5 Magazine Interview with Andy Caldwell

Always restless, always innovative, Andy Caldwell (website, label, facebook, myspace, twitter, discogs) is on the verge of reinventing himself again. His latest album, Obsession, debuts in October and represents yet another shift in a zig-zag evolution that's passed through Deep House, the funky West Coast House sound and now into something wholly different.

"My sound has been changing over the last few years," he says. "I got more into the electronic sound with the European House scene and wanted to express that in an album. I was really feeling stagnant creatively and broke out of the soulful House shackles about a year ago."

Many are characterizing the sound as some cocktail of progressive and electro, but what's undeniable is that behind the gloss is a core of polished hooks and songs that qualify Caldwell as one of the best songwriters in dance music today.

Andy first came to prominence as a member of Soulstice, the live House band with a sound at least a decade ahead of its time. By chance, I'd just recently picked up Soulstice's Mixed Illusions album again for the first time in years. The voice of Gina Rene is unmistakable and I was surprised to hear it again on "Fear My Pride" - easily my favorite track on Obsession. Which was our point of departure...

Soulstice in my opinion was way ahead of its time, and seemed to be on the verge of really breaking through just before the demise. I'm glad to hear you back at least for one track with Gina Rene! Do you ever think about reforming the group?

We had a lot of momentum going, and in some ways I really do miss that creative energy, but ten years later, I think everyone's in a different place. We still work together, though. Gina did a few tracks on my last album, Universal Truth, as well. The song on Obsession with her vocal, "Fear My Pride", was also co-produced with Gabriel Rene [of Soulstice].

You're featuring a few vocalists on here, as well as singing yourself. Can you tell me about some of them?

Well the first single is "It's Guud" featuring Mr. V. We met in Miami - he was MCing at Opium, I think, and we just got to talking about working together one day. "It's Guud" came out of that. I sent the music to him and he completely worked out the vocal in New York and sent it right back, and it just worked right away. We're releasing Part 2 of the remixes in October, which includes the instrumental and a remix from Andy Callister.

I performed lead vocals for several of the songs, which is a big difference from Universal Truth or in the past when I was acting primarily as a producer, musician, songwriter and so on.

"Black Diamond Sky" has vocals by Storm Lee, "What Do You Feel" features Femke and Alexander Sky is the vocalist on two tracks, "Don't Go Home Tonight" and "Time After Time".

He sounds almost like Robert Smith of The Cure on "Don't Go Home Tonight"; the second is just straight-up soulful. And when I first heard his stuff with the Groove Junkies and your track "I Believe in Dreams" with his voice, I actually thought he was a girl!

Yeah, Alexander's amazing in that sense. He can emulate just about any style that a producer could want. If you hear him sing on record and he sounds a certain way, it's probably because that's how they wanted him to sound!

Universal Truth was released on OM. What label is Obsession coming out on?

It's coming out on Uno Recordings, my label which I recently re-launched. I signed a distribution deal with Tommy Boy. Distribution can be really time consuming these days with both physical CDs and distribution to all of the online shops that have popped up, so it's good to have someone to help take care of that.

I noticed you're giving away a free copy of the first single, "It's Guud" featuring Mr. V.

Yeah, and in some ways I've been giving away so much music these days that I'm surprised anyone buys anything anymore! [laughs] But I noticed something on the road, and that's that the more music I give away [on andycaldwell.com], the better the turnout when I play. I've definitely seen the correlation between the two.

I think things are wide open with the way the industry is today. There are so many opportunities now that weren't there years ago. I'm still testing what works and what doesn't but I haven't been unhappy. The only thing that really gets to me is that some people don't even wait until a song comes out to share it. I know other people have said this before, but it's true: if nobody pays for this, nobody will make it.

I mean, it's funny to think of now but when I first got into music, I didn't even care if I sold a single record. Then you get into the songwriting and all the work you put into it and then your income is based on selling records. It's hard not to take that personally sometimes. But generally I try to keep a good attitude towards it.

Obsession is out now and available everywhere; watch for part 2 of the "It's Guud" remixes, followed by remixes of "Black Diamond Sky" and "Scream". For more info, check out andycaldwell.com and unorecordings.com.

Original Press Article: 5 Magazine Interview with Andy Caldwell

Promolift.com Interview with Andy Caldwell

Andy Caldwell is a man who wears many hats - producer, remixer, singer, songwriter, DJ and label owner to name just a few!  Jenn at LIFT just serviced the new album Obsession by mail this week. While you college radio DJ's wait to get your hands on it, check out our interview with Andy where he talks about his music background and the new album!



