Andrew Clarke, aka Andy C, has been the biggest name in UK drum & bass since it started hitting speakers back in the early 90s. Beginning his career as a producer, he then co-founded the UK’s biggest drum & bass record label to date, RAM Records, currently responsible for the likes of Chase & Status and Sub Focus, and went on to forever mark his name in drum & bass history by doing what he does best: DJing.   Voted best DJ for ten years running by the UK Drum & Bass Awards, this man holds a place in all D&B-lovers’ hearts. And it’s clear to see why - he’s not only the biggest DJ in the genre but also the biggest fan of it. Having been actively involved in the legendary Fabriclive nights and its releases since the club’s inception in 1999, Andy C continues to visit and DJ at the venue to this day, intoxicating ravers with his innovative mixes and passion for the beats. This, on top of his hectic world-touring schedule, from clubs to festivals, raves to parties, shows just how much time, dedication and devotion Andy C has for his music, his business, his passion, his life.  With his fingers in so many pies, 2010 is a big one for the godfather of drum & bass.   

Talking exclusively to www.4ortherecord.com before jetting off to his set in Barcelona, Andy C delves into the world and future of drum & bass, the secrets of getting signed and his plans to get back in the studio.  

4TR: We’ve seen a huge growth in popularity of drum & bass in the UK these past few years, with artists like Chase & Status and Sub Focus smashing into the charts. What’s your vision for the future of your label and its artists? 

Andy C: Well my vision is based on what the artists want to explore themselves. Chase & Status and Sub Focus are fantastic artists who have given us the ammunition with which to throw them forward, and obviously the popularity of them speaks for itself. At RAM Records we have a number of different artists - some of them are bigger in the commercial world than others - so we try and balance everything out. We're keeping the core, underground world of D&B happy as well as giving our artists the freedom to explore their musical side and express themselves. And for those two artists, it’s worked. We've got a few other artists with which the same thing is gonna happen as well as artists who are gonna keep the underground side alive. We take it on a project-by-project basis. But we don't aim overtly for commerciality with releases, it just seems that some of them just create a momentum of their own.  

4TR: Dubstep is another urban genre growing in popularity and tends to go hand-in-hand with drum & bass. What do you think of this sub-genre and its effect on drum & bass?  

Andy C: Well at RAM we do have artists that want to try out different things and I'm all for trying it because I believe that as an artist, if you try out the new stuff, sometimes it can reawaken a spark inside you and hopefully you'll bring that spark back to the D&B genre. It’s always pushed forward by inspiration from other music. But when it looks inside itself for too long, sometimes it can go a bit sour. RAM's 18 years old this year and D&B is constantly reinventing itself. That's led to the longevity of the music and I think inspiration from other music like dubstep may help that.  

4TR: As head of RAM Records, you must receive hundreds of demos a week. Do you even have time to listen to them and consider the artists? Or do you base signings on more personal recommendations such as the case with Chase & Status?  

Andy C: To be honest with you, apart from Chase & Status, who already had a number of tunes out, pretty much everyone is cut off the back of demos I've been sent. 

It's hard  though because i'll come back to my computer at the end of the week and there'll be maybe 80 tunes on there. I get given demos in clubs too. I can't listen to them all on the spot, you know, but you make time, you take time and listen to them and hopefully one's gonna stick out and catch your ear. Years ago, in days gone by we used to get demos on CD, so we'd get far less. It used to be easier back then. But now, because it's all over the internet you're inundated on a weekly basis so now it's more a case of something pricking your ear up immediately, rather than having to listen to each and every track intently. There's just not enough hours in the day, you know. I'm sure some slip by but it's just the nature of the situation. And at the same time, you can't go after everybody. You don't want to flood a label with so many artists that you can't devote the right attention to the artists  you've already got. It'd be easy enough to go in and sign every record that you want but it's just not fair on the others.  

4TR: How do you go about picking track for your sets?  

Andy C: Unfortunately there’s no rituals or dressing up that goes on when I select the tunes. As a DJ, you simply know what’s gonna work on the dancefloor and what’s not. I kinda get off on putting them tunes in that you may not think would work, too.  

