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One AWsum interview
Reported by Ru Curthoys
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Submitted 28-11-07 00:04
2007 has seen a number of high profile highly successful hard dance events do the business across the country, as the scene shows some very positive signs of rejuvenation. But there is one that will soon be upon us that is more eagerly anticipated than most. One AWsum Night is Andy Whitby’s first foray into the world of promoting — with his status as one of the most popular hard dance DJs in the country serving as a very strong starting point for this new concept. His exclusive 3-hour set will also serve as a launch pad for the long-awaited arrival of his two new labels, AWsum Music and AWsum Bounce. Joined by the likes of Lisa Pin Up, Cally & Juice, Technikal and of course Cally Gage, Andy is set to make a long-standing mark on the scene with this rather tasty looking launch party.
Excitement and anticipation being the hallmarks of Andy Whitby’s style, there is perhaps no surprise that the details of the venue as kept secret to add to the intrigue the night will offer. Ahead of the launch party, I managed to spend some time with Andy to ask him a few questions about the timing of the launch, and what to expect.
Ru: What’s been happening in the last few months in Whitby World?
AW: Business as usual; playing big gigs, making lots of new tracks, the labels are finally coming together, I mixed a new album for Nukleuz — ‘Hard Dance Revolution’ nine DJs on three discs. We’re just talking about doing another compilation for them, and my new free mix AW6 which I get emails about daily, I’ve finally mixed that; 27 tracks in 80 minutes, most of them you won’t find anywhere else. I’m moving and pushing things forward and getting ready for next year. All very exciting — exactly how I like it.
Ru: You’re just back from Canada, that went down very well I hear...
AW: Very well — I really enjoyed Canada... Roman (Andy’s agent) says he’s had lots of emails asking when I am back, so we’re setting up a couple of dates for next year. I can’t wait to get back.
Ru: Have you got a favourite country yet?
AW: (Laughs) It’s strange... each country has so many different things to offer. Canada was good, Japan was interesting: I spent some time on my own there between gigs and it was quite isolating at times. Not many people spoke English and I have to say my Japanese is non-existent, but the gigs were great — they had gold-plated decks at one show. Australia was amazing too. Canada was probably my favourite, this last year certainly. The person responsible for getting me to play over there was Rodi Style and I spent a lot of time in his company — we shopped at the mall, ate a lot of pizza...
Ru: The first time I interviewed you was nearly two years ago, we talked about a ‘Whitby Time’ style of event; an evening dedicated to all things Whitby. You said then that you felt the timing was not quite right... what makes the timing right now?
AW: I still get a lot of feedback from that interview — yesterday someone made reference to it, it just seems to be the Whitby interview people remember the most. Regarding the event, I think hard dance is going to really become big again in the next year, and I want to contribute to that by putting on new and fresh events.
With the AWsum labels ready to go we started to think about how to launch them... the timing could not be better in fact because we have found a superb warehouse space where we can go in and have complete control, start from scratch with the decor. The problem with most venues is that everything is fixed — the seating is in its place, the decor is a done deal, the sound system is already there, and the only influence a promoter can have is installing a couple of inflatables and usually a line-up seen a hundred times before. The space we’ve got gives us a free reign — it’s raw, it’s not a stuffy night club, it’s a relaxed environment. It’s a warehouse hard-dance rave!
Ru: The line-up for the night is rather interesting, with some established names and some newbie names too and a special three hour set from yourself...
AW: It’s pretty much a hand-picked selection of DJs. I wanted to offer something different from the usual suspects, and as it’s my night I wanted to play something more than the usual hour slot that I have. Three hours is a nice length... and I am really pleased to have a cross-section of DJs from the industry.
I chose Lisa Pin-up because out of the top-tier DJs she is the one that probably plays the most music I enjoy other than my own. She plays fun bouncy and I really enjoy listening to her sets. She has a really loyal and large fan base and clubbers love watching and listening to her.
Then there’s Matt Lee: many people know him as Gammer (but many don’t know him as Matt Lee). I’ve been working with him a lot recently on projects and he said that he wanted to get into hard house DJing, but didn’t know how to get into the scene. Sometimes sending demos out means that really good talent can get overlooked. He’s been working on a load of special tracks for his set and I am really genuinely delighted he has agreed to have his hard house DJ debut at my night. I truly feel that in 2008 he will become recognized as the most original and exciting producer in our scene, and to have him exclusively on AWsum is an honour.
Alf [Technikal] is also playing. In my opinion he is one of the finest producers of hard dance and I particularly wanted him to play a producer’s set, which he’s agreed to.
