Andy C Interview

Andrew Clarke, better known as Andy C, is the king of Drum and Bass. DJ, producer and co-founder of the famous RAM records, things for Andy aren’t slowing down any time soon. RAM is now in its 20th year and as he heads over to Australia for his tour, he gets prepared with a bag full of RAM parties in the UK and a touch of early Christmas shopping to get him in the mood.

Hi Andy, How are you? Where are you now, at home?
Yeah I’m good thank you. I’m just at home, it’s Friday so I’m just getting ready. We have two RAM Records parties tonight, one of them in Nottingham and one in Birmingham. Then I have Leeds and Cambridge tomorrow and over the weekend, and I’ve just woken up and there’s frost all on the ground, winter is finally here!

How has the year been for you, obviously you’ve been a very busy man?
The past year so much has happened; I had a live show that went really well. I’ve been back in the studio doing a couple of remixes and also I’ve been doing some solo stuff. The labels gone from strength to strength, it’s been pretty full on! We’re up and down the country every weekend or every other weekend DJ-ing so yeah man, it’s been really good!

How has this year been for new releases?
Well I’ve been doing remixes, I did about five remixes and now just over the past month I’m just having a little go in the studio doing a few bits and bobs, see what comes out. Some stuff I can test out on the road and can run alongside the label. I love every part of it, I’m really loving the vibe in the parties and the crowds at the moment, they seem to be getting bigger and they seem to be really going crazy for it.

You recently headlined at the Warehouse Project, how was it?
It was sick! It was unbelievable! I was up there last week and I also went up there in October and both times it was just under 6,000 people. It’s absolutely crazy; just beautiful! The vibe is strong at the minute, I’m going to just work through December and then I just can’t wait to get over to the other side of the world to kick start my year!

Drum & Bass has always been a vinyl lovers genre, do you still use vinyl or are you up to scratch with the present digital era?
Well I use Traktor now, and have been since around August time. I absolutely love it, I was meant to do a six-hour set at Fabric but I ended up doing a seven-hour set because I just had all my tunes ready to go. I can go anywhere I want to go musically and that’s really fantastic. But as you say it’s a vinyl lover’s genre, yeah definitely without a doubt! It’s definitely the strongest genre for vinyl and has remained so. But the 6,000 people that were in Manchester last week, they’re not all vinyl lovers they just love the music.

When did you really start to think that things were taking off? Obviously you created RAM back in ‘82, so you’re in your 20th year now, when did you realise that it was actually going somewhere pretty fast?
Well after the first release that sold out and did really well, it was probably the fourth release that was ‘the one’. Before then you’re just trying to find your feet, you’re trying to figure out what style of music you want to make and I was young, I was 16 at the time, and when ‘Standing in the Shadows’ came out it just went absolutely crazy! I had residency at ‘Telepathy’, a club in London when I was just 16! I wasn’t even old enough to get into the club!

Have you got a festival highlight that you’ve had, that sticks in your mind?
There are tonnes! I mean just from this year, I played to about 9,000 people at Global Gathering; it’s an insane amount of people. Then coming out to Australia and doing Stereosonic Festival, it was just unbelievable.

How do you think the old Drum & Bass compares to the stuff that we hear today? Do you think that it’s changed because of the technology or the crowd?
It’s evolved to a point where there is now so many styles and sides to Drum & Bass. Back in the day it just used to go through phases, where a certain sound would come in and everybody would do that and then another one would come in and everyone would then do the same with that. Whereas now to me, there are all of these sounds just running alongside one another, everyone on the label has their own different and unique sound. There is literally something for everybody! I can guarantee you that if you dug deep enough you would be able to find some of the similar stuff that you fell in love with a few years ago, now, that’s the beauty of Drum & Bass.

What do you like to do in your spare time to chill out?
I like to chill out with my family and kick back; you know I do what everybody else does. I’m doing some Christmas shopping at the moment, and I like to get in there early!

What have you got coming up, tour wise and gig wise overseas and in Australia?
Well I’m over in Australia in the New Year doing some Festivals and gigs, I just find there whole attitude is beautiful, it’s an amazing place, everyone’s up for a good time and the sun’s shining, I’m really looking forward to it and that fires me up you know, all of the parties are wicked! I always feel revitalised when I come back home to London. I always need a recalibration and out in Australia I think they have such a positive outlook and energy it’s great!

By Frankie Salt

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