More about: Andy C

Drum & bass overlord Andy C has done a lot: helped build a whole new form of music, toured the world, sold out Wembley Arena, run one of the most successful independent labels around and released a stream of bestselling ‘Nightlife’ compilations.  But it’s not quite fair to say he’s done it all. 

Some 28 years into his career, he’s yet to release his debut album - although in recent interviews he says it’s something he’ll shortly be getting round to remedying. That’s not to say he’s not produced more than his fair share of great music. Anyone who’s been on a dancefloor will know his best known moments, like the evergreen ‘Valley Of The Shadows’ or the orgasmic delights of ‘Screamer’.  But there’s a whole world of lesser known but equally wonderful productions he’s been involved with over the years too. Try these 11 underrated tracks for starters…

The Noise Of Art - 'Rollin' Deep... (Danny Breaks & Andy C Remix)'

Andy C’s pedigree actually goes back to the days before drum & bass was even a thing.  This very early production, made with fellow Essex inhabitant Danny Breaks, is better described as jungle, the more polyrhythmic, madcap stepping stone between rave and drum & bass. The beats may be different, but you can hear that trademark Andy C sub-bass assault taking shape for sure.

'Mind Rise' 

There are so many things to love about this ravey dust up from the very early days of Andy’s Ram label. The cheeky samples of Happy Mondays and Primal Scream, for starters, suggesting he may have spent the odd summer or two twisting melons as a baggy warrior. The ‘Pacman’-style sonic squiggles and radioactive acid lines. Not to mention the dambusting beats. Rave on!

'Sound Control'

Andy further cemented his reputation among drum & bass heads by teaming up with one of the jungle scene’s biggest and most recognisable faces Randall for this raging statement of intent.  “We control the sound” it claims, which was no idle boast – at the time, the music’s frontrunners had actually formed a union-style committee to act as one and protect themselves from being exploited and picked off one by one by the major labels, who were starting to sense drum & bass was the new big thing.

'Roll On'

The whole underground dance scene made massive strides between 1992 and 1995, and this track from ’95 is a great illustration of the progress that had been made. The beats are less ragged, more finely honed and artfully arranged, the samples more restrained and tasteful, and the vibe deeper and more atmospheric. Andy is already finding his maturity here, re-aligning himself with the jazzier, dubbier and altogether more blunted sounds emerging from Bristol’s Full Cycle crew of Roni Size, Krust et al.

Busta Rhymes - 'Woo Ha! (Origin Unknown remix)'

Andy was already making big waves on the underground, where his ’Valley Of The Shadows’ anthem was rightly being hailed as an epoch-defining tune. But it was this remix of Busta Rhymes’ hip-hop hit ‘Woo Ha!’ that brought him to the attention of the mainstream, topping numerous lists of reworkings of the year.

Ram Trilogy - 'Asylum'

A string of EPs and the Molten Beats LP came from the productive team of Andy C, longtime collaborator Ant Miles and Shimon, with this sleeker, more techy and definitely more hard hitting sound being forged as a result. It’s a template that would dominate Andy’s DJ sets ever since and become what he’s best known for in modern years at least. 

Ed Rush & Optical - 'Pacman (Ram Trilogy remix)'

Tech-step was one of the many sub divisions that came out of drum & bass, with West London’s Ed Rush, Optical, Trace, Nico and Fierce being the prime movers under the No U Turn banner. Rush & Optical’s Wormhole album would prove its landmark record, recorded over a blazing hot summer in the middle of Soho and very much inspired by the debauchery and dirt they witnessed from their studio window. Step up Andy C and mates to remix one of its chunky highlights, ‘Pacman’, into a delirious wall of beats and shifting, disorientating sonics. Game over! 

DJ Fresh feat. Dizzee Rascal - 'The Power (Andy C Remix)'

Underground meets overground on this hefty, shuddering bass workout that also somehow incorporates the bard of Bow and the golden earworm touch of Fresh.  The meltdown to house music speed and subsequent switch back up to drum & bass is as delightful as it is unexpected.

'Haunting' 

Taking the best part of a decade out of production to concentrate – as you would – being a globetrotting, arena filling superstar DJ, ‘Haunting’ was Andy's return to the production ray in 2013, and with its arcing arpeggios and hoover bass, it was clear he hadn’t lost his touch.  

'Workout' 

In a drum & bass world that has become split into factions, where the gnarly and the soulful rarely mix, the flip tune to ‘Haunting’ is a prime exercise in having your cake and eating it.  Jazzy brass stabs? Yes. Soul-drenched diva vocals? Certainly. Brutal bass and piledriving breaks? Why the hell not? This ‘Workout’ has truly got it all.

'What Bass' 

“Have you ever wondered why it is we love this music?”  That’s the question posed by one of Andy’s most recent efforts, the churning, adrenalin-pumper ‘What Bass’. Well, we’d probably have to say it was hearing high energy throbbers like this.

More about: Andy C