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Features
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| Mindbenderz talk ‘Lord of the Rings’ and fishing, as well as the creation of their new album ‘Celestial Gateway’! | | Iono-Music artists One Function, Eliyahu, Invisible Reality and Dual Vision talk Robert Miles, kids, dogs and vinyl, while we chat about their current releases! | | Luke&Flex talk influences, the Irish rave scene, why Flex wears a mask and Play Hard, their new EP out now on Onhcet Repbulik Xtreme! | | Lyktum expands on his new album ‘Home’ – talking about his love of storytelling, creating new harmonies and the concept behind his musical works. | | Pan talks getting caught short crossing the Sahara, acid eyeballs and tells us Trance is the Answer, plus shares his thoughts on his latest release 'Beyond the Horizon' - all from a beach in Spain! | | Miss C chats about living with the KLF, DJing in a huge cat’s mouth, training her brain and the upcoming super-duper Superfreq Grande party at LDN East this Saturday, 16th September! | | NEM3SI$ - I Live for the Night – talks superficiality, psychopaths, and bittersweet success, ahead of a plethora of evocative, emotional, and passionate upcoming melodic techno releases! | | Psy-Sisters Spring Blast Off! We talk to DJ competition winner ROEN along with other super talents on the lineup! | | Blasting towards summer festivals with Bahar Canca ahead of Psy-Sisters Spring Blast! | | Shyisma talks parties, UFO's, and Shotokan Karate ahead of his upcoming album 'Particles' on Iono-Music! | | SOME1 talks family, acid, stage fright and wolves - ahead of his upcoming album release ‘Voyager’ on Iono-Music in February 2023! | | The Transmission Crew tell all and talk about their first London event on 24th February 2023! | | NIXIRO talks body, mind and music production ahead of his release 'Planet Impulse' on Static Movement's label - Sol Music! | | Turning the world into a fairy tale with Ivy Orth ahead of Tribal Village’s 10th Birthday Anniversary Presents: The World Lounge Project | | The Psy-Sisters chat about music, achievements, aspirations and the 10-Year Anniversary Party - 18/12/22! | | A decade of dance music with Daniel Lesden | | Earth Needs a Rebirth! Discussions with Psy-Trance Artist Numayma | | Taking a Journey Through Time with Domino | | New Techno Rising Star DKLUB talks about his debut release White Rock on Onhcet Republik! | | PAN expands on many things including his new album 'Hyperbolic Oxymoron' due for release on the 14th April 2022 on PsyWorld Records! | | Psibindi talks all things music including her new collaborative EP 'Sentient Rays' on Aphid Records, her band Sentience Machine and 10 years of Psy-Sisters! | | N-Kore talks Jean-Michel Jarre, unfinished tracks and fatherhood! | | Celebrating International Women’s Day and Ten Years of Psy-Sisters with Amaluna | | A Catch Up with John Phantasm ahead of his upcoming set at the Tribal Village 4 Day Outdoor Event in Kent 6-9 May 2022! | | 'The Maestro that is Tristan talks barn owls, Shazamming and keeping it Psychedelic ahead of his upcoming performance at the Tribal Village 4 Day Event in Kent 6-9 May 2022! | | DJ talk with Psyrenzo ahead of his debut set at Tribal Village, the Steelyard this Friday 14th January 2022! | | TENZO aka Overdrive talks freely about launching his new act which will be showcased at Tribal Village, Steelyard on 14 January 2022! | | A long overdue catch up with JourneyOM ahead of his next Tribal Village party this Friday 14th January 2022 at the Steelyard, London! | | Goa based party animal and artist extraordinaire Nirmal talks punk concerts, metal sculptures, flying and rippin' it up on a High Tide! | | DJ Wired talks to us about the Rise of the Hope and parties, ahead of his upcoming set at Tribal Village on 14th January 2022! |
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Playing question-and-answer with Andy McCall
Reported by Frani Heyns
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Submitted 01-10-08 20:20
With his boyish good looks and impeccable taste for the harder side of dance music, Andy McCall has captivated crowds locally and abroad for the last five years. Starting his career on humble ground, he soon became a favourite at after parties and smaller venues, before joining the line-ups at bigger promotions like Knowwhere, Frantic and Tasty.
Andy’s passion and sheer drive for hard house soon encouraged a partnership with the promoters of Knowwhere to push the genre at their parties. Working closely with Pablo and Anthony, they brought the friendly and uplifting atmosphere that is synonymous with the Knowwhere nights to the Hardwhere room. At these events Andy had the chance to play alongside the industry’s best and was soon ready to take his musical talents to the next level.
In 2007 he launched his own label, Tornado Trax, with business and production partner, JK. Fast forward to 2008 and they can tell you inspiring tales of their work and hours in studio with top and new producers. The impressive list of releases includes a chart-topping track from Andy and the stunning vocals of Stace.
Andy will be headlining with other big names at Knowwhere’s seventh birthday party on the 10th of Ocotober at Mass. I managed to track him down for a few questions about music, dreams, idols and Italian food.
