***ANDY WHITBY INTERVIEW AHEAD OF TROLLIEDS 2ND INSTALLMENT - 12TH OCTOBER @ THE BASSMENT MANCHESTER***

Here is the interview we did with the AWsome Andy Whitby. We would like to thank Andy for completeing this with us as we know how busy he has been recently. Here at Trollied we are very much looking forward to our 2nd party, especially after the sucess of our launch party at its home, The Bassment in Manchester. We caught up with Andy and asked him these questions... Hi Andy, It’s great to catch up with you. We at Trollied and our Trollied faithful’s are really looking forward to having you on board for our next event on the 12th October. We thought we would ask you a few questions…

Q1) I’m sure everyone is dying to know, how was the Australia tour with the Tidy Boys and co, any funny stories that weren’t shown on Facebook?

Ha! This year’s Masif Hard Dance Icon Tour of Australia and New Zealand was incredible! I was the only returning artist from last- year’s tour over there so I had an idea of what to expect but this was next level!

Yes, there are heaps of funny stories that weren’t on Facebook…for a reason! I couldn’t possibly divulge though, you know the rules dudes – what goes on tour, stays on tour!

When you go away with a group of DJs you are always going to encounter some crazy things. Even though I was the youngest on the tour by nearly 10 years we all felt like a family, everyone had a role – Amo and his wife Ange were like the parents, BK is an incredible cook and iLogik is absolutely hilarious – Steve Hill (organised of the tour) is such an amazing host and makes sure everything is looked after throughout. We all added something to this amazing group dynamic, which went towards such a special trip.

Each of the 4 shows (Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne and Auckland) brought something different. Every party was rammed and the feedback from the sets, the atmosphere and the giveaways has been outstanding. I can’t wait to get back there next year.

Q2) The UK Hard Dance/Hard House scene has a strong following of clubbers, how do the clubbers over there compare to your loyal followers over here?

The UK is obviously the home of Hardhouse and Hard-dance, but let me tell you something; the Australian and New Zealand clubbers bring it HARD! They are insane. Always up for it, always rocking to the end of the night. Cities outside of the UK aren’t always as clued up in the sense they know every new track, but at the end of the day a strong track is going to work on any dance floor anywhere in the World.

The clubbers over here are special in the sense they are so passionate about the music – they instantly know new tracks and follow you so closely each day on your web portals. I love chatting to them on my Facebook fan page as they are always keen to know when you are next near them for a gig or what you are up to day to day.

I love playing in the UK – I’ve had the pleasure of playing, on average, a gig every weekend for the last 10 years, and because of that I’ve seen pretty much every major city and performed in front of some of the most amazing crowds I could ever wish for.

One of the main things I love about UK fans is how they remember certain sets – I get weekly messages from clubbers saying something like ‘I came to watch you in Bristol back in 2006, you dropped this track and the whole place went crazy, then the speaker caught fire’ and I read it like ‘Oh my god - they remember that too!?’ – It’s always a nice moment as I remember every amazing moment of my career.

Q3) We have been keeping an eye on your HARDKAST shows on Soundcloud and we like how varied your style is, not just in what you play but the artists you have on for the guest mix. What style or sound is exciting you at the moment and what artists impress you the most?

I’m really excited about all styles of hard music right now – there are some really fresh and interesting tracks coming through. Producers are trying news things and this is essential to progressing the scene and interest in our music. I respect what we have achieved but we can’t rely on that to move us, the hardhouse and hard-dance genre, forward – we have to innovate and excite listeners. We have to satisfy and quench the thirst of our current listeners but also grab the attention of new fans of the music – so they hear what we’re doing and say ‘what the fuck is this?! I need to hear more!!!’.

The Hardkast’s purpose has always been about playing the freshest, most forward thinking hard music – I want listeners to know if a big track has been written it will appear on the show immediately. The Kast has to have something for everyone for any time of the day; the amount of tweets I get all week from people saying ‘I’m listening in the car’ or ‘smashed it at the gym thanks to the Hardkast’ or ‘your show is the soundtrack of our BBQ’ really excites me – hard music is 24/7, not just at the weekend dudes!

There are lots of exciting producers out there right now – Karlston Khaos, BK, Energy Syndicate, Klubfiller, Technikal, Jon BW, Elevate, Tom Berry, Scott Fo Shaw are just a few off the top of my head that I know I’ll always get excited when I see something pop into my dropbox from them.

Q4) We can see that you are very busy at the moment, what have you got coming up gig wise and what should we be looking out for on your AWsum record label?

Right now my focus is on a new brand Cally Gage and I have launched called HARD. It’s not to say that I’ve put AWsum on the shelf, we will still release albums and the occasional track, but right now my time and energy are going into the new brand.

HARD is something I’m really excited about. It is a collection of many things, ranging from my monthly show The Hardkast, my HARDL!VE performances and mash-ups and Cally’s new GIRLS LIKE IT HARD brand through to a record label, clothing, merchandise and much more. We are catering for all those who love their music hard, fast and fun. To find out more you can join our HARD page @ www.facebook.com/weloveithard

Gig-wise I’ve just come back from an amazing bank holiday weekend, performing in the Goodgreef Arena at Creamfields followed by Frantic’s Birthday event @ Koko in London. The Frantic show was special because it’s coming up to me being resident there for 10 years. It was the second to last show before Timeless, which was the event I first played for them back in February 2004.

My HARDL!VE performance at Frantic was one of my favourite sets in a long time – the crowd were so hyped you can’t help but feed off it, from their energy – there was this one moment where a track had a massive build up, everyone was throwing their hands in the air, the lazers were going bonkers and just as the bassline dropped both of the huge ice cannons above the dance floor fired off, it was one of THOSE moments where you feel all the hairs stand up on your body. That is what it’s all about.

Q5) we do appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedule to speak to us. Finally, what can Trollied expect from you when you grace the decks at Trollied part 2 @ The Basement in Manchester?

No problem guys, I appreciate the interview – I’m currently writing this on the way to the airport, Cally is driving and is singing along to her Dirty Dancing CD…I think my ears are melting haha!

Anyway, back on track…I love Manchester, it is right near to where I grew up just outside Chester. I spent many afternoons of my youth going around the Trafford Centre shopping or hanging out in town centre, buying records at the Spin Inn and making a nuisance of myself at The Arndale Centre.

There’s always been such a solid group of people in Manchester that support my music and I appreciate that so much – Manchester clubbers bring it every time; I know they will be out in force in October.

I’ll be bringing my blend of chaotic hard music, mixed with big vocals, lots of insane basslines and most importantly lots and lots of energy behind the decks – I want people to come along, get crazy on the dance floor and have an amazing night out so they’ll tell their mates about it and bring them in for the next one. That’s the important thing; have such a great party they’ll come again and again.

Oh, and I’ll be bringing lots of free HARD CDs and stickers – so make sure you come over and ask me for one! Just make sure you say please! ;)

Thanks Andy

See you on the 12th!

Trollied

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