:: INTERVIEWS :: ANDY FARLEY

Ask a roomful of clubbers to think of a big-name hard-house DJ, and you’re more than likely to hear the name Andy Farley more than once. Farley: The Godfather of Hard-Housethe man who helped bring hard music out of the underground and to the ears of the masses; the original Frantic resident; legend. And to many, he epitomises the hard-house scene – fun, friendly and addictive, without compromising quality or musical integrity. Farley has always pioneered the fast-paced sounds from the harder end of the spectrum, whilst still remaining accessible. As an old flyer for “Farleytime” at the Camden Palais screamed “Go hard, then go home!”, perhaps suggesting that Andy Farley is, definitively, hard-house. I remember the first time I saw Mr Farley DJ. It was at one of the infamous Tidy Weekenders in Prestatyn; with demented clubbers bouncing round the room, I instantly fell in love with his music, and found myself a new DJ hero. This is the Farley way.

2006 has been a busy year for Andy. In addition to his packed calendar of appearances, Mr Farley has continued to turn out quality tracks (the latest being the mighty Barriers on Tidy Trax), his re-vamped website www.andyfarley.com was launched in December, and he also signed up to Red Management, a new agency run by Kate Hammond (Vicious Circle) and Kelly Dayus-Cook (ex Tidy).

On February 3rd Andy will be heading up to Leeds to join his fellow Red Management artists for the eagerly anticipated VC.r1 event at Stylus, University of Leeds. Farley is part of an all star cast of Red Management artists, and the night promises to showcase some of the world’s finest hard-house talent. Ahead of that event, and prior to his three week holiday in Thailand, I caught up with the Godfather to review how 2006 was for him, talk about his re-launched website and to ask him more about VC.r1 – this is what he had to say:-

Ru: 2006 started for you “down under” – what were you doing there?

AF: I did a tour over Christmas and New Year. I arrived in Adelaide on Christmas Eve and played there on Boxing Day, then flew up to Darwin on 28th. I stayed there for four days, then played till 1130 on New Year’s Eve, then dashed straight to the airport to catch a flight down to Melbourne where I played on the New Year’s Day afternoon. I then headed back to the airport to catch a 5 hour flight to Perth where I played in the evening! After that though I had 10 days free so flew down to Melbourne to see Tara Reynolds , then flew up to Sydney for a couple of days before heading home.

Ru: 2006 has been a busy on for you on the DJ circuit up and down the UK, which ones stand out as being particularly blinding?

AF: There have been so many great gigs this year, but highlights would be Tidy Weekender 10, Tidy London, Hard South, Global Gathering, Party Proactive, Heat’s 5th Birthday, Storm & Energize birthday in Ireland

Ru: How different is the hard house scene of 2006 compared to when you first started DJing?

AF: It’s quite different now. There was a lot more variation in the music then as there weren’t loads of labels for different styles of music and musically clubs were a lot more integrated so DJs would just play tunes on their merit rather than from what genre they come from

Ru: Do you think 2006 has been a good year for the hard house scene?

AF: Definitely, the music has become a lot more varied with people trying new ideas which is great for the scene

Ru: Your track release schedule for 2006 is quite impressive, which have been your particular favourite releases?

AF: Barriers is definitely at the top of the list as so many people have been into it, which is what I wanted to achieve with it. Also my remix of The Killer, the tracks I’ve done with Olive Grooves, Ali Wilson & Vinylgroover & Redhead. I’m really pleased with all the production I’ve done this year to be honest.

Ru: Can we expect more Farley produced tracks for 2007?

AF: Definitely, I’ve got 6 tracks due out on Tidy as 3 track Eps by Colin Barratt and myself and Olive Grooves and myself. I’ve also done a track with Trauma for release on a new collaborations album, and a new track for Vicious Circle. These are what I’ve done already, and plenty more to come!

Ru: What is the most defining clubbing moment for you of 2006?

AF: It would either be when I dropped Born Slippy at Global Gathering or my set at Tidy Weekender 10

Ru: You are now with Red Management, how are things going there?

AF: Really well, lots of bookings for next year already so looking like being a busy boy in 2007!

Ru: As well starting up Red Management, Kate and Kelly have also just begun on a new venture with the launch event VC.r1 taking over Stylus in Leeds, an event you’re playing at. This will be Vicious Circle's first solo large capacity event, are you looking forward to it?