PRO MOTION Interviews Andy Caldwell from PRO MOTION/LIFT on Vimeo.

Original Interview on Promolift.com

OC Weekly Review - Obsession Album

Euro Tracks - His board-short days behind him, onetime smooth-house DJ Andy Caldwell toughens up his sound

There must be something in the water in European clubland these days that's turning otherwise straight-and-narrow DJs into twisted, devious party monsters. Ben Watt of the late pop act Everything but the Girl is known for his tuneful, deep-house DJing. But lately he's gone to the dark side, telling us how much he likes the new "druggy" European sound. Dubfire, one half of accessible house music duo Deep Dish, is spinning dubby, mischievous tunes for the 5 a.m. crowd in Ibiza and Berlin. Even Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, on a recent mixtape with DJ Felix da Housecat, is getting in on the Euro-madness, rapping about clubbing in Paris and his allegiance to "13-minute versions" of dance tracks.

Southern California has also lost an otherwise sane soul to the devilish sounds of Europe. Andy Caldwell was a poster boy for the smooth-house grooves that put other West Coast dance music and the likes of Miguel Migs, Kaskade and Jay-J on the map. The sound, often featuring calming female vocals, while accessible and tuneful, often feels like Kenny G is being remixed for a late-dinner crowd. Kaskade got a clue, and has since tranced up his sound for a whole new audience (he recently headlined for 4,000 at a capacity Hollywood Palladium). Jay-J moved to New York and embraced a tougher, more drum-heavy sound, too.

Longtime Bay Area resident Caldwell made his own move—to L.A. But he's also been spending time in Europe, and it shows. His new album, Obsession, is nothing like his smooth-house past. There's not a sax sample or sad vocal in sight. Instead, the DJ has infused his sound with alarm wails, rap (Mr. V sounds Diddy-like on "It's Guud") and dizzy, trancey elements that are more at home in a sweaty super-club than in a cocktail lounge. "Black Diamond Sky" seems to share some DNA with a Calvin Harris track. "Put Me in the Mix" has trippy echoes and twisted elements that give way to syrupy vocals and boastful rhymes. And on "Funk Nasty," contributing vocalist Gram'ma Funk asks, "Are you nasty baby?" For Caldwell, the answer is yes.

"I was stagnating creatively," Caldwell explains. "Then I lived in Barcelona for about six months in 2004, and I toured and traveled to Europe on and off. It definitely had an influence. People there just have a more intense kind of energy. There's a lot of really great music coming out of there, and I seem to be drawn to it."

Like Migs, Caldwell is a Santa Cruz native. He ended up at Sonoma State University, where he studied communications and minored in music. About the time he graduated, he started spinning.

"I realized early on that I had a knack for putting on a set that takes people on a journey," says Caldwell, now 36. "I always go someplace with it and tell a story."

In the mid-1990s Caldwell began recording for Bay Area label Om, which was also home to releases from Migs and Kaskade. At about the same time, Naked Music, a New York deep-house label, established a beachhead in S.F., and locals Jay-J and Chris Lum built an epicenter for California house music recording, Moulton Studios. It was a scene, man. Caldwell became a headlining DJ as the West Coast house phenomenon spread across the world. From 2003 to 2006, he even attracted the sponsorship of surf-wear maker Op, which was relaunching some of its old-school looks (corduroy walking shorts, striped polos). Both Caldwell's music and his breezy, clean-cut appearance were a perfect fit, and you couldn't pick up a music or surf magazine without seeing him modeling beach duds in Op ads.

As his board-short era faded, Caldwell moved to Los Angeles and opened a new chapter. No longer would he promote the image of a laid-back DJ living the beach lifestyle. "I think I had enough of San Francisco," he says. "I kept doing the same thing over and over, and I wanted change."

Don't take his tougher sound too literally, though. One thing Caldwell misses about the Bay was its sense of community among digital music-makers. He's trying to re-create that in L.A., asking other area dance producers, such as Morgan Page, over to his studio to exchange ideas and talk music.

"We're all kind of getting together, swapping remixes and collaborating in the studio," Caldwell says. "I'm trying to recreate what I was doing in San Francisco eight years ago. I think Southern California has the best electronic music scene and fan base in America if not the world right now."

So much for Europe.

OC Weekly Origninal Article