But the nature of the DJ’s vibe comes from mixing them with the tunes that do and hopefully you get to break some new stuff out. But it’s getting harder to find ones like that now.  

4TR: You've been involved with the Fabriclive nights since pretty much the start - how have you seen it grow in the last 11 years it's been going?  

Andy C: Fabric live is just an incredible institution. Throughout the eleven years it's been going it's been jammed every time I go down there and that vibe is just magical. Love the club, love the dancefloor, love the people down there and their shared passion. I think that passion shines through in the line-ups you get and the diversity there. And because of the layout of Fabric as a club you can almost have three different nights in one. I played down there a couple of weeks ago on a Friday and it was absolutely rammed - you couldn't get through the dancefloor! Sometimes it gets a little jet-packed in there, it's crazy. Everybody just wants to go down there, get involved and have a good night. It's an institution to me. 

4TR: You're known for your love for and loyalty to vinyl. Do you think with the dangers of music piracy in the UK will cause the end of the vinyl age, particularly in the urban music scene, with people swapping tracks and sets online, for example?  

Andy C: They've been going on about the death of vinyl for years and years. There is no doubt that sales of vinyl have dropped but we still have a lot of devoted people who have decks and collect vinyl. From a DJing perspective, I can't see any other way than vinyl. I just love the whole physicality of it - chucking the vinyl on the record, going through your box, and the whole physical effort that it involves. It looks better. I just enjoy putting the needle on the record, playing around, getting the tunes in time and mixing vinyl. I love the consistency of the sound. But digital sales have really picked up for RAM - it's a massive market. Our digital sales have increased massively because the tracks are easier to access, we get them out quicker, everyone's got an iPod...you know. That's made up for the lack of vinyl sales.  

4TR: You've been crowned best DJ for the tenth successive year. Is there a higher level for you?

Andy C: Well i'm really proud of the awards, obviously. But it's not about me sitting down thinking, 'Okay, what's the next step now?'. I'm just out there week in, week out loving what I do. I'm gonna have a new CD out later this year, and fingers crossed, i'll be going back in the studio at some point. The DJing has been so good to me that i've kind of neglected my studio duties. I started out as a producer, not a DJ. But I learnt to DJ years and years after I was making tunes.  

So that's something that I wanna get heavily involved in. I think the DJing that I do gives me the platform to break new artists. We're just in the process of signing some really exciting new artists that we'll be pushing high. But I’m definitely happy with where it's at - I'm a lucky boy, you know. I do work hard, there's no doubt about that - the travelling's the hardest - but it's just magical when I get on the decks. Now the sun's out and the festival season's gonna start and it's just gonna be unbelievable. I love DJing at festivals coz it's so different. From October til April it's all club shows and then suddenly the sun comes out and you're playing to lots more people in fields - it’s crazy.  

4TR: Finally, what advice would you give to any young DJs/producers/artists who are looking to break into D&B?  

Andy C: You need to concentrate on getting your sound or mixdowns right because like I said, from a RAM point of view, we get so many tunes; sometimes there are great ideas that just haven't been realised properly or sonically and they just slip by. So the mixdowns are vital. And a different element. Obviously you're seduced by the nature of what is popular and quite often it's always the originators that can do that style best, so that's who you're always gonna go to or work with. Anybody that comes with something a little bit different and a little bit unique is gonna stand out.  

It's all about discovery of yourself as a producer and that can take quite a while. Try something new - bring different genres into D&B instead of doing the same thing for five minutes. There's so many different things you can play with on that score. DJing is harder to get into nowadays because you have to be making the tunes to get the big breaks. So I think if you can get the first bit right, the producing, then the DJing will follow. 

sarew
Posts: 1

Re: Interview with Andy C (RAM Records)
Reply #1 on : Thu August 05, 2010, 03:56:39

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Try something new - bring different genres into D&B instead of doing the same thing for five minutes. My boyfriend thinks the same as I do. He is eight years older than me, lol. We met online at AgeGapLove``.com a nice and free place for younger women and older men, or older women and younger men, to interact with each
other. Maybe you wanna check out or tell your friends.

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