father, musician Barry Andrews (XTC/Shriekback), lives and his mother's place in the Auckland suburb of Devonport.

"It's even vaguer now, I don't really live anywhere, we just tour all the time," the frontman of The Veils tells NZPA.

Andrews' career took off in 2001 when the then 17-year old Takapuna Grammar schoolboy sent a demo tape to London and was promptly invited to go over and record an album.

He quit school, moved to England's capital and -- after some difficulties with his first record label -- released his debut album The Runaway Found in 2004 on the Rough Trade record label.

With haunting melodies, lovelorn, mystifying lyrics and Andrews' distinctive voice, The Veils made themselves a name in the UK, Europe and United States and are now about to embark on their first extended tour of New Zealand.

The songwriter, who mostly wears his trademark wide-brimmed black hat, that makes him appear like a mixture between a minstrel and an Amish preacher, says that growing up in between New Zealand and England had a big impact on his music.

Apart from British bands like The Smiths, he names NZ outfits like The Bats, The Verlaines and Straitjacket Fits, Chris Knox and Tall Dwarfs as influences.

"Over that whole period there was this incredible DYI approach to things, I really love," he says.

"They didn't mould what they were doing to cater to any other kind of idea what they should be."

Andrews says New Zealand bands showed generally a stronger will to stick to their own ideas than groups in London.

"I guess people (in London) are getting a lot more thrown around by the industry, because there's a lot more money at stake over there."

This creative independence had resulted in an incredibly vast selection of unique bands, he says, and inspired him to not mould himself into anything he didn't wanted to be.

But the striking singer had to find his own place the hard way.

"When I moved to London at 17 I hadn't got an incredibly firm idea on what I was doing or what I wanted to do," he says.

"So I was thrown around by what record companies wanted." The first incarnation of The Veils broke up weeks after the debut album was released because "it was a pointless thing to do, when you're not doing it for your own reasons".

Looking back the singer says the most important lesson he learned during that time was to be really stubborn.

The Veils, now comprising half Kiwis and half Brits, released their third album Sun Gangs this year.

It is a quite daring album and maybe less accessible than its predecessor Nux Vomica (2006) but shows the depth of Andrews' songwriting.

It takes the listener on a journey through dark ballads, joyous indie pop, mighty melodies with Andrews babbling like a mad-man and psychedelic eight-minute tracks.

He says he likes people to listen to it from start to finish.

"I really wanted to make it feel like you're dragged through this very varied unpredictable thing," he explains.

Although he collected acclaims for his three albums from all over the world, the musician is humble.

"When I am writing songs I am still learning a lot and I feel more like a child.

"There's this enormous history and you're a part of that history of songs as soon as you write one."

He was still "sailing around in the early stages of trying to work out how to do that". These insecurities, however, are forgotten the moment he climbs a stage to one of his ecstatic live performances.

"When playing live, you are what you are at that moment and that's exciting and that feels alive and comfortable and deranged and stable at the same time.

"I couldn't do it -- we've been on tour for about four years straight -- if I didn't love it as much as I do.

"People can easily misunderstand your band just from interviews and music videos, so there can be strange perceptions of what you do, so when we're up there we're just trying to prove us to the people in front of us; to give them something, to have a kind of meaningful experience in that time.

"I just go crazy, that's what I am coming for, just for a really intense memorable experience." Tour dates

Nov 11- Queenstown - Revolver

Nov 12 - Christchurch - Bedford

Nov 13 - Leigh - Leigh Sawmill

Nov 14 - Dunedin - Sammys

Nov 15 - Auckland - Windsor Castle

Nov 19 - Hamilton - Altitude

Nov 20 - Wellington - San Francisco Bath House

Nov 21 - Palmerston North - The Fitz

Nov 22 - Napier - Cabana.