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Finishing off this month's interviews is none other then the Godfather of Hard House Andy Farley. This man need no introduction, as his career spans over a decade, with releases on every major hard house label to date. We changed things up a bit this time, and got you the fans to submit the questions. Now without further ado...
The Beat Ranch proudly presents, Andy Farley
Welcome to TheBeatRanch Andy, we want to thank you for taking out the time to do this interview with us. What’s the difference between Hard House & NRG? If there is one? - Random But Raw (UK)
I tend not to make any differential between Hard House and Nrg as I’ve never been a fan of having loads of categories for music. I’ve always classed what I play as hard house so will stick with that thank you!
Where is hardhouse today, and where is it going? - SoulDestructor (CAN)
The last year has seen a welcome variation in the tunes being produced with a lot more uplifting musical content mixed in with the dirt, and I think this is essential for the scene to grow again. There’s some great new producers coming through as well which is always good news. It would be nice to see a few hard house anthems again, tunes that people across the spectrum of the hard scene play. One criticism I do have is the amount of bootlegs of classic tracks that are being done, I wish people would spend time making future anthems rather than , in a lot of cases, making a pretty horrendous remake of a classic. If you’re going to spend money on going into the studio then make something new and fresh, that maybe someone will want to rip off in the future! Don’t get me wrong, the odd bootleg now and again is cool but I think it’s got way out of hand especially as the people who wrote the tune originally don’t get asked most of the time
Do you think the scene will ever be back to what it use to be in terms of popularity amongst clubbers, like back in 2000 to 2004? - Nick The Greek (UK)
I don’t know if it will ever be as big as it was in 2000-2004, however, the scene is on the up at the moment so who knows? I think in order for it to do so though, as I mentioned above, there need to be more crossover tunes. Looking back to 2000/2001 hard house was in the charts, there were hard house remixes on major labels, and this was because the music was more accessible and anthemic. This isn’t a criticism of the music now at all, but when you had the likes of Jules & Dave Pearce playing hard house then you had a bigger scene, but I don’t really see them playing the latest Spinball or VC release, so there needs to be some middle ground to get people outside of the hard house scene back into the sound again.
Do you think the uprise in more euphoric Hardhouse is the route the scene needs to go down, also branching from that, do you enjoy playing the more uplifting tracks in your set? - Austin Creed (UK)
I enjoy playing any good tune in my set whether it be uplifting or totally grotty ha ha! But yes it is great to have more melody back in tunes again as it gives a lot more scope to your sets.
Have you considered or used the laptop based mixing solutions such as Albeton? Do you personally see this approach phasing out CD decks and are you eventually going to go down this route? - John Geary (UK)
Ableton is a great programme but it’s not something I’ve really spent time with. I’ve seen people using it to play out on and to be honest it can be very boring to watch . Even though I play totally off cd, for me personally vinyl will always be the best format. In the recent Trade & Tin Tins mixes I did I used 100% vinyl and the feel and sound quality is so much phatter than digital.
When you play out live, do you pre-plan your sets? - Trixie Firecracka (CAN)
No not since day one. My very first set way back when I did plan, but two records in I played a tune which cleared the floor a bit so had to backtrack and get people going again, so that taught me to be flexible and go in with an open mind.
If you could give any advice to Hard Dance DJs on how they can break into the European market... for gigs, releases, etc. What would be you best career advice? - Lady Bass (CAN)
The best way to get your name on to the circuit would be to get a tune out, as well as bombarding as many avenues as you can with mixes, Club promoters, record labels etc. Most of all try and be individual, have your own style, this will make people sit up and notice, rather than just playing the tunes that everyone has heard loads of times. It’s hard when you’re first starting out to have access to different stuff, but do a bit of digging and you can find them.
Where do you start when laying out a track ? traditional kick + bass, percussion, or melody - Cynex (CAN)
Usually kick & percussion first, then bassline and build the rest of the track around that. If it’s a remix that has a strong riff then usually start with the riff and build around it.
How long does it usually take for you to create a track? Do you use engineers, and if so, who do you use? - Destructo (CAN)
I do use engineers and the length of time can differ from engineer to engineer. I usually collaborate with Dom Sweeten, but I also have dates coming up with Paul Maddox and Technikal. Timewise we normally spend a day on the track, then I’ll play it out and Dom will tweek anything that needs doing. I have a studio at home but am still only pottering about in it, time being a major constraint. At the moment it would take me so long to write a tune by myself, that it’s easier for me to work with someone who knows where to go straight away for the sounds I’m after.
What do you consider to be some defining moments in your musical career? - Jaxx (CAN)
Definitely my first ever gig in 1989, Tin Tins in Birmingham from 1994-1996, Sundissential in Birmingham 1996-1999, Frantic at Camden Palace 2000-2002, Dance Valley in 2001, playing Trade for the first time in 2002, Blue at Turnmills 2005, also seeing my first tune on vinyl back in 1999 and seeing huge posters on billboards with my face on for the Music For The Harder Generation album, that was pretty mad!
Now for some fun random questions...If they made a movie about your dj career, would you like Al Pacino to play you, seeing as Marlon Brandos is dead? - Space Sentinelz (UK)
I don’t know if I’m the Al Pacino type to be honest, but couldn’t really ask for a better actor to play me so why not!
If by some bizarre reason you knew you were about to lose your hearing what song would you want to listen to before you went deaf? any genre - AMG (UK)
Always look on the bright side of life by Monty Python ha ha no if I had to choose a favourite it would be It’s My Life by Talk Talk
If you could be any kind of cheese what would you be? - Gem Stone (UK)
I’d be a Dairylea Triangle
I would like to apologise to you for telling you to piss off when you told me who you were in Sundissential in 99. I didn't know what you looked like back then, and I was a bit worse for wear. Please accept my apology - Muttley (UK)
You can’t have been that wrecked if you can remember ha ha, but seeing as you have been bigging up the orange chips you are forgiven!
What would he rather have as a pet, an octopus, an ostrich, a beaver or a giraffe - Adam NRG (UK)
Think an octopus would be pretty handy to have around the house with all those legs
Any last words?
Thanks for listening, thanks for all the support over the years, I love you all, god bless and good night!
Related Siteswww.myspace.com/redartistmanagement
Click here for Andy Farley's Exclusive Mix
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Past Interviews
