I’m a big fan of Andy Stott. His style has changed over the years but it’s always really interesting and pushing a new sound. My favourites include ‘we stay together’ (heavy, dense and suffocating techno), ‘luxury problems’ (sublime vocals) and ‘too many voices’ (surprisingly melodic).
I’ve never seen him live but footage of his gigs sounds fantastic.
Some Andy Stott linked below:
One thing I’ve never figured out is how he gets those drums to sounds so heavy and sludgy (like in Andy Stott - Posers). It’s like the kick and any percussion are pitched down, but whenever I try something similar my kicks lose all their punch and definition.
Loved the first few* back in 2010/11-ish- passed me by/we stay together sounded unlike anything that I was hearing at that time, and then a bit later luxury problems freshened things up a bit and brought a few extra colours to the palette by adding some vocals. But I kind of think from then on it felt like stretching the same ideas out really thin, again and again- the same production tricks, the same vocals, all samey-same with diminishing returns. That said there’s a few bits on too many voices where he’s trying out some new styles and they really work, but as far as I recall he never continued down any of those paths. I remember being fairly excited about never the right time but on listening feeling like it’s just more of the same.
*I dont really count his pre 2010 stuff, which is pretty pedestrian and sounds like it was made by someone else entirely. didn’t he have some association with claro intelecto around that period?
Passed Me By/We Stay Together really are great, he obvs found his sound around this time. Like you say, the earlier electro sound wasn’t quite as compelling as knackered house.
I discovered him around Luxury Problems, and he went on to consistently release a bunch of records exploring that style in different variations, all of high quality. I really rate It Should Be Us which was more of a return to the heavier dancefloor styles of earlier. His most recent album was very pretty and felt like an old 4AD record but I hope he doesn’t continue too far down that path cause I miss the dirtier, heavier side of his stuff. Def feels like his is tapping into the same psychic energy as Burial.
Also, not to derail the thread, but for anyone who doesnt know Modern Love has lots of other artists doing similar things to Stott that are worth a listen.
We Stay Together made a huge splash where I lived when it came out, I caught him live not long after and it was amazing. In studio vids from around that time he’s using an Octatrack but I’ve found the Rytm gets you into that dirty sound world much more easily.
Glad to see some Andy Stott love over here. I know he’s well rated, but IMO he is seriously underrated and one of the best producers of our time. Unique, genre-defining music and it’s unmistakably him. Luxury Problems, Versi, Dismantle, Faith in Strangers, Violence, Up the Box, New Romantic, First Night, Collapse, the list goes on. 10/10
For quite some time I was obsessed with everything Modern Love put out. Demdike Stare, Andy Stott and almost everything else. This thread is a good reminder to go back to Andy Stott. I also like the collab Millie & Andrea.
“Faith in Strangers” is his only album that clicked for me after I put a lot of effort into liking it. For some reason, everything else never worked for me. Maybe it’s time to try again!
This new one out this week by new anonymous artist ‘No Icons’ on Modern Love sounds like it has Andy Stott’s fingerprints on it if you ask me. Especially the synths in track 2. I reckon its a collab thing w/ Miles Whittaker and maybe some others, NZO, Gavsborg (?)
A real favourite of mine, love Andy Stott’s work.
Anyone know of interviews or videos of him talking gear or production process? Associate him with the Octatrack for reasons I can’t remember but would be interested to learn about his process.
Andy actually threw his Octatrack out the window. As in actually opening the window and throwing it down on the street. He later bought a new one though.
