Interview with dj,producer and label owner Andy Duguid

Andy Duguid’s career took off in September 2006 when the mighty Tiesto picked up his production “Hypocrisy”. The support of the grand elite of DJ’s followed soon after that when Hypocrisy gained heavy support during sets of Paul van Dyk and Armin van Burren, after being added to Tiesto’s playlist for many consecutive weeks. Being signed to Black Hole after the bidding war that followed, Hypocrisy landed on the 5th spot of the Dutch Dance Charts and simultaneously landed the career of Andy Duguid, instantly establishing a name for him in the almost impregnable forest of producers in the scene as we know it today.

 The official follow up “Don’t Belong” virtually followed the same path, hailed by the industry as one of the biggest tracks of 2007. Don’t Belong initially got signed to one of the biggest compilation series globally, Tiesto’s In Search of Sunrise and it didn’t take long before Black Hole picked up the single for official release. As a result of his high quality production work, Andy Duguid soon became a frequently asked remixer for numerous prolific artists. He has worked with the likes of Tiesto, Johan Gielen, Phynn, Filo & Peri, Richard Durand and Mr. Sam to name a few, which were released on the biggest labels globally such as Maelstrom, Sola Records, Songbird and his current home base, Black Hole Recordings.

Next to his Andy Duguid moniker, Andy produces under various successful alter egos such as Reeves, Corsie and Emilio Fernandez, a new and already blossoming collaboration with Iwan de Kuijper. His new Reeves single ‘Call of Loneliness’ was released on  Anjunabeats  and featured on their successful Vol. 7 mix album.

Andy’s debut album “Believe” included  eleven tracks of the highest quality, on which he collaborated with acclaimed producers and vocalists such as Mr. Sam, Julie Thompson, Leah, Alanah, Donna & Anthony, Esmaye, Solarstone and Dutch singer/songwriter I-Fan, who already presented his amazing vocal skills on Funkerman’s global hit release “Speed Up”. Every individual track on “Believe” showcases the versatility of Andy Duguid musical vision, divided over a 70-minute continuous soundtrack of subtle progressive, seductive trance, fierce electro and pounding house. “Believe” strongly underlines the big talent Andy Duguid is, definitely making him one of the most promising exponents of future music.

If his fast paced organic development wasn’t enough, Tiesto named Andy as his “producer of the year” in DJ Mag, a superb accolade for this young rising star. Andy was the producer of  Julie Thompson’s debut artist album for Black Hole, which included the collaboration with Tiesto, along with numerous exciting projects for games companies, including his remix of Alone in the Dark “Inferno” for Atari Games and recent remixes for Global Underground, Positiva, Anjuna, Vandit, Enhanced, Armada, Motion and Black Hole.

Alongside his productions, his DJing is taking him to every corner of the world; from his supporting role beside Tiesto during the In Search of Sunrise Tour and then onwards to the Ukraine, Miami, Amsterdam, Czech Republic, Egypt, Slovakia, UK, Scandinavia, Korea and Indonesia and dates in South America for Dance 4 Life.

After Dark Sessions, his weekly show is going from strength to strength and is now syndicated to numerous  stations across three continents with a listenership of over 250,000 people globally. His radio show is available as free podcast from itunes: Download it right here

   This year Andy launched his own record label called After Dark Music with great success and support from wide variety of djs from various styles. The success of his radio show/podcast and his record label, which is getting great recognition and popularity worldwide, are the main reasons that I requested this interview. There are some very nice answers to interesting questions which I hope that are the matters that you would like to ask Andy about.   

Interview is written and conducted by Dimitri Kechagias(Music Journalist/Radio/Club dj)

Dimitri: First of all I would like to make a general question about the EDM style that seems to be more prominent at the moment. Do you believe that trance is still alive, fresh and creative genre or do you feel that house and especially progressive house dominates at the moment from club floors to download portals?

Andy Duguid: I always find this difficult to answer and here is my reasoning. Its a fact that House/Progressive/Tech is dominating the download portals and these DJ's are playing every weekend globally. But on the other side of the coin, Trance events sell out arenas and stadiums so I believe Trance is alive and fresh yes, But I do believe it has been in a bit of a lull which Im happy to say, I think we are now coming out of. It also might just mean that trance fans illegally download more than house fans! :)

Dimitri: You released last year  the wonderful compilation “Miracle Moments”. Is it possible to tell us if you feel satisfied with the success of this project and what kind of feedback did you get for it from your fans? Any plans to come back with a second volume in the near future?