Another set I’m excited about is Mike Avery playing a back-to-back with Nathalie, who is a new talent and both are very good friends of mine. Many people know Mike as my driver. He’s been playing out a lot recently and is now a resident of Viagra in Leeds, has played at Summit, and is due to play at Sundissential too. Nathalie debuts with Mike, she’s another new exciting DJ who a lot of people may know off my discussion group keepitwhitby.com. She’s into hi-octane party hard dance so I think her sound is going to really rock the second room with Mike. I’m really pleased they’re playing.
Ru: AWsum night is a bit of a double celebration — the launch of your two labels AWsum Music and AWsum Bounce. Why the two labels?
Originally I was going to do one but then I realised that after doing a complete review of the work I wanted to release that I could not release it quick enough on the one label, and that there were two distinct styles — hard house and hard bounce. If I kept it to one label there would be tracks that I am playing now that I would not be able to release until much later next year.
AWsum is for tracks like ‘U Ready’ and ‘R We Alone’ [with Lee Pasch]; hands in the air hard trance driving sort of stuff. AWsum Bounce is for bounce tracks such as ‘Will 2 Ill’ which will be its first release, and Nathalie has an EP coming out on AB which will be the second release in January.
I’ll also be starting a third label in 2008, but if I told you anymore info on that, I’d have to kill you, and then this interview would be done.
Ru: Will the labels be purely downloads?
AWsum is hard media such as vinyl and will be available on download from the top 35 download sites such as Track It Down and Audio Jelly and AWsum Bounce will be purely download. AWsum was finally ready for launch last week but as I started to hear about issues with Amato [the distribution company that just went bust] I had to hold off. It’s been over two years coming, so it can wait a few more weeks.
Ru: AWsum is a major milestone for you. What makes a highly successful DJ and producer enter the world of record label management?
AW: I feel that I play all the biggest nights in hard dance, all the peak times, and some DJs are happy doing that for the rest of their career, but I always want to be pushing myself more. The only times I get down in life are when I don’t think I am moving forward, just standing still, so the natural progressing from making and producing records is to push them out yourself.
So to me it’s the next step in my career — I will have full control over what happens and when, who does the remixes, I get to do what I want including the advertising, the design... it’s all down to my choice and my decision. It allows me to break from the mainstream hard house labels; some of which are content in producing funky material at 140 – 145BPM... “warm-up music.”
Ru: Tickets for AWsum night are flying out the door with Early Birds sold out in a few hours. But you didn’t release details of the venue until this week — was that not a risk?
AW: No, not at all... the way tickets have been going shows that there is a lot of excitement for the night. It shows that it’s all about the music. We seem to have the line-up spot on and unless we present a field to dance in people will love it because of the soundtrack supplied throughout the evening. It’s a very different experience from a standard venue...we’ve got DJs doing special sets, Frisky is doing a hardstyle classic set, Kym Ayres is doing a Tidy Girls classics set. A lot of thought has gone into the line-up and I believe we are offering something different, new and exciting for hard dance clubbers.
Ru: It’s called One AWsum Night, does that mean this is a one off event?
AW: Even although it’s called One AWsum night, there are other events in the pipeline for next year. We want to get this one under our belts first before releasing more details. Hopefully we will be doing an AWsum DJs tour next year.
Ru: AWsum DJs?
AW: Yes, myself (obviously), Cally Gage and Matt Lee, and a new guy I have just signed called Klubfiller who makes hard bounce. I think it’d be good to take the whole team round to big club nights and showcase what we stand for — quality hard dance.
Ru: What else do you have planned for next year?
AW: Loads of people are asking that... in Whitbyworld things are always progressing, new ideas are always being cooked up. I will be working hard on the labels, on music, on mixing, on rocking crowds and working with Matt Lee and Klubfiller to take things to the next level production wise. I’m really excited about it and I feel next year is going to be a great year for our scene.
AWsum will release music every other month and already I have a lot of big tracks ready for it. AWsum Bounce will have a release every month showcasing the very freshest in bounce. With One AWsum Night I’ll be looking to do a number of events throughout ’08.
Ru: ‘Tis the season to be jolly of course... what do you have planned for the festive season?
AW: Work-wise, I’ve got loads of gigs, which I am well happy about. I have limited myself to two very special sets for New Year’s Eve — a lifetime wish of playing a NYE midnight slot at Frantic becomes reality, then I am shooting north to play at Storm. I am really looking forward to both those sets. Because my diary is so manic at the moment, I’ve not seen much of my parents so Christmas Day will be with them and that will be my down time. It’s the only day of the year when I am Andrew. My mum complains that everyone calls me Andy. She says that if she wanted me to be called Andy, she’d have christened me Andy.
Ru: And what are you hoping for in your Christmas stocking?
AW: Santa... if you are reading this... I really would like an iPhone, it’s pure sex. That would be lovely. For my birthday my friends complained because I always tend to buy anything that I want. So they decided that for the guy that has everything they’d buy me nothing... and they did, a product called ‘nothing; for the person who has everything’ and it was nothing. All wrapped up and presented in a box. The literature that came with it said that: ‘if you find this product actually does something, please return it as it’s faulty’.
