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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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Return of the King: Interview with Andy Farley
Reported by Tom Allen
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Submitted 02-12-03 20:27
Andy Farley barely needs an introduction when it comes to the HarderFaster faithful. As very much the 'DJ's DJ', his technical skills are second to none and combined with around 15 years of experience behind the ones and twos he has a wealth of experience when it comes to knowing what tunes motivate the dancefloor. We caught up with Andy as he prepares for this saturday night's 'Return of the King'... read on for more.
Tom Allen: It’s been just under a year since we last interviewed you Andy - what's been the biggest change that you've seen in the hard dance scene this year, or has it been similar to previous years for you?
Andy Farley: I’ve noticed that people are becoming more accepting of the techno sound on the hard dance scene now, which is great. Clubwise, they are as busy as ever, and there is a much broader spectrum of music being played. The harder sound has also become popular again.
TA: What's been the highlight of this year (so far!) for you?
AF: It’s hard to name just one, but ones that stand out are the 2 Tidy Weekenders, Frantic in Adelaide, Dance Valley, the Hard House Academys, and my back to back set with Glazby as Chemistry.
TA: This New Year's Eve, quiet night in front of the telly at home or perhaps a few gigs? What do you have planned?
AF: Well for a change I thought I’d do a few gigs ha ha!! I’ve got 4 gigs New Years Eve starting at Slammin Vinyl in Milton Keynes, then on to Scream in Bristol, Gatecrasher in Leeds and Storm in Coalville.
TA: Presumably weekend evenings where you don't have any gigs must be few and far between. After 15 years of DJing are you used to this or do you long for weekends off where you can get away from it all?
AF: I’ve had a couple of weekends off this year, and the odd Friday or Saturday, but usually I end up kicking my feet wondering what to do!! It is nice though to have one off now and again, mainly to give your ears a rest and recharge your batteries.
TA: Do you ever take time off to get away from it all? If so what do you do to relax?
AF: I’m off to Dubai on the Sunday after Return of the King for 5 days but that’ll be the first holiday I’ve had for 18 months, so am looking forward to the break. Other than that visiting friends, or relax on the sofa with a dvd or playstation helps me relax.
TA: Describe a typical 'day in the life of Andy Farley'
AF: Usually checking e-mails, speaking to Lisa and Will at the agency about future bookings etc. Listen to new records and cds that I’ve been sent and just bits and pieces of preparation for the weekend ahead. Some weeks I’ll be in the studio, and I’ve also started a night in Birmingham called Release (yes the same as in London last year, as the theme of the night is the same as we did there)
TA: Has the prominence of the harder house sound this year been good for you? What do you think will be next year's big thing or are you still waiting for signs?
AF: It was welcome, as the trance sound for me had been a bit overkilled, and also there were a lot of cover versions and bootlegs around which were very commercial. As for next year, I think the techno sound will come in more and hopefully some funkier hard house for the earlier sets in the night.
TA: What's your take on the resurgence of the use of hoovers in hard house tracks - is it a step backwards or do you think or just another example of dance music regenerating old ideas in a new way?
AF: The hoover sound will always be popular, but the problem is that as soon as 1 hoover record appears, everyone goes out and does one and then they’re 10 a penny. A lot of them too just sound exactly like the hoover records from 3 or 4 years ago, so yea it is a step backwards if you just do the same thing with them. However people like Dom Sweeten have done tracks like the Base EP on Vicious Circle, which uses a more techno based percussion and so gives it a more up to date sound.
TA: What would you like to see yourself doing in 10 years time from now?
AF: Ideally living in a beach house in Australia!! I’ve always told myself that when I start saying ‘Oh God I’ve got to go to work to night I can’t be bothered’, then that’s the time to give up. I still get the same buzz out of it now as I did when I first started, so I imagine I’ll still be doing the same. I’d like to be able to have played in a few more countries which I haven’t been to yet too.
