Sound Boy

Alongside Goldie and Grooverider, the UK’s Andy C is a drum & bass institution, some would say almost a brand.

Our phone chat finds Andy friendly and relaxed thanks to several weeks “just chilling” in Western Australia post Stereosonic, gearing up for a monster Australian tour.

“It’s beautiful mate, just been recharging the batteries after the New Year. It’s lovely to be able to hang out and enjoy the weather and just soak it all up. I’ve been coming here ten years, I know I love Australia, but up until now I’ve just been coming out to play the parties and heading home again. It’s great to be able to relax and enjoy the lifestyle. It’s so different from Essex, trust me.”

The birth (and subsequent death) of dubstep has breathed fresh life into all forms of brokenbeat music, something Andy is well aware of.

“For someone that’s so involved in the music, like myself, I don’t really notice waves of things going and coming back because I’m so deep in it. But all of a sudden I’ve been playing on a lot of multi-genre line-ups, and the parties have been going crazy. There’s a really nice unifying vibe now, whereas a couple of years ago, things were much more segregated and tribal. A house head wouldn’t listen to drum & bass, whereas now, there’s just a general love for electronic bass music right around the world. It’s opened up a lot of new minds and a lot of possibility, and the crowds feed off that.”

A flat out DJ schedule, running RAM Records and looking after artists like Chase And Status has meant Andy has less time for his own productions in recent years, but the rewards of watching careers blossom has been worth the sacrifice.

“You sign them, you nurture them, you A&R them, and as you’ve seen with certain artists, they fly. It’s just so satisfying when that happens. That’s the idea of signing people in the first place. You’re really helping them to forge their own path, and that’s definitely happened over the past few years ... Especially Chase And Status, they started out with white labels, struggling to sell a thousand copies, and then last year, we sold half-a-million albums. It’s crazy.”

Andy C plays The Met on Australia Day, Thursday January 26.