Interview with DJ Andy J by raveprincess.Andy J is one of Adelaide’s original “Old Guard”, starting off his DJing career alongside the likes of MPK and Brendon (who had already been playing for 5 years), thanks to a lucky break at the 7 Stars Hotel. Leaving DJing behind in 1999 to pursue the bright lights (pun intended!) of audio engineering and lighting for entertainment venues. He’d only been DJing for a few years, when he saw the opportunity to start an audio company. He says “As that quickly grew, I found it impossible to work full time doing software engineering, DJing and running the audio company, so something had to give!” Running “Andy J Sound” has been hismain occupation for the last few years.
Succeeding in this highly competitive industry doesn’t come without careful planning and sheer hard work and I ask Andy what his future plans for the company are. “We’ve been extremely successful over the years and we’ve been fortunate enough to have some great clients who have seen the value in what we provide. We have been expanding our services of late to provide for the majority of our clients’ production requirements. We have also done many large concerts and corporate events and will continue to pursue those avenues.”
I’m sure most of us have, at some point, stood in wonder watching some amazing dance-floor lighting or found a new dimension to our favourite track when we hear it on a massive club sound system and thought “I wonder if I could have a piece of that?” Andy says its tough to break into the industry, particularly in Adelaide, but has this advice for aspiring techies – “It’s very difficult to get work in the industry because the industry works on such low margins. The hours can be ridiculous and the pay rates don't necessarily reflect that. There is less demand for sound engineers as there are fewer and fewer bands. In saying that, if you really believe it’s what you want to do, then by all means pursue it. If not indulging on the weekend and loading heavy boxes into a truck at 5am is your thing then go for it! The majority of people in this industry are passionate as opposed to business people.”
Andy also makes some other recommendations for the personal life of those thinking of a career in the entertainment industry. “It completely dominates your life. If you’re not in it for the long haul, then don’t even bother starting and if you have a partner, good luck! The only thing that kept my relationship afloat over all of those years was by having a plan, which included a retirement date for DJing. That way, Mandy (my wife) knew it wouldn’t go on forever and, in hindsight, it was one of the smartest moves I made to manage what was a huge impost on her. I’ve also got fantastic staff that work for me and that helps to balance family and work.”
Technology is moving at light-speed, making it difficult for many of us to keep up sometimes! At the forefront of his industry, Andy tells us about some of the most significant technological advances that have happened in light and sound since he’s been involved. “Amplifiers are now tiny, light, extremely powerful and stupidly expensive if you want something that will last. Digital sound processor’s have improved sound quality and reduced speaker failure enormously. Speaker technology for nightclubs hasn’t changed that much in the last ten years, although concert technology has. Nightclubs operate at far higher sound levels than ten years ago with a significant improvement in sound quality. Lighting and video technology has mainly evolved in being brighter, faster and cheaper so its use is more prolific than the early 90’s.”
With the debate on vinyl vs CD always a hot topic amongst DJs, I ask Andy if there’s a big difference from a sound technician’s point of view. “Absolutely” he says. “The sound of vinyl is completely different, although the latest generation of CD players is slowly bridging the gap. I’d rather listen to well-pressed vinyl than the CD, but it’s hard to know whether I simply have too much emotional attachment with those black spinning things! The biggest problem with CDs is poor quality recordings or low bitrate mp3s.”
Being behind the scenes at many events means Andy gets to see some pretty amusing moments! One that stands out for him is when he spent some time as an audio engineer for Steve Hooper (DJ Hoops) at Planet on a Wednesday night. “Steve was always causing mayhem! One night he fell off the back of the stage and got wedged against a backdrop. All I could hear was him calling my name for help over the PA. I’ve never laughed so hard. It was so comical that people probably thought it was part of his show. Maybe it was?”
Although not playing regular sets anymore (he stopped in 1999 when his first son was born) he’s always happy to dust off the record collection for our listening pleasure at the anthems nights. He says he’d love to still be playing, but says “I just can’t justify the time and the divorce would send me broke!” His association with the anthems nights is all about the memories – “Those tunes take me back to a place in time when I was much younger! It’s amazing how a tune can bring up a distant memory for almost anyone. The music is simply unique. Those early tracks were in the main, uplifting and spurned a whole new culture. It was all new and, being new, people experimented and took risks that weren’t constrained by commercial pressure, giving us music that wouldn’t see the light of day today. Think of the early Prodigy material for example. Would they release ‘Charly’ on a major label today?”
That love of the Prodigy has obviously carried on, with Andy saying the most prized record in his collection is the Prodigy’s “Android” on XL 1991. “That took me years to track down!” he says. He names his favourite all-time track as the Nightcrawlers “Push the Feeling” on MK Mix95 - “It defines house music of that era for me. I think I’ve worn it out…both copies!”
Since leaving DJing behind, Andy says “I’ve been more open to mainstream music and wondered what I missed in the 90’s, like Placebo or Smashing Pumpkins, when I simply refused to listen to anything other than dance. I did production for David Bryne (Talking Heads) recently and he sang something by Verdi that gave me goose-bumps. It was simply stunning - and from someone I looked upon as an 80s pop/rock singer with hits like “Once in a Lifetime”. I can’t think of anything more removed, but we all need this diversity as it helps with diversification within dance music. Maybe getting dragged to operas at an early age did me good? I’m sure that a lot of successful producers/DJs have had a broad exposure from an early age which let’s you have a better appreciation of the art in all forms.”
Catch one of Andy J’s rare DJ appearances at the next instalment of anthems on June 12 at St Paul’s, where he’s sure to bring out all our old favourites!