Ru: Truly the gift of nothing...
AW: As about as useful as a one-handed clap.
Ru: Superb.
AWsum night is on Sat 1st December at a location close to Kings Cross. In addition to the line-up and location, clubbers will receive an exclusive AWsum goodie bag. The event will sell out. Tickets in advance are highly recommended.
www.awsumnight.com
http://www.andywhitbyworld.com
Photos courtesy of Sam Chamberlain @ Pixel Management. Not to be reproduced without permission. www.pixelmanagement.co.uk
One AWsum Night: The Launch Party
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On:
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Saturday 1st December 2007
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At:
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A Secret Location
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From:
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22:00 - 06:00
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Cost:
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£15/20 adv, MOTD
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Website:
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www.awsumnight.com
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Ticket Info:
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Outlets:
Ticketweb / www.ticketweb.co.uk / 08700 600 100
Clubtickets / www.clubtickets.co.uk / 0870 246 1840
Ticketbank / www.ticketbank.co.uk / 01702 345 050
More on the Door / www.moreonthedoor.com
Viewtickets / www.viewtickets.com.uk
Don't Stay In / www.dontstayin.com
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More:
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Andy Whitby presents:
One AWsum Night
The AWsum Records Label Launch Party!
After having conquered the Hard Dance scene as one of the most popular and exciting DJs around, Andy Whitby is now stepping into the world of promotion with the first in his series of high-octane parties – known simply as One AWsum Night! The concept is simple – a hand-picked, carefully-constructed line-up chosen by Andy himself, put into the finest venues around the country, with some extra special surprises and giveaways to top things off! The launch party of One AWsum Night will take place at secret London location – continuing the current trend of Hard House taking over the warehouses – and will serve as the official launch party for lis long awaited AWsum Records label.
The line-up brings together some of the best loved names in the scene, some of the hottest producers around, and the most exciting new stars currently rising through the ranks! Andy Whitby headlines with an exclusive 3 hour set – which he’s never done before – showcasing the biggest forthcoming tracks from AWsum, and some very special edits and remixes that he’s cooking up especially for the event. The ladies represent to the fullest, with Cally Gage and Lisa Pin Up joining Andy in the main room, and rising stars Frisky and Kym Ayres rocking it over in the Nu Breed Room.
Add to this the immense production talents of Technikal and Whitby’s studio co-conspirators Matt Lee (aka Gammer – making his Hard Dance debut) and Audio Hedz, and you’ve got yourself a rather tasty line-up! But when you stick Welsh wizards Cally & Juice, Tidy DJs, Polysexual’s Mark H, Frantic’s James Condon and a load more delectable Hard House talent into the mix, you’ve got one of the most exciting line-ups to hit London all year!
Look out for free CD giveaways throughout the night, free Party Packs and the sensational Whitbychix causing havoc around the venue….
This is no ordinary club night – this is One AWsum Night…
Tickets:
£10 Early Bird Tickets
£15 Saver Tickets
£20 Standard Tickets
More on the Door
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Flyer:
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Other Features By Ru Curthoys:
This is Scott Fo Shaw!
Tobias and Nathalie get Bouncy
Sam Townend gives us a Tidy little Twist
All bow for Lady Bianca
Interview with Paul Glazby
The views and opinions expressed in this review are strictly those of the author only for which HarderFaster will not be held responsible or liable.
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Comments:
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From: richbowenuk on 28th Nov 2007 09:34.21
Gr8 interview Ru!
From: Nicky D on 28th Nov 2007 14:20.26
Great interview. Looking forward to this loads. I think it will be one hell of a party
From: Attack Of The Jowlyhound on 29th Nov 2007 15:12.36
He's got a fat head though.
From: Martin Begley on 30th Nov 2007 14:49.49
Innit. Massive swede
From: Ashley James on 1st Dec 2007 20:02.43
TURBOLOL
From: Martin Begley on 2nd Dec 2007 03:35.28
Thats one AWsum swede!
From: kev on 4th Dec 2007 00:07.47
It must take him days to shave it.
From: Mike Harris on 9th Dec 2007 21:33.23
He looks a bit like an alien 
From: Nicky D on 10th Dec 2007 15:25.33
Leave it out you p**s takers !! lol
From: Funboy Hashtag Yoloswaggins on 24th Dec 2007 22:27.28
"AWsum swede"  !!
From: Claire99 on 28th Dec 2007 12:35.28
I smell some Jealousy in the air!!!!!!
great interview!
From: Nicky D on 29th Dec 2007 12:37.39
Agreed Claire !!
From: El Hombre on 6th Jan 2008 13:51.27
Jeez he is one ugly mofo.
Is he special needs or something?
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