TA: We hear you've recently done a remix with Prime Mover of the classic tune 'Zero B' - how has that turned out do you think?
AF: I am really pleased with how it turned out. The original was an all time favourite of mine, so we tried to keep mix the old skool feel with a modern techno based percussion.
TA: What tracks are you currently working on / have recently finished ?
AF: I’ve four tracks due for release on Vicious Circle in the New Year. One called ‘Thunda’, one called ‘Addict’ which I did with Paul Janes, and two tracks that I’ve done with Dave the Drummer called ‘M.B.S’ and ‘Don’t Stop The Groove’
TA: Are you doing any remix work at the moment for anyone and if so what are you working on ?
AF: I’ve remixing the Christiaan tune called ‘Society’ for Elasticman. A few others I’m waiting confirmation on at the moment.
TA: Which new UK promotion have you been most impressed with this year ?
AF: Hard South in Brighton. One of the most up for it crowds I’ve played to.
TA: With the advent of the new CD decks featuring vinyl like control, especially the forthcoming Technics deck, do you foresee vinyl dying out anytime soon? What for you would make you shift over to exclusively CD's?
AF: I’ve been using cds for about 5 years now, but I don’t think vinyl will disappear for a while yet. The advantages of switching over totally to cds are no more bad back from carrying heavy bags around, but when it comes to say playing older stuff, you’ve then got to upload it to your pc, then burn cds etc which if you’re doing say a Timeless could take you ages!! If I play abroad though I do take more stuff on cd than vinyl if I can as many a time trying to get my records on as hand luggage has caused so many arguements at check in.
TA: You've been quoted before has having said that it's very important to you that at least some of the tracks that you play in any set are completely new. Which new producers that you've received material from recently have impressed you?
AF: Alex Calver has been doing wicked techy tunes, and also the stuff that Ali Wilson and Matt Smallwood are pumping out is excellent.
TA: What do you look for in a tune which would make you want to play it out?
AF: It’s got to be dynamic, modern sounding and cheese free!
TA: What's been tune of the year so far for you ?
AF: A toss up between Murder Was The Bass, Dave the Drummer’s mix of Acid Disco, or Karim’s mix of French Kiss
TA: You've done a number of remix projects over the last year - when you're approaching a remix, what are you looking to add to the track to give it that Farley sound?
AF: I look at each track individually, listening to what the mood of the original is. Then decide whether I’m going to do it as a fast driving track, or a slower paced one. For example the Zero B is driving but not full on , so as to make the riff really stand out when it comes in.
TA: What's your personal favourite of all the tracks that you've produced or remixed?
AF: Khemical Imbalance with Ben, Out Of Control and The Killer
TA: What international bookings have you had this year and how have they gone?
AF: I’ve been to Australia and New Zealand, Holland, Ibiza, Japan and South Africa and they have all been excellent.
TA: We heard you play an awesome funky set at BK's album launch party earlier this year - have you ever got any booking or sought any booking for funky sets? Did you play off your own vinyl or was it borrowed off a mate?
AF: I buy loads of house and tribal anyway cos I have! I’ve done a few house sets before so am always open to doing them, mainly because it is a change for me to do so. I also enjoy doing warm up sets because I get to play differently.
TA: Finally, what Christmas present would you most like to receive this year?
AF: Peace love and happiness!
With thanks to Andy for his time.
Andy Farley plays a special 2 hour set at Frantic for 'Return of the King' on Saturday 6th December at the Camden Palace. For full details Click here.
With thanks to tom and Amy&Anders for the use of their photos 
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Other Features By Tom Allen:
Hardhouse Academy Preview: Interview with Nuw Idol
The Thirsty DJs Interview with DJChewy
Lashed Preview 2: Interview with Charlotte Birch
Interview with Nick Rafferty
Interview with Jana
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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and see u soon. Oh, by the way, a big kiss and hugh for Bianca, too.