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Staying alive

20 years of Ram, Alive and a six-hour set at Fabric, Andy C is still bringing it

Fresh – or should we say tardy? – from a three and a half week tour that saw him bring 160+bpm beats to the US, dnb legend Andy C is onto the next thing (after than a few decent sleeps in his own bed, of course); his six hour set at Fabric on 12th October.

With a summer that saw his sensory spangling live show, Alive, decimate stages at SW4, Global Gathering and Hackney Weekend, in 2012, he's has done as much damage on home turf as he has done across the pond, where he did his dirty work over Electric Daisy Carnival and Electric Zoo also this year.

With remixes of Major Lazer, Plan B and DJ Fresh in his armoury and his beloved Ram Records staring down the barrel of a remarkable 20 year anniversary, we caught up with the man himself for a friendly catch up...

How's it going, Andy?

“All good thanks – a bit jet lagged from my recent tour but all in all I’ve had a great 2012.”

Tells us about your recent tour. Where did you go?

“I’ve been in the US for about 3 and half weeks. Something I haven’t done for a long time but felt I needed to do. I want to keep spreading the dnb word over there. At the larger events and festivals, dnb always gets a huge reaction and is all good but I wanted to go back to some of the smaller cities and more intimate club shows to make sure there’s a grass roots following which should hopefully translate to even better festival shows next year.”

What other highlights did summer 2012 bring?

“Getting back in the studio and being able to play some of my own material in my sets – I’ve missed that so much. Doing my Alive show and some of the top festivals here in the UK, Europe and the US. Totally different vibe with a full crew on the road with me, that's been amazing.”

We here you are playing a six hour set at Fabric next month. Are you excited?

“Yeah, I cant wait actually. I like to set myself new challenges and the response has been overwhelming. I think it sold out within a couple of days of announcing it which is fantastic.”

What can we expect from your set?

“I’m going in! I’ve been prepping for a few weeks now, listening to lots of old tracks that will work with current bits. I’m just going to take the night on a journey of my DJ career to date I think and fit as much in as possible... Get goose bumps just thinking about some of the tunes I’m gonna play. Hopefully the people enjoy them as much as I do!”

Can we expect any remixes or releases in the coming months?

“I’ve just finished a remix for Eric Prydz for his track Everyday. I’ve had a couple of other remixes out this year such as 'Get Free' by Major Lazor and 'Deepest Shame' for Plan B. I’ve not taken any midweek gigs on this autumn to concentrate on studio and solo material. I’m really looking forward to getting in the studio zone!”

Ram looks forward to its 20 years anniversary this year. How does that feel?

“Extremely proud. Radio 1 did a documentary on us in September and the amount of love we got from all corners of the world was amazing. Carl Cox did a Ram tribute mix earlier in the year which was great. But yeah, just sitting there talking on the documentary reliving old memories and some of the tunes we’ve put out just made me realise how far we as a label and our scene has come and how much history we have... very, very proud.”

What's been the biggest challenge of running a dnb label for such a long duration?

“Keeping on top of everything and making sure we’re releasing the right music at the right times and definitely moving with the times and current trends but still making it your own to help develop those trends. It's very important having the right team around as well and the label wouldn’t really exist in it’s current form if it wasn’t for the team that’s running it for myself and business partner Scott.”

How is dnb changing from your perspective? Would you say the scene is getting stronger?

“Definitely yes. It’s changed a lot and has got more confident over recent years with artists and producers standing up and saying it’s about time we get recognised for what we’re doing. I mean, just look at the likes of Chase & Status, Sub Focus, DJ Fresh etc. There’s scope for a lot of big business but this doesn’t get in the way of the fledgling artists and labels, it actually fuels them and gives them ambition.”

Top tune tip?

"Check Ramrecords.com!"