Andy C - Nightlife - RAM

freeagent

Almost 30
VIP Junglist
Joined
Jul 26, 2002
Location
San Francisco, CA
Bottom Line:
Andy C uses his trademark quick and tight mixing to blend 28 solid dance floor tunes together. Don't expect a whole bunch of tricks and teases, but do expect a good snapshot of what you might hear at The End from drum and bass's top-dog DJ. Available from Ram Records(http://www.ramrecords.co.uk/), can be found at all good record stores July 7th. Don't miss the official launch July 4th at The End.
Overall Rating:
8.3/10
Full Review:
The mighty Andy "The Executioner" C gives us "Nightlife", his latest effort behind the wheels of steel. Released on his own RAM records, you should be able to find these 70 minutes CD at any good record store beginning on July 7th. The official launch is set for July 4th at the Ram event at The End. Most everyone reading this should already be familiar with the man at least by reputation: he has won the award for best drum and bass dj several years running, and most feel it is well deserved. His mixing is quick, solid, and tight, and his track selection is just as good. In addition to being the best dj in the scene, he forms 1/3 of RAM Trilogy with Shimon and Ant Miles, and 1/2 of Origin Unknown with Ant Miles.​
----------------​
On to the mix - Andy C manages to fit 28 tracks into this relatively short mix, right in tune with his style. He opens up with one of his own Ram Trilogy tracks, "Skittles", obviously designed to break the ice, and it does that well. I am actually pretty surprised that he didn't open with "Screamer", Ram's current dance floor favorite - rumor has it that they are still in sample clearance limbo with that one. In any case, less than one and a half minutes into the mix comes the familiar lead to Pendulum's still-massive "Vault", and Andy does it the justice that the massive tune deserves by letting it play through the second drop, where he proceeds to double-drop it with another searing dance floor number, the distinctive wah-wah bass sound of Twisted Individual's remix of the DJ Red classic "Enta da Dragon". The cut up Amen's and bleepy synths of Leon Switch's "Is This Real" come in quickly, and leaves even quicker, yielding to the well-hyped "Neo" by US dance floor wizard Hive. The eerie drop is perfectly suited for Mr. C's style (he has used it quite a bit as an intro of late), and the storming bass line that follows is blended well with another US-originating dance floor anthem of late, the lesson in breaks and subs 101 otherwise known as Dieselboy, Kaos, and Karl K's remix of the Bad Company boy's "Grunge".​
----------------​
Now Fifteen minutes in, Andy next uses Fresh's hard yet sultry "Without You" off Andy's own Ram label to transition into some lighter yet still potent material. High Contrast's reworked "Basement Track" off Hospital is quickly and slyly dropped in, and is quickly followed by some newer sounds, the very upbeat and disco-tinged "9-2-5" by Hold Tight, out on Industry. Andy surprised me by double-dropping the next one, Twisted's comment on other artists' ripping his style, "Bandwagon Blues". The well-known spoken-word vocals of Zen and Twisted overlap with the female crooner in the previous track, obscuring them a bit. Not a big deal though, as he chooses not to overlap the vocals during his double-drop with Origin Unknown's own "Grudge Match", bringing Twisted's anthem back in and dropping the bass so that everyone could hear the infamous helium-laced "T-minus 10, 9, 8, awww fuck it!" Quickly he deals some more dance floor mayhem with The Milita's rolling "Electrolux" off Mampi's Charge imprint, and then hits us with one that people really seem to like on the floor, "The Map" by Ram Trilogy, with its distorted Reece and hard-edged sniper drums.​
----------------​
Not to leave the MC out, let alone one chanting "Origin Unknown", Andy starts the third fifteen minutes off with Dynamite MC's "Hotness", picked up by Origin Unknown and the Ram boys after the project was apparently dropped by a major label. More Ram showcasing comes quickly with Pitch Shift by Red One, followed by a somewhat belated (by the Executioner's standards) mix into a favorite of mine, the Origin Unknown remix of Shy FX and T-Power's "Feelin' You". Though the dance floor mix sounds a bit too much like other Shy and T dance floor successes, the rough edge applied by Origin Unknown makes this tune an easy one to warm up to. More upbeat tones come in via another Hold Tight track. Unfortunately, the vocals of this one clash and overlap with the incoming Andy C VIP of J Magik's long-awaited "Capoiera". I like the original version better, but I'm sure I couldn't resist if J Magik VIPed a tune as heavy as this one for me!​
