Andy C | |
|---|---|
 Andy C in 2011 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Andrew John Clarke [1] |
| Also known as |
|
| Born | 7 April 1976 [3] Walsall, West Midlands, England |
| Genres | Drum and bass |
| Occupation(s) | |
| Years active | 1991–present |
| Labels | |
| Website | www |
Andrew Michael Clarke (born 7 April 1976) is an English DJ, record producer and co-founder of RAM Records, a label in the drum and bass genre. [4]
Andy C was a DJ in his own right but gained a strong reputation and more bookings off the back of the successful "Valley of the Shadows" track, an early drum and bass track that walked the line perfectly between hardcore and drum and bass just as the genres were starting to split. The track, created and released by Origin Unknown (made up of Andy C and Ant Miles)—often referred to as "31 Seconds" or "Long Dark Tunnel" because of the samples it incorporates—made use of a heavy bassline, bell samples and a rolling drum track to produce a popular, easy to recognise track that was easy to mix and became a favourite in dance floors at raves across the UK and beyond. The track was released as an EP in 1993 [5] and has been remixed and re-released several times, and is widely recognised as one of the most influential drum and bass tunes of the early 90s. His signature look (Andy C is rarely seen without a baseball cap) and energetic movement behind the decks when playing make him a recognisable figure.
In 2001, he collaborated with Shimon on the single "Body Rock", which reached number 28 on the UK Singles Chart in January 2002 and became one of the most popular drum and bass songs of the year. However, it also polarized some fans of the genre due to its unusual sound; it utilized a swinging rhythm and "clownish" synthesizer leads, leading to the pejorative term "clownstep" to describe similar tracks that were released in the wake of its success.
Andy C has continued to produce strong selling records released on his label RAM Records throughout the duration of his career, and has earned extensive respect both as a producer and as a DJ. Due to its success as a label, Ram Records has been able to attract and nurture other artists of high calibre, including Chase & Status, Loadstar, Sub Focus and Wilkinson. Showcasing their label and DJ talents, Andy has secured headline acts and their own stage at major events including Creamfields, Global Gathering, The Sunbeat Festival and The Electric Daisy Carnival. [6]
In 2011, Andy C won the Best DJ title in the 2011 Drum & Bass Arena Awards, [7] and since the awards' inception in 2009, he has won the people's vote in the awards for Best DJ each year. [8] He specialises in fast mixing, often employing three turntables. [9] [10] [11] A signature mixing style of Andy is what he refers to as the "Double Drop": lining up two tunes so that both basslines drop at the same time. [12] Andy C has often organised events where he DJs continuously for six hours. In January 2011, Mixmag UK announced the result of 14 month global poll from 35 nominations chosen by other big names in dance music: the survey asked global voters to decide Who is the Greatest DJ of All Time; Andy C was ranked number four on it and the highest British DJ on the list. [13] He is the only DJ to date, to receive in excess of 20 annual 'Best DJ' titles in any genre. [3]
In 2012 Andy C launched a new concept – Andy C Alive, where he uses custom made software and settings to mix both audio and visuals, creating stunning light and laser shows. At the heart of the setup are 3 deck mixing desks, audio and image editing suites and a setup that allows Andy to custom mix content on the fly. These sets need to be custom made for each venue, and to this date Andy C has already had bookings at SXSW in Texas, Beyond Wonderland in California, Vooruit in Gent Belgium and Melkweg in Amsterdam, as well as Brixton Academy and Cambridge Junction. [14]
His talent as a producer and a DJ have earned him extensive respect from his peers, sites as a musical influence and inspiration by some of the biggest names in drum and bass; so diverse is his style that Andy C has played for events run by LTJ Bukem's Good Looking Records, Goldie's Metalheadz and jump up parties like JungleMania and Desire 2000AD. DMC World DJ Championships Hall of Fame Inductee DJ Craze retains that Andy C is his favorite DJ to hear play drum and bass. [15]
His first single in ten years, "Haunting / Workout", was released as a promotional double A-side from the Nightlife 6 compilation on 3 November 2013. It entered the UK Singles Chart at number 188. His next single, "Heartbeat Loud" (with Fiora), was released in November 2014 and entered the UK Singles Chart at number 50.
Andy C released the Singles 'New Era' and 'What Bass?' 2016 and 2017. Throughout 2017 he performed at a string of major festivals. [16]
In 2018 Andy C sold out Wembley Arena in three days, becoming the first Drum and Bass artist to do so. [17] [18]
In 2019, Andy C released the singles 'Till Dawn' [19] (which had been featured in his sets since 2015) and 'Back & Forth'. [20] He also toured extensively and headlined many festivals throughout the year.