Take us right to the beginning. When did you have your first taste of dance music?
My older brother was well into his dance music and that’s when I got hooked at the age of 15.
Did you fall in love with hard house straight away or was it a natural progression from other genres?
When I first started going out, I was into trance as that was the new thing at the time. In the mid or late 90’s I followed Oakenfold, Judge Jules and Tony De Vit in their early days at Cream as I lived up North. I got into hard house around 1997-1999 when it started getting big.
Who have been your biggest musical influences?
Oakenfold because he really pioneered the early trance side of things and Tony De Vit for pushing the hard house sound.
You’ve been DJing in the underground scene for five years. Give us a brief description of the journey so far.
I started DJing at after parties and small venues before moving to bigger main room gigs like Knowwhere, Hard Dance Awards, Frantic and Tasty. From there I then played gigs in Amsterdam, Spain and Ibiza.
Describe your favorite gig to date.
I had so many wicked gigs I struggle to pick one that stands out, but the ones that spring to mind are my closing set for Knowwhere at Ministry of Sound and my back-to-back set with JK at Tasty’s trip to Spain 2007.
You’ve had the opportunity to play with big names in the industry. Who is the most inspiring DJ / Producer you’ve met so far and why?
The two DJs that stand out for me are Ed Real and Billy Bunter. They both know their music and really play for the crowd.
Tell us more about your residency and your involvement with Knowwhere over the last few years.
I joined the Knowwhere team about three years ago, to help push the fact that Knowwhere now caters for both hard house and trance. The Hardwhere room evolved to have the same uplifting party vibe as the rest of the club. Pablo and Anthony asked me to be involved to run the hard dance side and to keep the same Knowwhere happy atmosphere in all rooms.
That brings me to my next point. Knowwhere is hosting their 7th birthday on the 10th of October at Mass. You will be headlining with the Tidy DJs, Ed Real and JK in the Hardwhere Arena. What can people expect from the night?
80k of Turbo Sound, vinyl and CD giveaways, extra lights, lasers, awesome décor and the friendly up-for-it Knowwhere crowd with their hands in the air.
In 2007 you became more involved in the production side of things and launched your record label, Tornado Trax, with JK. Tell us more about the label and productions in the pipeline.
Getting involved in making tunes and starting my label with JK have been great. It’s also been fantastic working with top producers like Technikal and DMF, as well as new producers, JK and Brett Wood.
Tornado Trax highlights for me so far have been my track Believe topping the trackitdown.net hard Dance chart. Stace wrote and sung the vocals on the track and she will be singing it live at Knowwhere’s 7th birthday during my set!
Also, I’ve released my first solo production Spirit and I am really excited about my forthcoming collaboration with Technikal “2 The Top, as I feel we have really hit the sound I love with that tune!
If you could sum up the sound of Andy McCall in five words, what would it be?
Uplifting. Energetic. Hard. Dance. Party.
The dance scene has gone through major changes in the last five years and many club nights have stopped running. What is your take on this and what do you think is the future of hard house and trance?
I think the future of the scene is safe as long as there is a constant flow of new music. If this continues, I think there will always be a scene and some club nights will always be successful.
As a hard house DJ/producer, what would you like to achieve in the next few years?
Being able to give up my day job and concentrate on making new music! (And then I woke up.)
What do you do when you’re not in the studio, behind the decks or at your day job?
I play tennis to keep fit, love going out for meals, especially Italian food, and enjoy watching sport!
Photos courtesy of Andy McCall. Not to be reproduced without permission.
Knowwhere's 7th Birthday Bash
 
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On:
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Friday 10th October 2008
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At:
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Mass [map]
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From:
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10:00pm - 06:00am
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Cost:
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12 Adv More on the door
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Website:
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www.clubknowwhere.co.uk
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More:
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Knowwhere's 7th Birthday is on the 10th October 2008 @ Mass
Knowwhere is London's Friendliest Party, bringing you two arena's of sound, the best of Trance and Hard Dance
Line Up
Knowwhere Arena
Adam White
Ian Betts
Pathfinder
Erhen Stowers
Jurrane
Pants (Pablo and Antthony Dean
Stacey Kitson (Live PA)
Hardwhere Arena
Tidy DJs
Ed Real
Olly Perris
Andy McCall (Tornado DJs)
JK (Tornado DJs)
Tony Duzzit
Hemlock
Rhyd B
Stacey Kitson (Live PA)
80k of Turbo Sound
Awesome Decor
Extra Lights
Lazers
Vinyl Giveaway
Free Knowwhere Birthday CD for the first 100 through the door
Sugar Dee Dancer’s 2nd Birthday (giving away free promotional goodies)
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Other Features By Frani Heyns:
Finding the passion with Ben Alonzi
Put your hands in the air for Glyn Waters
Shifting gears with Corderoy
Perfectly Adam White
Getting Crafty with Sly One: Part 2
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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