Andy Duguid: To be honest I am rarely satisfied with any of my work. I feel that If I become satisfied thats when I will stop progressing. I felt Miracle Moments was a risk. Fans were probably expecting a 2-Disc album with progressive and uplifting trance. But I wanted to take my fans on a 2 hour journey from the depths of minimal/tech to uplifting. I felt like I achieved this but as I say, I think it was a risk as Im known as a trance artist. We believe the risk paid off with hardly any negative feedback! Which made me very happy as I felt the fans understood the album and mixing.

Dimitri: You announced and the first release is just out of your new personal label “After Dark Music”. It would be great to let us know why you decide to start your own label particularly in an era that the market is saturated from dance record labels?

Andy Duguid: Yes, I launched After Dark Music is May with my first single coming from myself entitled "Symphony". I decided to start After Dark Music to primarily control my own single releases. You could say Im a bit of a control freak. As soon as the label was announced, I received a lot of demo's from artists around the globe, Literally hundreds. There was a few of those artists that stood out so the angle of the record label changed and now Im happy to say we have released some amazing music from some amazing artists. I agree the scene is over populated with record labels. But at the end of the day, Fans are only interested in the music they download.

Dimitri: Why did you named the label “After Dark Music” and is there a special motto or mission statement behind it?

Andy Duguid: There is no amazing story behind choosing the name "After Dark" other than continuity. The branding is very important. So, we link the A + D of Andy Duguid to After Dark. My radio show is After Dark Sessions. So all of a sudden we have a link which in the future will be very important for branding.

Dimitri: Do you accept demos from other producers to release their music and if yes what kind of tracks are you looking for and you will be happy to release under the After Dark Music label?

Andy Duguid: Yes, we are always on the hunt for the next big thing. Artists can send the demo's to demos@after-dark-music.com

Dimitri: Is it possible to tell us from where did you get the inspiration to combine classical music with progressive house/trance sounds for your “Symphony” track that is 1st release on After Dark Music?

Andy Duguid: I have a passion for orchestral music. I am constantly listening to film scores which always rubs off on my productions and probably always will. I have the same passion for dance music so it's feels natural for me to combine both. I feel the euphoria that trance delivers mixed with the emotion and power of a live string section is the ultimate EDM track.

Dimitri: Can you reveal to us the forthcoming releases on After Dark Music and give us a short comment about each release and if possible to add the provisional release date for them.

Andy Duguid: Im happy to say we are gearing up for the 7th + 8th release on After Dark and they come from Zachary Zamarripa and Ruby & Tony. The track from Zach is called "Ramicackle" and I would describe Zach as the Swedish house producer on ADM. Ruby & Tony deliver us a BIG uplifting trancer in the form of "Forever" and it has a banging remix from Aimoon. You can check out sneak peaks of both releases exclusively on our Youtube channel. http://www.youtube.com/user/ADMusicofficial

Dimitri: As a producer I’m sure that you should update your studio very often. Is it possible to let us know if you have lately any updates on software or hardware?

Andy Duguid: I have literally just updated my studio and Im waiting for the new gear to arrive. Last month my old studio PC died on me after serving me very well for the past 4 years. So, I decided to change everything over to MAC, which is a big expense as it meant all new software as well. I spent weeks setting up the new studio but starting having problems working on the MAC. To cut a long story short, My MAC hard drive died so thats been 2 studio computers in the past month. So, I just ordered a brand new music PC and also treated myself to a new set of monitors. Im sure you want to know which ones? KRK VXT 8s.

Dimitri: There are many young producers out there who read the interviews and search for some useful tips. Is it possible to provide some advice on what they should be more careful when they produce a track?

Andy Duguid: The advice that I always give is try to be objective about your productions. I often get sent really bad produced tracks and when I give my reasons for not signing them the artists often get defensive and some quite abusive. Needless to say they could send me a masterpiece next year but I wouldn't go near them! If your a new producer, spend time on your track and live with it for a while. Send to artists like me or other artists are will to give it a listen and offer your some feedback before sending to labels. If you send one bad track to a label, chances are they will ignore your next email.

Dimitri:  It would be great to explain the way that you produce a track. Do you start always from the start of it or you work first in the break and then with the rest of the parts?

