Andrew Thomson: The Ransom Note Mix

 
Music

Over the last ten years Huntleys & Palmers has developed a level of consistency which is difficult to contest. The record label, run by Andrew Thomson, has been responsible for excursions by some of the most influential forces in dance and electronic music in the present. Helena Hauff, Sophie, Hi & Saberhagen and Mehmet Aslan all owe a due of gratitude in some capacity to Andrew as a tastemaker and a believer. The label has acted as an incubator for up and coming talent and has remained a powerful foce amidst the community. 

As a disc jockey Andrew has been lucky to ride prominently upon the coat-tails of the label and is widely travelled. Appearances across Europe and beyond have allowed him to develop an innovative presence behind the wheels of steel with each mix forming a deeply singular path from which came before. A dj's, dj if you will. 

Listen and read the interview below: 


Who are you, where are you and what are you?

Hello, I'm Andrew Thomson from Huntleys + Palmers. I'm a human and I'm currently on an extremely rare visit to West London for dinner at a pals.

What does your music sound like? Can you draw what you think it sounds like for us (an image from the old internet is acceptable)? 

I usually have difficulty answering this frequently asked question and its variants. Probably because it sounds 'musical' and answering the question with the same description is pretty awkward and can be hard to explain.


 
Where was the mix recorded?

Rinse were kind enough to let me use their studio.

What would be the ideal setting to listen to the mix?

Friday night on the way home from work to get ready for a big night out up the dancing

What should we be wearing?

Jeans and sheux

What would be your dream setting to record a mix: Location/system/format?

A nice beach somewhere with the sun settling ( then rising). Not too fussy about the technical stuff, although beginning to enjoy playing on rotary mixers more and more.

Which track in the mix is your current favourite?

Honestly, there's so many on here, I've crammed as many as I could in.

I've actually spent a bit more time on this mix than usual. Being the start of the year, I had an idea to do a label type preview, but also had a bunch of other records I've discovered recently that I'm also really excited about and I was getting caught up with trying to fit them all in rather than thinking about the flow, so I cut one of the big tracks (next Highlife) and the rest slotted into each much better. 

I've probably been looking forward to playing the DJ Oil track out the longest.

What’s your favourite recorded mix of all time?

Far too difficult to narrow down to one, so here's a few which have had a big influence on me over the years.

Michael Mayer & Swayzak – Fabric mixes
Tiga DJ kicks 
Optimo – Live at West Runton Pavillion 
Ivan Smagghe – Death Disco
James Holden at the Loft, Lausanne 2006
Daniele Baldelli – Cosmic Tapes
Dave Clarke electro set at Fuse 2004 
Veronica Vasicka – Minimal Wave promo mix 2009
John Talabot – XLR8R
Caribou – Allez Allez 
Lena Willikens – Versatile Podcast

If you could go back to back with any DJ from throughout history, who would it be and why?

Probably Ron Hardy to experience how wild he was. I wonder what he'd get up to on CDJ's.. I quite enjoy footering about with the reverse play thing, so maybe we could go backwards to backwards, or a wrong speed-off with Baldelli at Cosmic..

What was your first DJ set up at home and what is it now?

I've never really had a permanent set up. From the time I started doing parties, my finances have been steadily going in the wrong direction. I've always learned on the fly at clubs. 

What’s more important, the track you start on or the track you end on?

Depends on the setting. I've always been fascinated by this though and love watching the change over and how one DJ will end and another start. My own experience usually involves playing towards an end point in sight.

What were the first and last records you bought?

First would be something sketchy on Positiva. The last was a Terry Crawford LP that I found really cheaply in a Brazilian shop. The shipping was maybe 5x the record itself.

If it was an animal what would it be?

Albatross

If this mix was an edible thing, what would it taste like?

Delicious!

Upcoming in the world of Huntleys + Palmers..

Having stopped promoting last month, there's a few new ideas I'm looking forward to spending some time on. 

Beyond that, the year is shaping up to include some really exciting releases and some nice gigs. This weekend I'm playing at Subculture in Glasgow, a night I used to hand out flyers for back in the day, so heavy excited about that. 

Anything else we need to discuss?

Nope. Hope the RN readers have a great year ahead.


Follow Huntleys & Palmers on Facebook HERE. Catch Andrew here: 

January 
13th Salon des Amateurs, Dusseldorf
20th Kraftfeld, Winterthur
25th Brilliant Corners, London
27th Sub Club, Glasgow

February 
2nd Rye Wax, London
16th Laut, Barcelona
24th Pickle Factory, Lond

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