Music
Andy C: "Drum'n'bass is truly universal"
Drum'n'bass is having a moment, and Andy C is riding the wave. The RAM Records boss talks insane tour schedules, all-night sets and why d'n'b is one big family.
He's just been announced as XOYO's first returning resident, and he's certainly earned it – Andy C is a true cornerstone of the drum'n'bass scene. Active since the early '90s, Andy has been right at the centre of the scene, distinguishing himself as a DJ and producer and fostering new generations of talent through his RAM Records label.
One thing that's clear Andy’s love for the game hasn’t dimmed over the years. In 2017, RedBull.com caught up with him to see how he copes with a manic tour schedule, his love for West Ham, and where he thinks d’n’b is going next.
Hi Andy. You’ve been in the drum’n’bass scene for two decades – what is it about this music that you love so much?
It’s the energy, the vibe, the positives. It’s just a beautiful thing. There’s a sense of history to the music but also an excitement of how a new tune is going to drop. From a DJing perspective, it’s really satisfying. I get sent new tunes and really look forward to them. In the same way, I love digging out the classics, bringing back some memories. It brings me so much happiness to see that recognition factor on people’s faces when you’re playing out. DJing is like a drug. You’ve just got to keep going back to it.
This year it feels like it’s thriving more than ever before…
Yeah, I fully agree with that. It’s smashing it.
Why is that?
Things go in peaks and troughs, but I don’t believe we’ve had troughs. It’s always been flying high in my mind. But you know, this year, people just want it, man. They need it! Festivals certainly need that energy. At all of the festivals, drum’n’bass has been killing it. Everybody in the scene is pulling hard. Everyone is vibing, saying how good their gigs have been. There’s so much music coming out, and so much diversity in the scene – the party music, the techy, the dark, the soulful. But all I see on social media is all of the parties jammed out – and they’re all vibing! It’s testament to the strength of the scene that there’s not one part of it where people think: ‘This is the way to go this year.’ All parts exist together very happily.
At all of the festivals, drum’n’bass has been killing it. Everybody in the scene is pulling hard.
Speaking of the diversity, are there any new producers who are standing out for you on the scene?
I’m loving the scene at the moment, I don’t want to single anyone out but I’m inundated with new music. It’s difficult to keep up! Festival season presents itself with a dilemma, only having 60 minute sets – 90 if you’re lucky. The sets are over in a flash so I’m looking forward to Autumn and getting some longer sets in there and testing all of the new music.
In your latest videos, we get a taste of what it’s like on the road. Off the top of your head, how many countries have you visited?
Ah, I don’t know, it’s nuts. Do I keep count? No but… Australia, New Zealand, America six times, all of the European festivals, Spain’s been fantastic, Italy, Hungary, Czech Republic, Belgium – I mean it’s everywhere isn’t it? Drum’n’bass is everywhere. The scene is truly universal. I ended up in the Azores one weekend and it was beautiful, the gig was big, there was so many fans of the music.
For anyone starting out as a DJ now do you have any tips or guidance?
If you’re starting out and you get the opportunity to do the circuit, don’t take it for granted. Make contacts, and don’t expect the earth when you’re doing gigs. I spent years driving up and down the motorway for £50. I would play at any time of the day. You’ve got to put the hours in, put the shift in and remember that it’s a scene with a lot of passion, and a lot of people that are trying equally as hard so you’ve got to go that extra mile, never rest on your laurels. Stand out and be different. Dedication will get you a long way.
I came across my exercise books at school which had the original Ram logo drawn on it. It was quite an emotional moment. I used to write out and list every record that I own in the books, and update them on a weekly basis and then categorise the records and write out dreams of gigs that I wanted to play out. Those dreams and aspirations spurred me on in the early days.
There was a real sense of family and community at your XOYO residency in 2017. I think I came to eight of the shows in total. What did it mean to get back in a UK club and play there week in, week out?
It meant everything. It was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever had the opportunity to do. Every time I do an all-night set, the drive home starts off with euphoria but by the time I’m 10 minutes into the journey I’m thinking of all the tunes that I didn’t play, and it drives me insane. But first and foremost the beauty of the residency was that I had more opportunity to play tracks and was always thinking: ‘There’s always next week’. You saying you came to eight – that’s what it turned in to. People felt that they had to come back next week and I felt that from people.
It was so amazing to turn up and see the familiar faces, it became an XOYO family and we all shared the unity of the occasion spread out over three months. Personally, I got to play records that I thought I would possibly never play again. And through the researching for tunes, I came across ones that I’d forgotten about. It was emotional. This music makes me emotional because each record is a trigger point from a memory or a time of your life. Taking them to the club and playing them, seeing that reaction was… I’m very lucky to do that. I played over 1,000 different tunes which is insane. I still have tunes left over that I didn’t get to play. What an opportunity it was. It was brilliant. I loved it.
Sounds like we need an exclusive mix with all of the tunes you didn’t get to play at XOYO…
That’s a good shout actually. I wonder how long it would take to record a set with all of the tunes that were played in the club? It would be pretty long.
Did you see on YouTube someone put up an hour-long recording of the final set which they’d filmed using their camera phone?
Haha, I did actually – someone told me about that. I was thinking that guy must have some serious muscle power or something holding his arm up. That was insane! You know what? I was really happy that the guy did it because when you’re up there and you’re DJing, you see the crowd and you see and hear the people immediately around you but you don’t hear the crowd. That really made me appreciate the moments when certain tunes were coming in. You can hear the anticipation – the shouting and the appreciation for the music. Videos like that really capture it, which was brilliant.
It was like being at a football game. The atmosphere and energy was electric.
It was rowdy, the start of that opening set man was…
That intro was something – Original Sin’s Therapy into Dillinja’s Nitrous then Sub Focus’ Stomp and Siren’s Snorkel…
You know what, that was totally off the cuff… I was on the way down there, thinking what am I gonna start with? I’d been playing Therapy at home and was thinking “I’ve got to play this”. Every set was a different intro and I thought I’ve probably used up some of the best intros already. I was thinking “What can I play now?!”
You know, you don’t do that during the summer at festivals, from a DJing perspective it was so liberating to do. I was thinking about it all the way down there and then when it happened got such a huge buzz off playing out.
Do you get pre-match nerves ahead of certain sets?
Not nerves, but I get buzzing for it. I was hyped for that night, same way as turning up to a festival. I just enjoy it, what’s not to love?
Has doing the residency changed your tune selection in sets when you’re playing the huge festival gigs this summer?
I think it opened my ears to some sounds I hadn’t heard in a few years. It’s a re-awakening of sorts. You find a certain feeling of freedom, during sets but it’s dependent on the crowd. You can have 10,000 people and it feels like being in XOYO because there’s something in the air. Equally, you can play to 10,000 people and think “I’ve got to work for this to keep them in here.”
You’re back in the clubs this Autumn, which UK club, for you, is your favourite space to roll out and play tunes in?
I’ll let you know at the end of Autumn. Obviously we’ve spoken about XOYO, how could I possibly say I don’t love rolling out tunes in that club. But this Autumn we’ve got Warehouse Project, Motion in Bristol, and Crane in Birmingham which is a new one. I’ve not done the Printworks, so that’s all going to be new for me. I’m very excited about that one in London. I went down there, had a look and it just looks incredible. It is full on. I love the Autumn, when all of the nights start drawing in. This time of year reminds me of the first rave I ever went to which was at the end of September, beginning of October. I still get that excitement!
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