 |  |  |  |  |
LISTEN TO MIX: download listen
ANDREW ALLSGOOD INTERVIEW
Hey Andrew, thanks for the mix and answering some questions. How's life in Toronto, are
there any good spots to go for dancing/music and do you dj anywhere?
Glad I could provide a mix for you! There are some really great mixes up on CITP by some
producers and DJ's I really respect so the pleasure is all mine.
Life here in the T-dot is all good after a long and very snowy winter. Lots of cool parties
happening around town and I'm seeing some heads that I usually only see in the summer
getting out with their dancing shoes on. Toronto's got a great music community with the best
parties being in smaller venues that are off the beaten path. Some recent shin-digs I've
peeped are the Seventh Heaven parties with guests like Maurice Fulton & Brennan Green as
well as local duo Gang Of Two who throw their Bang The Party monthly that is guaranteed a
great throw-down with great music that steers clear of any overt trendiness.
I've been Djing on a weekly basis for the last 8 years at a few residencies I've had. First being
Glide, a Wednesday evening that lasted 6 years, of which I was involved for 3.5 years. My
partner in crime Denise Benson and I played super eclectic, open format style with emphasis
on down tempo beats, dub, new jazzy-broken beats, funk, soul and lefty electronic music. It
was a good run that saw guests like Andrea Parker, Roni Size, Akufen, Purple Penguin, Mike
Shannon, Nicodemus, Manitoba (now Caribou), Twilight Circus, Mark Rae and plenty of local
guests throwing down in a great intimate setting. Denise and I moved to a new spot for our
Friday night party called Synchro in '03 and I rocked that club every Friday until last June when it
was time to re-direct my energy and time towards my family and music production. I still do a
monthly party, Fascination, with my long time friend and Toronto Dj vet, Mike Tull. Fascination
has been going since '04 and originally was a party focusing on the newer electro sounds that
rose from the ashes of "electroclash". Lately, though, we've been going back to the open
format style throwing in whatever we want to rock the crowd with from disco to b-more to hip
hop to funk to rock........whatever it takes to keep the dancers on their toes and the party going!
You work for a music distributor, is that right? What's that like and do you guys suffer from
similar market situations seen in the US? We had quite a few distributors like Syntax and
Watts close their doors the last couple of years.
Yes, I work for one of Canada's independent music importer/distributors. It is a good gig that
I've been involved with in a sales and marketing capacity since '99. It's seen it's ups and
downs for sure but I don't think as an indy who caters to a real niche market that we are
singing the woes that most of the majors in North America are seeing. There is still a market
for people who want to buy real music made by real musicians and that's who we cater to. Its
always been a struggle but it's been interesting being the underdog and seeing the rise of
digital sales, music blogs, file sharing and the "crisis" this evolution has caused. I'm watching
with a keen eye and always looking for new ways to stay viable in an ever changing music
world. We've actually really scaled back on our 12" vinyl importing and are really placing our
focus on CD and LP sales. It's pretty scary to see companies like Syntax and Watts go down
but with the advent of technology you have to adapt to stay alive. I love the vinyl format but I think
labels that continue with the 12" format need serious forethought and tight p&d in order to stay
afloat or even begin to be profitable.
What's your connection with Truffle Music, the record label that released your records?
I've known Steve Yanko (Truffle head honcho) for years He's been one of Toronto's late night,
warehouse party hero's for a long time and we've DJ'ed and partied together over the years on
numerous occasions. I started doing some production a couple years back and played him
my Disco Pigs track and he wanted it for the label immediately. I like the direction the label is
taking. It's really sticking to it's guns and not following any obvious trends.
Canada has got quite a rich disco history, I'm thing of Gino Soccio and countless other
fantastic sleazy space disco records I've heard. Did the country have the same disco
backlash as in the US? Hopefully you guys are the new school!
Yeah, I think that the majority of the Disco produced by Canadians was done in Montreal.
Quebec, being a francaphone province, is a particular, distinct society that really is a musical
anomaly. From what I know Montreal had a HUGE disco scene in the late 70's and 80's. There
were loads of labels turning out the most cutting edge grooves that were played the world over,
but other than some "disco fever" that caught on before the backlash that came to a head at
the baseball field in Chicago, I don't think it was big anywhere in Canada but Montreal. So, no.
No backlash, really.
Can we look forward to any more releases from you soon?
I've got a bunch of original material on the go and I'm always tinkering with re-editing tracks.
I've been speaking with a couple of labels but I'm not really rushing anything as I really like to
take my time with my music and let it come about organically. I am really striving for a good
balance between family, work and music these days.
What stuff is influencing the kind of music you are making at the moment?
Music wise it really runs the gammut. I've been listening to lots of blues and classic rock lately
so I've been editing stuff in that vein.....going for a real sleazy sound but I listen to country,
classical, indy rock, folky stuff, psych rock, jazz......
I have an art background (graffiti, art school) so I've aways been driven by a need to express
myself creatively. I've been writing lyrics down lately but I'm not sure if that is something that wil
ever see the light of day or if it is more a cathartic exercise.
What's your top 5 records at the moment?
Oh shit.....the "top 5" question. Hmmmmmm.....these always get me stumped.
I'll give'r a go:
Muddy Waters - Electric Mud
Prince Jammy - Destroys the Invaders
Marc Romboy - Iceland
Wild Rumpus - Purple Somersault
Caroline Crawford - Comin' On Slow (Floorman dub edit)
Do you want to give a shout out to anyone?
To everyone out there who likes good music!
How can people contact you for bookings?
Hit me on my Myspace
www.myspace.com/allsgoodinc
word!