Andy C ranked #61 in DJ Magazine's 2010 Top 100 DJs annual poll announced 27 October 2010. [21]
On 1 December 2011 Andy C won the Best DJ title in the 2011 Drum and Bass Arena Awards. [7]
On 29 November 2013, Andy C won Ambassador of Bass Music in the 2013 Bass Music Awards, and his label Ram Records was nominated for Best Label. [22]
In 2019, Andy C won the 'DJ Mag Top 100 DJs - Highest Drum and Bass Award', climbing 11 positions on the previous year to no.79. [23]
Since its inception in 2009, the peoples vote each year for the annual award for best DJ at The Drum and Bass Arena Awards has been won each year by Andy C, up until 2019 when it was awarded to A.M.C [8]
He is considered a pioneering force in the drum and bass genre. [4] He specialises in fast mixing, often employing three analogue turntables. [9] [10] [11] A signature mixing style of Andy is what he refers to as "The Double Drop" – lining up 2 tunes so their heaviest basslines drop at the same time. [12]
Andy C is a self-confessed tech freak and a lifelong fan of West Ham United. [24]
| Year | Release | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Sour Mash [25] | RAM Records |
| 1993 | Bass Logic [26] |
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [27] | UK Dance [28] | ||||||||||||
| "Slip N' Slide" / "Bass Constructor" (Remix) [29] | 1993 | — | — | Non-album singles | |||||||||
| "Sound Control" / "Feel It" [30] (with Randall) | 1994 | — | — | ||||||||||
| "Cool Down" / "Roll On" [31] | 1995 | — | — | ||||||||||
| "Sound Control" (Remix) / "Feel It" (Remix) (with Randall) | — | — | |||||||||||
| "Quest" (with Shimon) | 1996 | 95 | — | ||||||||||
| "Body Rock" (with Shimon) | 2001 | 28 | 1 | Ram Raiders – The Mix | |||||||||
| "Haunting" [32] | 2013 | — | — | Nightlife 6 | |||||||||
| "Workout" | 188 | 26 | |||||||||||
| "Heartbeat Loud" (with Fiora) | 2014 | 50 | 10 | Non-album singles | |||||||||
| "New Era" | 2016 | — | — | ||||||||||
| "What Bass" | 2017 | — | — | ||||||||||
| "Till Dawn" | 2019 | — | — | ||||||||||
| "Back & Forth" | — | — | |||||||||||
| "Boom" (featuring Tonn Piper) | 2021 | — | — | ||||||||||
| "Ghost" (featuring DJ Rae) | — | — | |||||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||
| Year | Release | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Pure Rollers | Sub Base Records USA |
| 2001 | RAM Raiders – The Mix | RAM Records |
| 2002 | World Dance: XPRS YRSLF | Ministry of Sound |
| 2002 | Nightlife | RAM Records |
| Andy C – Drum & Bass Arena | React | |
| Andy C – Drum & Bass Arena, Version 2 | ||
| 2004 | FabricLive.18 (with DJ Hype) | Fabric |
| Nightlife 2 | RAM Records | |
| 2006 | Nightlife 3 | |
| 2007 | Andy C – Drum & Bass Arena: Babylon | Mixmag |
| Andy C & Grooverider – Drum & Bass Arena | Resist Music | |
| 2008 | Nightlife 4 | RAM Records |
| 2010 | Nightlife 5 | |
| 2013 | Nightlife 6 |
| Year | Artist | Remix | Appears On |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Shimon | Jazzfreak (Andy C Remix) | |
| 2012 | Major Lazer feat. Amber Coffman | Get Free (Andy C Remix) | Nightlife 6 |
| DJ Fresh feat. Dizzee Rascal | The Power (Andy C Remix) | The Power (Remixes) | |
| Plan B | Deepest Shame (Andy C Remix) | Deepest Shame (Remixes) | |
| Eric Prydz | Every Day (Andy C Remix) | Every Day (Remixes) | |
| 2013 | Mat Zo & Porter Robinson | Easy (Andy C Remix) | Easy (Remixes) |
| Rudimental feat. Foxes | Right Here (Andy C Remix) | Nightlife 6 | |
| Chase & Status feat. Moko | Count on Me (Andy C Remix) | ||
| 2014 | London Grammar | Sights (Andy C Remix) | Drum & Bass Arena: Summer Selection 2014 |
| 2015 | DJ S.K.T feat. Rae | Take Me Away (Andy C Remix) | |
| 2017 | Pegboard Nerds | Speed of Light (Andy C Remix) | |
| 2019 | Tom Walker | Not Giving In (Andy C Remix) | |
| 2020 | The Prodigy | Firestarter (Andy C Remix) | |
Drum and bass is a genre of electronic dance music characterised by fast breakbeats with heavy bass and sub-bass lines, samples, and synthesizers. The genre grew out of the UK's jungle scene in the 1990s.
