As every Monday, we once again have a new interview for you today! This time we managed to get hold of Andy’s iLL, a name that has been featured on the blog and Metalectro MixTapes a few times with his tracks. So, let’s see what he had to say about pretty much everything…
01. Hi Andy! Would you mind introducing yourself?
Hey I’m Andy Sills aka Andy’s iLL! I’m 27 yrs old and I’m from London, Ontario, Canada and I like taking walks.
02. So how long are you doing Andy’s iLL?
I started spinning about 3 yrs ago and quickly got into producing with Reason soon after. So under the name “Andy’s iLL” it’s been about 2 and a half years. I never liked the name Andy’s iLL but it kind of just stuck with me so I didn’t change it. Maybe I’ll just start a side project or something. haha
03. You started working on your first EP recently. How is this going?
Yeah! It’s due out around May 2011 and I just have a video that should be starting soon that should be out around the same time. I have 1 song completely finished and 3 are in the works, as well as a new original dubstep track, but mostly electro.
La Musique D’ordinateur & Blaster have confirmed remixes and I’m still scoping out some other ones. It’s been going just swimmingly.
04. You grabbed our attention with your “Death Electro” track. Was this the first Metalectro track you ever did? How did you come up with the idea?
Oh sweet! Thanks a lot. Well yeah, I’ve always tried to make heavy electro and I’ve always found my originals to be not heavy enough. When I got together with OVERWERK, he showed me a ton about producing and making songs hit harder.
When he asked me to do a collab I was fully on board. What I really liked about that song was that it really sounds like it’s me and him going back and forth during the song. It was quite an inspiring experience and now I love doing collabs!
05. What would you say is your biggest music achievement/highlight so far?
Oh, the Sun remix by Caribou has been that for sure. I first saw Caribou live last summer and fell in love with the song and the band. When I listened to that song I just knew I really needed to do something more with it, make it bigger, harder. So I asked my friend for the stems and he got back to me really quickly because of the remix competition that recently ended. So, also I think that’s another reason why I think it came out so beautiful, it was based completely on inspiration.
06. You refix of Caribou’s “Sun” got some great comments. Did you send it to Mr Snaith and (if yes) what was his reaction?
I didn’t send it to anybody except Anthony from Daftwho? And it seemed to just explode, I don’t know if Mr. Snaith liked it or not. lol
07. What are your influences/music backgrounds? Have you ever played in a metal band?
Well, I started playing guitar when I was 11 and Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” was my inspiration to start playing. I’ve always been into metal and played in bands but I’ve never been so passionate about something as I’ve been with electro. It just seems to flow.
08. Do you prefer working only with computers/sequencers or do you get your hands dirty playing and recording instruments? Do you use samples and what’s your opinion on sampling and copyright?
Well, when I make songs I find that if you don’t have an analog perspective it kind of loses something. So I always like to put a voice or a guitar sample in my work to connect with the listener. I don’t really have an opinion on copyrighting though. I haven’t made much money off of my music. I think right now it’s all really about hype. Getting people excited about what I do. So hopefully I can get to that point so I can do this fulltime haha.
09. Do you use analogue equipment or do you prefer keeping everything “in the box”?
I use everything on my computer. I have some bad mics but everything suits me fine. My midi equipment is the novation mkII zero and and evolution 61c.
10. So, what is music for you and what do you think about the way the music industry is changing? What do you think about popular/chart music?
Music to me, is all about passion and energy. My shows are full of rage-y goodness, I love when I see the prettiest girl walk in to the club and she looks like she only has one thing on her mind, but by the end of my show she’s just a sweaty gross pile of mush. Haha! To me, it means that she was influenced by my sound, which I adore. I love connecting with people with my sounds. So yeah, I think it can be anything popular or not, but when you see a person that is just so passionate about a band, it’s quite amazing.
11. Are you signed with any record label? Any future plans? (live shows, release, remix etc)
Fashionably Laid, in London Ontario. With my friends Conway, MDMK & The Girls Can Hear Us. Also, Dom from the blog “Dasrohmaterial” is starting up a label which I’m really excited to be a part of. I believe it’s going to be called Dreieck Records.
12. What are you listening to lately? Any tracks/artists you recommend?
I’ve just been listening to a lot of Haezer and VNNR lately and of course, Drivepilot. I also heard Aaren Reale and his productions are wonderful too. I’m trying to give something you haven’t heard but I am inspired by what you’re inspired by. Haha. F.O.O.L. and Your ol’ Lady are amazing too.
13. You recently mentioned on your facebook fan page that you “hate buying dj equipment…” Do you want to share the reasons?
Hahaha yeah!!! I really want to spend my money on production, not playing tunes. I had Torq and it was fine except that the preamp cuts out when it’s near a large power source like a power bar, haha. So I’ve recently been looking at Serato and it costs a lot of money just to play music.
14. “I wish I could quit work and make music 24-7…” So what do you do when you are not working on music?
I do graphic design for some bars in Eastern Canada and some print shops here in town. I really like it, but again, I’ve never had so much passion as I do for electronic music.
15. What do you think about the Metalectro blog and the music featured on it?
Dude, I love your blog, I would love to send you some previews when they start coming up! I have two dubstep tracks coming up, I think one is going to be a remix of Sigur Rós and the other is going to be a remix of an Unearth track. I also did a remix of Your ol’ Lady’s “Nightmare” and that should be coming out soon, I think we’re just waiting on Monophonique.
16. Something you’d like to mention and we forgot to ask?
Nothing really, I love how much hype my tracks have received and I hope that it continues to get bigger, and with that growth it seems like my tracks are sounding better and better. I appreciate the internet and what it can do, and I really appreciate you doing this and if you ever want to do it again, I’m fully down!
Thank you!