----------------​
Coming into the fourth fifteen minutes of Nightlife, Andy C hits the (perhaps unlikely) high-point of the mix. In comes the heavy, dubbed out bass line of MIST's groovy "Barracuda" off Revol:ver, the more floor-friendly offshoot of Soul:R. This tune really makes an impression, and demonstrates that tunes don't have to be so overwhelmingly dark to get feet moving. This notion is seconded by the very popular A Sides effort "What You Don't Know", which apparently has had so much success on the dance floor and the radio that release was pushed up, a rarity in drum and bass these days. The sultry duet vocals of Fats and Regina blends well with the swingy break and filtered bass line. The rush of pitched snares that follows introduces MIST's "Outer Space", followed closely by SKC's Rhodes-flavored "Free My Soul", which will be appearing on the new DSCI4 LP. Mr. C takes a short breather here, before unleashing a dose of the Tech Itch's very heavy tech roller "The Calling", this one the Andy C VIP version, which it let's us know during the drop with the processed robot vox: "D...J...Andy...C".​
----------------​
On to the last ten minutes, which Andy teases in with a nod to the old school, "Renegade Snares" just audible behind the Tech Itch mashup. Soon comes the Andy C and Fresh mix of Rawhill Kru's "Mo' Fire", a big one earlier this year. These last ten minutes of the mix are reserved for the sounds of Fresh, the favorite producer of the moment. His "Temple of Doom" is teased in with expertise by the top dj, with the familiar cowbell leading into the melodic bass line and ethnic wail, with the refrain from "Mo' Fire" planted just behind. Not to leave out perhaps the most desired dubplate on the circuit at the moment, Andy finishes us off with the monstrous bass line and swelling pad intro that is "Signal". We are told to "Watch...This...Space", then we are slapped in the face with Fresh's trademark jump-step Reece’s, chopped breaks, and minimal atmospherics.​
----------------​
In all, I would rate this a solid (if not overwhelmingly spectacular) mix from the one who is regarded as the best in the business at the moment. The mixes are very tight, with only the occasional tiny flange, and the bass lines are kept out of each other's way quite nicely in almost every mix. The phrasing is solid of course, and the rapidity of Andy's mixes keep things from ever becoming boring. There are a few noticeable vocal overlaps, but there are so many vocal tunes on the circuit right now that this kind of occurrence seems almost inevitable. The tune selection is very good for a mix cd. Many dubs are flashed, the Ram showcasing is at an acceptable level, the tunes he chose that are already released deserve their place in the mix, and the anthems that he chooses are never too densely packed together. It is also important to note that although the mix definitely has an overall hard dance floor edge to it, many sides of contemporary drum and bass are on display. Cheers to Andy C!​
My Picks:
Favorite Mix : "Free My Soul" into "The Calling"
Least Fav. Mix : "Dirty Habits" into "Capoiera"
Favorite Track : "Barracuda"
Least Fav. Track : "Reality (Remix)"​
 
Last edited:
solid plastic said:
gosh u put quite a lot of effort into that one!

is a tracklist about anywhere?
Skittles - Ram Trilogy
Vault - Pendulum
Enta Da Dragon (Remix) - DJ Red
Is This Real - Leon Switch
Neo - Hive
Grunge - Bad Company
Without U - Fresh
Basement Track - High Contrast
9-2-5 - Hold Tight
Bandwagon Blues - Twisted Individual
Grudge Match - Origin Unknown
Electrolux - The Milita
The Map - Ram Trilogy
Hotness - Dynamic MC & Origin Unknown
Pitch Switch - Red One
Reality Mix - Moving Fusion
Feelin U (Origin Unknown Remix) - Shy FX & T Power
Dirty Habits - Hold Tight
Capuera - J Magic
Barracuda - A Sides & MC Fats
What U Dont Know - M I S T
Outer Space - M I S T
Free My Soul - SKC
Calling VIP - Tech Itch
Mo Fire (Andy C & Fresh Remix) - Rawhill Kru
Temple Of Doom - Fresh
Signal - Fresh
 
thanks for the info destiny, too late though
I ordered it from cdquest.com for the low price of $25 for product and shipping. should have ordered from Ram
 
Back
Top Bottom