Andy C: ‘Bristol is one of my favourite cities, the vibes are really special’

Earlier this week the Tab interviewed Andy C, founder of Ram records, and spoke about his career and Bristol itself. Andy is playing at Innovation in the Dam this month and at Motion on the 9th of December.

How did you end up then becoming a producer and DJ?

It was many many moons ago, I just loved messing around with computers, and then the music came after that. Then sampling breaks and you know old funk breaks when I had my sampler. Going out to the raves with my sister. It wasn’t sort of like how it is now days… it just sort of happened. If you’re just messing around making beats at home you never expect them to be released! When I was doing that I never even knew what the concept of DJing was, you know the producing came first. That was just a happy accident that happened way down the line!

Any tips for any aspiring record producers or DJ’s? There are loads of up and coming small acts in Bristol so any tips you have for them would be great.

You’ve got to be yourself; you’ve got to enjoy what you’re doing. If you’re out there DJing I wouldn’t stand there nodding around. You’ve got to have fun and enjoy yourself and that will transmit to the audience. Imagine you’re in the audience and you want to have a good night out, you know show off your skills but also remember you’ve got to make people dance. When it comes to producing it’s you know be yourself, take influence from others because we all take influence from music over the time.

But in order to stand out from thousands of talented people making music you’ve got to have that little something different because you know with the prelibation of the availability of music on the internet on a daily basis. You’ve got to have that extra something that makes your music, you know, prick someone’s ears. That is often different, you may not have to be technically the best but show you have a grasp on expressing yourself in a unique way.

Bristol has a huge Drum and Bass scene does this make Bristol one of your favourite cities to play in?

Without a doubt! You know I’ve been playing in Bristol for years, and it’s always been a hot bed of music. Whether it is Drum and Bass or any other genre, and that’s reflected on the club culture and on the vibes. I’ve been coming out and I’ve been playing Motion for the past few years and they’ve all been absolutely incredible nights.

The vibes have been really really special, so you know Bristol’s always got a close place it my heart and I think the UK’s heart when it comes to music and expression, so you know its just a fun place to come.

What’s the first set you remember playing in Bristol?

I don’t know, maybe it was in some small club with Roni and Krust. I remember playing at Thekla, Lakota and then we went to the O2. I mean we went to some mad parties I mean I forget the names of venues probably pubs and bars haha but its always been a mad one.

Do you think club culture and drum and bass culture rely on students? Did you go to university?

No I didn’t go to university I left school at 16, borrowed £1000 and started Ram. I think university’s a great thing… but does it rely on students? I don’t know.

How instrumental do you think Bristol was in the early to mid 90s in influencing jungle even though it was a predominantly London based genre?

I wouldn’t say it’s a predominantly London-based genre. I think people feel it was born in London but I think it was born everywhere you know. The influence that Bristol had was just inevitable. Not just Drum and Bass. Drum and Bass in them days didn’t influence itself. Jungle and Drum and Bass took influence from everywhere. So Bristol as a musical hotbed would influence the music that was getting made from all over the UK and the obviously with the likes of Roni Size, Krust and all the crew coming out of that camp you can’t even put into words, I mean on a weekly basis there would just be anthem after anthem and yeah it was good times man.

Would you ever consider doing re-masters of the old Ram releases like Quest and Night Flight to a 2016 standard?

Absolutely, yeah man. Why not? You never know… to a 2017 standard because Ram’s 25 next year!

What’s coming for you?

I’m in the middle of a UK tour, which is amazing. So cool after the summer festival madness and travelling around playing in fields and tents, it’s wicked to just be playing in the UK clubs. I’m playing at Innovation in the Dam in the last weekend of November, too. It’s always a very special time for me because my first ever experience of going out was in October, November and it always reminds me of them early days you know? Going out in the freezing cold and raving out. So that’s what I’m in the middle of right now and I’m currently in the studio as we speak. I’m working on so many tunes and I’m really excited for people to hear them… and they’ll be coming out in the coming months.

Thank you.