NOV. 4, 2013
Our correspondent, Brian Lockhart digs deep to reveal what makes Andy Duguid a man on the cutting edge. The Scotsman known for pushing limits & taking risks holds nothing back, as he talks about his recently released album On the Edge and what’s wrong with EDM today.
What piece of instrument do you find the most crucial for your tracks?
A midi keyboard. I couldn’t function If I couldn’t play. Keys over Buttons any day.
In selecting a female vocalist, what do you look for?
Firstly I narrow down a select few who I believe could do a good job on the demo I have. It all depends on the music really. But I love a sweet angelic voice with a nice high range in the vocalists I work with.
There was a 5 year gap in between ‘Believe’ and ‘On The Edge’. Was there a particular reason for that? Are you already working on the next one?
I know, quite a long time huh! I feel like after “Believe” I needed some time out to myself. I was coming off the back of some family tragedy and I never stopped during any of it. So, I think I was just mentally exhausted so I took a while off from producing. It took a little while longer to get back into it then expected tho 🙂 That being said, I am already working on album number 3 so you won’t have to wait as long for the next one.
Where do you see yourself in a year, two years, five years?
I hope I am known as a live show performer rather than a DJ. I think my music lends itself more to the live concert than a DJ set. This is something we are putting in place now and hopefully by the next album this will be my outlet for it.
Going forward, what producer would you like to work with?
I would love to work with Jean Michel Jarre. To me, he is the pioneer of what we all do today in the EDM scene. That would be a dream come true for me.
One of my favorite tracks on ‘On The Edge’ was ‘Hurt’ feat. Seri. What was your motivation behind this track?
My motivation was the vocal itself. The demo was completely different. The only part taken across was the strong piano. Once the vocal was recorded I just heard a completely different chord structure behind it. So, thanks to Seri, she was happy for me to rework it.
What about Jean Michel Jarre’s style of producing drew you to follow in his footsteps?
If I’m honest I don’t think it’s just his producing alone. I feel the whole package was great. To this day he still has some of the amazing live shows ever witnessed.
What producer today do you draw the most inspiration from?
I think Armin is a huge inspiration for everyone. It’s not easy being on top for the amount of years he has. He still comes up with fresh music and to top it all, he is still one of the most down to earth DJ’s you are likely to meet.
How do you feel about the current state of the music industry?
I think it’s pretty crap to be honest. Kids are learning fast these days. I know countless amounts of young guys who have started there own record label just to put stuff out there. Most of this music is pure shit and then they sign more shit. Meaning on a weekly basis on beatport alone, you have to troll through endless amounts of bad music to find the good ones. This is making DJ’s like me search for only the producers I like because I just don’t have the time. But with this comes lots of good music being missed. I miss the good old days of CD singles tho so maybe I’m just a bitter old man now. 🙂
Anything you’d like to add?
Firstly thank you to “We Own the Nite NYC” for having me! And thanks to all the people who have gone out and bought my new album. I hope it’s what you hoped for and like mentioned previously, you won’t have to wait as long for the next one.
By Brian Lockhart
Andy Duguid – On The Edge is out now on Magik Muzik/Black Hole Recordings purchase here
