Episode 86 is a power hour of disco and house from Manchester DJ Andy G. Expect old school classics, remixes and re-edits. Pumping through and through! Read our interview with Andy below.
Hey Andy, thanks so much for coming on the AMF blog. I really love the mix you’ve put together for us. I always like to start my interviews by getting my guest to tell us a little about their DJ journey. When did you get started DJ’ing and why? What’s your DJ journey looked like from then until now and where are you hoping to go?
Thank you for having me!
I actually started DJing in Uni but left it because, quite honestly, I didn’t know what I was doing.
A few years later in 2018 I made friends with a bunch of guys who all DJ’ed before nights out and I was completely hooked! I pretty much learnt from them at the pre-drinks then we’d go out to nights out in Manchester. I remember the first time I DJ’ed a pre-drinks “properly”, I was so nervous about song choices and messing up, but in hindsight the stakes couldn’t have been lower.
For me, my goal right now is to play more gigs out in Manchester and contribute to the nightlife that got me so hooked on DJing.
Your mix doesn’t mess about, it’s straight up disco edits and old school classics through and through. What is it about the genre and style of music that really appeals to you? Where did your love of disco come from and why do you think it still holds so much sway on dancefloors?
Disco is just so danceable, the groovy rhythms and basslines fill me with so much energy, I love it!
The right Disco track at the right time can absolutely set a place on fire. I’ve been to so many nights out where the energy is ok but it feels like everyone is waiting for that one tune to get everything properly kicked off, then a song like Don’t You Want My Love drops and infectious vocals and strings send everyone mad.
Generally, I think, Disco has a feel-good energy about it which makes it a great floor filler.
Do you have any DJ’s promoters or collectives you really cite as inspirations for your DJ’ing? What about their sound do you really like?
Kerri Chandler is one of my biggest inspirations for sure, whenever he’s in Manchester I try to see him. His sound is pretty much Deep House, feel good bangers and grooves. I can’t recommend seeing him live enough. I have a really distinct memory of finding the track Guitarra G by G Club in a digging session and a few weeks later he played it at a show. I don’t think I can begin to describe the feeling of “I’ve found a tune that Kerri also thinks is a banger”. Sounds dumb written down but man, what a rush!
The biggest label is probably Defected. I listen to a lot of their mixes and they have a great mix of House and Disco and are always a great source of inspiration for new ways to mix tracks.
Another label is Midnight Riot. I’m fairly sure I could have made a mix entirely of their back-catalog. They seem to produce non-stop Disco fire and don’t have any plans to stop, I love it!
Moving on to your mix, are there any standout tracks in it you can share with us? Any tracks you return to time and time again that are always guaranteed to set a dance floor off?
Towards the end of the mix I played the track You’re In My System, which is such a banger, the chords and drums combined with the soulful lyrics create such a groove. I love playing that track.
Conversely, the track I ended on, U by DJ Seinfeld is lot more stripped back and quite melancholic. I don’t think I’ve found a better track for ending a night for me, I feel like the vibe it gives kind of matches that feeling when you’ve stayed to the end of a night and you don’t want to leave but the lights have come on.
Last but not least, where can we find you in the near future? Are you playing around town or and the radio waves somewhere soon?
I put up most of my mixes over on mixcloud where you can hear my last couple of gigs out and a few personal mixes I’ve made.
I’m always on the lookout for a new gig, so give me shout if you need a disco and house DJ to get things warmed up.
