Submitted By: ysp

Genre: Electronic

Date of Set: Mar 23rd, 2007

Filesize: 40.78 MB

Total Downloads: 29

'Before I write a song I've always got a complete vision of what I want' surmises Andrea Parker when quizzed on her musical philosophy. 'And I am not going to stop until I get it.' Which explains a lot. Why, for instance, her debut album 'Kiss My Arp' was almost four years in the making. And, indeed, why it's likely to long outlive most of its competition. Trying to pin down Andrea's music however, is not so easy. 'Whenever I release a record it seems to get reviewed in a different section to the last' she laughs. 'But I've always tried to keep a common flavour with it. People might think my music sounds dark - I've had people come up and call me DJ Satan when I'm DJing - but I think I'm more concerned with getting a certain depth to it. This is definitely a deep album rather than a dark one.'

Certainly, Andrea's musical past is a wildly varied one. Her early explorations with Inky Blacknuss and Two Sandwiches Short of a Lunchbox (a collaboration with David Morley) were at the cutting edge of experimental leftfield electronica. Even then, she was also showcasing her vocal skills, guesting on releases like Koh Toa's jawdroppingly serene 'Sundown' single (Infonet). Once safely snapped up by Mo'Wax, the plot thickened even further. First came the juicy electro workout 'Melodius Thunk', which found its way into eminent record boxes on both sides of the Atlantic. Then there was 'The Rocking Chair', an emotionally charged, tear-stained ballad spectacularly orchestrated by Wil Malone. It crossed over, winning her a new legion of fans unaware of her techno background. So, just for good measure, she followed it with the crunchy hooligan beats of 'Ballbreaker'. Confused? You won't be when you hear 'Kiss My Arp'.

This is where Andrea paints the bigger picture, drawing on her experience as an experimental DJ at clubs like Lost and the legendary, defunct Megatripolis, her love of hard dancefloor techno and her ear for a classic song, in equal amounts. Which might well be down to growing up in Yalding, Kent, initially divorced by geography from the club scene. 'I spent a lot of time listening to ethereal stuff like This Mortal Coil and Cowboy Junkies when I was smaller,' she remember 'It wasn't until my big sister passed her driving test and we'd drive up to hip hop jams in London, that I really discovered the funk.'

'Kiss My Arp' was meticulously stitched together at longtime studio compatriot David Morley's studio, a world away from Andrea's London home, deep in the Bavarian countryside. 'That was definitely good for me being there,' she says. 'I like to concentrate on one thing at a time, and there's absolutely nothing to do in Bavaria apart from work all day!'

Following the release of 'Kiss My Arp', there were tours of Germany and America which led to Andrea opening for Radiohead on the West Coast leg of their US tour this year. An EP 'The Dark Ages' released on Quatermass in 2001 preceded a decision to set up her own label Touchin' Bass, which will released it's first 12' in January 2002 - a collaboration between her and DJ Assault and DJ Godfather called 'Freaky Bitches'.

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