Textures That Engrave _ Interview With AnD

A chat within and a raucous hour of music beyond with AnD for subsekt 050.

I’ve been trying to think of how I first heard AnD’s music.

I guess you can thank.. or blame, the power of social media as it was probably via a YouTube clip on Facebook. One thing that I know for sure is that search engines hate AnD. In the early days it was a bit of a lottery whether I’d find them or not, especially if I was on Juno or somewhere. After I’d memorised their andmusik address on soundcloud and the names of the various labels they’ve released on, things improved – somewhat haha. It’s still occasionally a lottery. Anyway, its a lot more rewarding when you dig and hit gold.

subsekt have been chatting with Andrew and Dimitri for a good while about doing a mix and interview, but it hasn’t worked out for one reason or another. They’ve always stayed in touch and remained true to their word; regardless of how far things were getting pushed ahead and even though they were getting busier and busier (which anyone could easily see..). I’ve never met them in person, but from our correspondence, they seem like sound folk. Love their music and their attitude, so it’s amazing to get to do something with them.

We don’t talk about it in the interview.. but their performance on Boiler Room has to be one of the best I’ve seen on there. Boiler Room attracts a bit of flack, but AnD utterly nailed it. If you haven’t checked it out, please do. I really need to see them in a club.

In the interview we chat with Andrew and Dimitri about John Peel and some of their early electronic memories, then get some insight into their production techniques. After discussing some of their recent release on Electric Deluxe, we move on to find out about what their label; Inner Surface Music, has lined-up.

All this is in advance of our special 2hr show on Wednesday 19th March 2014 @ 2200GMT with Lasse Buhl from Northern Structures & the Lads from AnD. It’s a bit of a milestone for us.. 50 shows and all of that, so we’re really looking forward to it.

Listen Live at the time on Teh Player.

As always.. the mix will be up on Soundcloud after transmission.

You guys have done a few interviews already, so we can probably dispense with the “How did you guys meet” kinda questions. Is that ok? 

Of course mate!

I saw you sharing that John Peel quote recently.. “Somebody was trying to tell me that CD’s are better than vinyl because they don’t have any surface noise. I said “Listen Mate.. Life has surface noise”. Great quote. I never missed a show during my teenage years. He was always playing Techno at the wrong speed, then eventually stopping midway to play it properly, all that right next to Dick Dale surf guitar and some jump-up African folk music, followed by Flying Saucer Attack. Quite often he’d sandwich a 20sec thrash metal tune in there too just for good measure. He was a bit of a teacher was John Peel..

John Peel was a true legend and a very influential person for us. We love the way he didn’t really care about what anyone else thought he just played what he wanted to play because he loved it. It is a great approach to take as a DJ and as an artist, this always stuck in our heads. He had a real sense of being grounded with no ego, like you said he would play records on the wrong speed and then just laugh about it and put it back to the start and play it on the right speed, that human error and not worrying about having to be slick was the best way to approach it. He showed people how to love what you do and live it 100% in the moment. One of our heroes, we wish he was still around today, he is badly missed and radio has never been the same since!

Definitely. He was amazing.

I read that when Andy was 16 he got to see “The Baron Of Techno” – Dave Clarke – which incidentally is a nickname that John Peel gave to him. That was a magnificent introduction.  What sort of tunes were you buying back then? 

At the time I had really got into the sound of Warp Records and was discovering a lot of underground techno that I had never heard of before. I was infatuated and hooked, it became an obsession for me from recording people like John Peel, Mary Anne Hobbs Breezeblock to discover new acts to always making trips to spend whatever money I had on records, cd’s and cassette tapes. I remember starting to get into quite obscure music compared to my friends at school, and they wouldn’t understand why I was going to see acts like Surgeon, Regis, Andrew Weatherall, Green Velvet, Umek, Jeff Mills, Plastikman and many others on the weekend.

I have compiled a small list of tracks that represent what I was discovering at the time

Aphex Twin – Tha – Warp :

I remember hearing an Aphex track for the first time and fell in love straight away with the his alien soundscapes, one of my heroes when i was 16 and still is now. This track has really stripped back drum sounds and beautiful melodies and textures that engrave themselves into your mind.

Autechre – Eutow – Warp :

This album is still one of my favourite albums I can remember buying it at the time and being transported to a world I’d never heard before! Eutow always really stood out for me at the time because I loved the strings and the emotion that they gave within the cold and mechanical drums.

Boards Of Canada – Nlogax – Skam :

Boards Of Canada have always been a favourite of mine, I love their use of detuned chords and melodies it gives you the feeling of being unraveled and floating through space. This track has a real sense of fun and playfulness to it. I can remember hearing it when I was 16 and thinking that it was this sort of mutated disco music that had a real effect on me.

DBX – Beat Phreak – Accelerate :

Daniel Bell at his best! I can remember hearing this track at first and just being blown away by the simplicity of the loop, it basically has exactly what you need. Nothing more and nothing less, perfect!

LFO V F.U.S.E – Loop  – Plus 8 :

The drums on this track are so tough and slamming with the groove and hook sucking you right in, but what always interested me most about it was how it retained the strong melodic feel with the harder sounds.

Surgeon – Atol – Downwards :

I remember when this first Surgeon album dropped on Downwards it was a big introduction for me into the sounds of Surgeon and Regis and the whole Birmingham scene, little did I know then that it would of had such a profound effect on me

Dave Clarke – Thunder (RED3) – Deconstruction :

A straight up party track for the baron himself, the red series was exactly what i loved about techno at this age it was hard, abrasive, jacking and intense. I still love and play this record today.

Ah – Great tracks there. Cheers for that!!