AF: Very much so. Stylus is a great venue, I played there when Tidy did their Après Ski event, and there’s a pretty impressive line up to go with it so should be a lot of fun!

Ru: It's such a competitive market out there for events; do you think the VC.r team can pull it off?

AF: Definitely, the girl’s have got a lot of experience behind them and know how to deliver to people what they want, so this is definitely going to be something special.

Ru: As its also celebrating VC's 6th birthday, and you've always been a supporter of the label, will you be pulling out any special stops for the night?

AF: Of course, will be doing a good bit of digging through my shelves in my garage to find some hidden gems!

Ru: Can we expect to see you propping up the bar or will you have to shoot off?

AF: I think Kate’s already arranged it for me to be official bar propper!!!!

Ru: Your website has had an overhaul and the new sexy version is now live, what can visitors expect to find there?

AF: Lots of information about what’s I’m up to, full gig list, chart, discography, biography plus a download page where you can get wallpapers and mixes. I’ve made available some of my older mixes pre 2000, and will be changing these monthly.

Ru: Will you be releasing any more material for your downloads page?

AF: At the moment there are just mixes on there, but I wouldn’t rule out making some tunes available on there at some point.

Ru: I was interested to see that Tony De Vit makes an appearance in your December top 20 with a Paul King remix of Burnin’ Up, and when you dropped that in during your Heat set at Koko in October I thought the fella next to me was going to have an orgasm (he was quite damp when the track finished so he may well have done!) – are their any original tracks from hard house the vaults that you’d consider sacrilege to even consider a remix?

AF: I’ll be honest I’m not a huge fan of rehashes of old tracks, especially a lot of the crappy bootlegs that are about at the moment. I always say that if the original doesn’t sound dated then just play that. One tune for me though that should never be touched is Are You All Ready as it’s stood the test of time, and 10 years after it was made knocks the socks of most hard house tunes still!

Ru: As part of your Tidy Weekender 10 duties your set was recorded and is now available to buy, many say the CD is extremely representative of your current style and sound. How does it differ from one of your first compilations, say “Nukleuz presents Hard House Anthems Volume 2”?

AF: I had more of a free range to pick my tracks for doing the Tidy Weekender album, than on Hard House Anthems as some track on there I was asked to put on for sell-ability purposes. This was the first time I had done a live album as well, and was a tad more difficult in picking the tracks because you have to remember that you have people dancing in front of them so always had to keep an eye on the dancefloor to see what was happening.

Ru: Talking of albums, your website also makes mention of your forth-coming “iTunes Only Album”, some vinyl purists might say you are selling out to the digital age, what would your argument be to that?

AF: I wouldn’t say it’s selling out at all. Album wise, none that I have ever done have come out on vinyl anyway. The vinyl/cd/mp3 argument has been going on for a couple of years now and will continue to go on.

Ru: What can we expect to hear on the iTunes album? Does it have a name yet?

AF: I’ve no idea to be honest! It was scheduled to be available in July but there’s been some hold up along the way so I’m still waiting for the final release date.

Ru: Your December gig list reads a bit like a British Rail time-table, covering hundreds of miles with gigs ranging from the basement-style-cum-underground rave feel of the hugely popular Parlez-Vous, to the mighty production heavy brand conscious Tidy, but which venue or event do you consider as “coming home” to?

AF: I guess the Weekenders are kind of like that as everyone you know is there both DJs and clubbers so there is a nice family vibe there. Unfortunately this year I was only there for just over an hour as I had to leave for Bradford straight after my set.

Ru: What are your predictions for 2007?

AF: The scene is definitely on the up so I’m hoping that next year it’s going to blow up big time again.

Ru: Finally, if you were our Monarch, what would have been the theme of your Christmas message?

AF: Get off your arses, get out there and party my loyal subjects!

Ru: Thanks Andy – look forward to seeing you on Saturday 3rd February.

 

Andy’s hotspots of 2006:-

Self produced track of the year: Barriers

Non Farley track of the year: Defective Audio – Freakin’ It

Clubbing event of the year: Tie between Global Gathering & Tidy Weekender 10

Best crowd reaction of the year: Global Gathering

Biggest villain of the year: George Bush

Best film of the year: Casino Royale

Biggest disappointment of the year: The government & terrorism