Andy Duguid: I always start with the basis of any dance track and that is the kick and bass. Its important to get both sounding phat with nice compression and EQ. I build from there, adding percs and riffs but always mix each channel one at a time so you can hear clearly every sound and you understand whats going on. Once I have enough parts to roll out a rough arrangement I do. Then from there its a lot easier to build up other layers to complete the composing. Once everything is in place, go through it all again with a fine tooth comb and do the final mix.

Dimitri: Many fans are asking when are you going to come back with your second album on Black Hole recordings. Are you currently working on it and if yes what kind of tracks we should expect to get in it?

Andy Duguid: Im currently in the midst of my second artist album but due to a run of bad luck with my studio its pushed the release back. But I can say by the end of 2011 you will see a brand new album with some amazing collaborations and I believe my best productions to date. Im so excited to get this out there!!!

Dimitri: Are you going to celebrate the launch of the label with some kind of tour and are there any dates confirmed that your fans can enjoy your dj sets this summer?

Andy Duguid: My agent is already putting together the tour dates for the album and we also have a couple of dates to launch an "After Dark" club night but I can't announce just yet as we are still in the planning stage but I can say Eastern Europe, USA, Canada are all in the mix.

Dimitri: One of my favorite questions to all the djs is that one about self-reflection and self-criticism. Out of 10 with what score do you rate the various elements of your dj performances and why?

Andy Duguid:

 a) your mixing skills: 7/10
I think my mixing skills are good, they have to be in my profession. But compared to these DJ's you enter mix and scratch competitions I wouldn't say I compare. It's a different ball game all together and Im sure fans don't want to see me scratch for a 3 hour set. But to me, what these guys do is amazing!

b) your ability to choose the right track for the right occasion: 8/10
I can read a crowd pretty quickly but sometimes that will still not be enough. Every DJ is never fully in control of the crowd as we can't control circumstance out of what we do. We arrive at every show hoping the crowd is up for it. If they are, then my ability to then manipulate the night with my track selection, I believe is always good. But I will leave a 2 in there for improvement.

c) your friendly attitude towards the fans that are coming to shake your hand when you perform and after that? 10/10
I love my fans. They inspire some what. I see them in front of me dancing for 4 hours not once going to the toilet or getting a drink and I don't know how they do it! It's a standard answer but its true, Without them, Im nobody. So, I will always make time for my fans.

Dimitri: Are you frequent and addicted user of   the social networks like facebook, twitter and you tube? Do you respond on your fans questions and comments on them? Do you see your presence as vital on them in order to become more known and get more bookings?

Andy Duguid: It's become apart of everyday life now to use social networking, Even more so for DJ's or any type of business as it spreads the word quicker then TV. For instance I first heard about the passing of Michael Jackson and Amy Whinehouse on twitter. That's maybe a bad example to use, but it shows how quick we can get the word out which is important for promotion. So I would say its necessary for me to be addicted.

Dimitri: Lastly what is your opinion about the dj or label based radio shows and the contribution of web radio stations in the progress of the EDM scene? How  your own radio show is going and any plans to change something on  it?

Andy Duguid: I can base this answer on my own radio show, and It has 100% helped my progress. Each and every Tuesday my show airs from 7pm(uk) on www.di.fm (Club Sounds channel) and during the broadcast I am active on twitter and Facebook chatting with fans of the show. I personally do the running track listing and this helps me to stay in contact with the people who allow me to have a radio show. After Dark Sessions is growing nicely and I believe will one day be recognised as one of the best weekly EDM shows on the planet. We work hard each for every sessions aired and I believe our hard work is starting to pay off.

Dimitri: Please give us your message to the people who will read this interview

Andy Duguid : As always, Im sending out a big hug to everyone who has supported me and you are all apart of my forthcoming album and I hope you enjoy it! Scratch that, I hope you love it!! :)

Many thanks to Andy for answering this interview.

Many thanks to Lauran at After Dark Music offices for helping to organize this interview.

Many thanks to Jeroen and Mark at Black Hole offices for their fantastic support!

Join the social networks of Andy Duguid
Youtube: www.youtube.com/andyduguid
Facebook: www.facebook.com/andyduguidofficial
Twitter: www.twitter.com/andyduguid
Website: www.andyduguid.com (relaunchin soon)

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