House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120-130 beats per minute as a re-emergence of 1970s disco. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground club culture and evolved slowly in the early/mid 1980s as DJs began altering disco songs to give them a more mechanical beat. By early 1988, House became mainstream and supplanted the typical 80s music beat.
Raymond Bingham, better known as Grooverider, is a British drum and bass DJ. He and DJ partner Fabio are regarded as "originators" of the scene.
Armand van Helden is an American DJ, record producer, remixer and songwriter from Boston. He is considered one of house music's most revered figures, with a career spanning three decades.
Kevin Ford, better known as DJ Hype, is a British jungle and drum and bass producer and DJ.
Lincoln Barrett, better known by the stage name High Contrast, is a Welsh electronic music producer, DJ and record producer. He produces drum and bass music, and his 2009 album Confidential reached BPI gold certification.
DJ Magazine is a British monthly magazine dedicated to electronic dance music and DJs. Founded in 1991, the magazine is adapted for distribution in the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain, France, Italy, Latin America, China, South Korea, Brunei, Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Oman, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Canada, Russia, Belarus, and the Netherlands.
Plump DJs are an English dance music duo consisting of Lee Rous and Andy Gardner, considered to be early pioneers of the breakbeat genre in the late 1990s. Throughout the 2000s, they have been very prolific creatively, releasing many celebrated underground singles, albums compilations. Also remixing the records of well-known dance music mega stars such as deadmau5, Mark Ronson, Fatboy Slim, Orbital and the Stanton Warriors. They cemented their international status through their 10-year residency at London's famous superclub Fabric, in a career that has taken the duo to the largest stages on all four corners of this earth to perform.
"Valley of the Shadows" is a song by English drum and bass duo Origin Unknown. Considered to be a highly influential jungle track, it was originally released as the B-side of "The Touch" before its re-release as a standalone single in 1996, both released on RAM Records. "Valley of the Shadows" proved a lot more popular than the A-side, "The Touch", and the single went on to become one of the label's best-selling releases.
RAM Records is an independent record label established in 1992 by Andy C with the help of his friend Ant Miles. It specialises in drum and bass.
Robert Ferguson, known professionally as Fergie, is a Northern Irish DJ and electronic music artist from Larne. He has been an internationally touring DJ and a music producer for over 20 years. He presented a radio show on BBC Radio 1 for over four years while recording 13 Essential Mixes for the station. He was featured in the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs poll seven years in a row and currently holds the record for the highest new entry since the poll began, achieved when he was voted 8th in 2000.
"Here It Goes Again" is a song by American rock band OK Go, the fifth single released from their second studio album, Oh No (2005). It was the band's only single to chart on the US Billboard Hot 100 until "I Won't Let You Down" in November 2014 and peaked at number 36 on the UK Singles Chart, giving the band their second UK top-40 hit. The music video, featuring the band dancing on treadmills, became a staple on YouTube, at one time being one of their most-watched videos, with over 61 million views.
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The Prototypes is a British drum and bass project by producer Nick White. Until May 2023, it was a duo alongside fellow producer Chris Garvey. Founded in Brighton, England, in the late 2000s, by 2010 they had released their first singles on labels such as Formation Records and Viper Recordings, and from 2011 to 2013 were signed to Shogun Audio. They have released a number of EPs, and have received radio and live PA support from DJs such as Matrix & Futurebound. Signing exclusively to Viper Recordings in 2014, in the following months the duo released a number of promo singles for a debut album. Their resulting single, "Pale Blue Dot" ranked as Beatport's second top selling drum and bass track of the year. The track was also nominated for Best Track at the Drum & Bass Arena Awards, with The Prototypes also nominated for Best Producer, Best Music Video, and Best DJ.
Axel Christofer Hedfors, better known by his stage name Axwell, is a Swedish DJ, record producer, remixer and owner of Axtone Records. He is a member of Swedish House Mafia along with Sebastian Ingrosso and Steve Angello. He is a two-time DJ Awards winner, and in 2013 he was placed 19th on the DJ Magazine Top 100 DJ Poll.
Camo & Krooked are an electronic music duo from Vienna, Austria with their musical roots embedded in drum and bass, consisting of Reinhard "Camo" Rietsch and Markus "Krooked" Wagner.
Tom Mundell, better known as Metrik, is an English electronic music producer from London. He has been releasing records since 2007 and currently is one of the top drum and bass producers in the world, with 888,000 monthly listeners on Spotify as of spring 2023.
"Haunting" / "Workout" is a double A-side by the British record producer Andy C, released on 3 November 2013 through his renowned drum and bass label RAM Records. "Workout" entered the UK Singles Chart at number 188 and the UK Dance Chart at number 26 on 16 November 2013. The songs serve as singles from Andy C's mix album Nightlife 6.
Robert Dickeson, known by his stage names Apex and Robert Oaks was a British drum and bass music producer and DJ from Kent, England.
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