Andy Stott never intended to make techno, and only became a producer by accident. A few years ago, Stott, who works for Mercedes in Manchester during the week, bought a second-hand PC, which had a copy of the music-making software Reason already installed.
“It’s really easy to use, so I thought I’d give it a go,” he says modestly. He quickly learnt how to use the software and his first few releases, the evocative ‘Ceramics’, and the wild, heavy acid of ‘Demon In The Attic’, were done in just a few short hours.
“Sometimes, it takes ages to make music, but the bassline and kick for ‘Ceramics’ was done in just 20 minutes and I spent a few days perfecting the arrangement,” he explains. “It was the same with ‘Demon’ – I wrote the acid bassline in a few minutes and was sitting there thinking, ‘What the hell am I going to do with this?’”
In the end, Stott sent his demos to Modern Love, a local label run by the enigmatic Shlom, where one of his friends, Claro Intelecto, was already releasing material. These first few releases, which combined the raw, primal rhythms of Chicago house and techno with the otherwordly musicality of Detroit, were hailed by DJs and critics alike. Yet Andy admits he is still developing as a producer.
“To be honest, I don’t have a huge knowledge of classic techno, but I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing because it means you keep a fresh perspective,” he proffers. “I’m still finding my feet as a producer and over the past year or so, I’ve tried to write music that's different to the earlier releases. Some of the comparisons, to artists like Basic Channel, have been very positive. It’s been a steep learning curve, and I’ve just been introduced to SND, who are sound designers from Sheffield and Gas, Wolfgang Vogt’s project, it’s proper stripped back music with submerged kick drums.”
Dubstep has also informed Stott’s more recent releases like ‘Fear Of Heights’ and ‘The Masscare’, but he quickly tired of the sound.
“I got bored with it, it’s way too formulaic – techno is the style that I feel most comfortable with,” he says.
While dubstep has taken a back-seat, there's no doubt that Stott’s newer work has slowed down and has more focus on the all-consuming, immersive bassline. This approach dovetails neatly with other Modern Love releases: Claro Intelecto’s recent EPs have been characterised by a downward shift in tempo and the label has also put out the textured, layered soundscapes of US producer Deepchord’s Coldest Season series.
So does Modern Love have a gameplan to mellow out and gradually wind down with each new release?
“We all listen to what the others are putting out, but we definitely haven’t sat down and decided that we'll go in this direction,” Andy insists. “Claro is a mate, but Deepchord is based in the States and I wouldn’t have much contact with him: I don’t think he's even played a gig in Europe yet, but that’s about to change. I’ve just given Shlom a bunch of new tracks and his reaction was, ‘Jesus, that’s some next-level shit.’”
Andy says that gigging as well as listening to new music have had a big effect on his work, and the past 12 months have seen him perform at some of Europe’s most prestigious events.
“Sonar was a laugh; I was very nervous because we were on at the same time as Junior Boys, but our tent remained full,” he recalls. “I also gigged at the Panorama Bar in Berlin for the second time, and although I played a lot of the new material, the crowd didn’t seem to warm to it as much as the first time. Playing live is a great way to test new material, and it made me realise that I need to write a track that’s as angry as ‘Demon In The Attic’ again!”