Club Triangle is a nightclub located in the heart of downtown Osaka, Japan. Being one of the hottest clubs in Osaka, with its prime location and amazing interior design, it attracts artists and DJs of all musical genres from around the world.

What makes having Andy C and Red One such a treat is that they are two of the three people who not only started the famous Ram Records label, but through Andy C’s amazing skill, and Red One’s business wizardry this label has become respected worldwide. For those unaware, the most prevalent music style to come from Ram Records is Jungle/Drum and Bass (JDB). JDB has been around for over 15 years and has a history so deep and colorful that it could illuminate the darkest part of any ocean.

Andy C looked at the animated audience, then looked at me and said, “this is the real shit.”

The scene surrounding this music does not discriminate against race, gender, or age, and leaves everyone with the same look on their faces after every show, a sweaty smile. It is no wonder Club Triangle’s event coordinator, Mr. Toyo, chose Andy C and Red One for this special event. The real question that remains is how the Japanese public feels about Jungle/Drum and Bass. Although JDB pioneers, Grooverider and Fabio, first made landfall in Japan in 1993, JDB remains a mystery to most Japanese music patrons.

Club Triangle had many musical genres to choose from for their party. In Japan, hip hop is the genre which holds most influence over today’s youth. Groups like Orange Range, Dragon Ash, Soul’d Out, and B-Dash all crowd the popular NHK program, “Music Station,” but if you were to play any track from Andy C’s critically acclaimed, Nightlife: A Drum and Bass Odyssey, you would probably receive the same look of confusion most Japanese students give when learning English’s more esoteric points. Despite this lack of exposure among the Japanese youth, Mr. Toyo believed in JDB enough to take that chance, and there is nobody nicer and more experienced to educate the untrained Japanese ear than Andy C.

Andy C, born Andrew Clarke, comes from the land where JDB originated, none other than the United Kingdom. Before DJs and producers started spreading the JDB sound internationally, they worked around the clock to have their sound heard by the home audience. Through pirate radio, raves and parties, and of course, records and mixtapes, JDB has seen a steady growth in popularity over the years. Regardless of the media’s negative misrepresentation of the hardworking scene, it continues to produce artists who consistently push new boundaries within the world of music.

In the early 90s, the media blamed the JDB scene for bringing drugs into the London club scene, and were not shy to comment how JDB DJs looked like muggers, because of their urban fashion sense. Most JDB DJ’s did not flaunt the overpriced flashy attire worn by their trance counterparts like Sasha or Paul Oakenfold. Due to the media’s lack of knowledge and erroneous reporting, most people believed that JDB was merely just a “black male phenomenon,” despite people like DJ Rap, who is neither black nor male, but has astonished audiences worldwide with her wicked beats.

This brings us back to Andy C, who, going against the media’s stereotype, is a white male with short brownish-black hair, who often performs in the height of fashion. Andy C, and his curly, red-haired associate/friend, Red One have been knee-deep in the scene since its infant stages, and through their dedication have been able to not only witness its evolution, but contribute to it first hand.

As printed in the ultimate Jungle/Drum and Bass book, All Crews, written by Brian Belle-Fortune (a.k.a. Rude FM’s DJ Zy:on), Andy C reminisces how he was initially introduced to the world of raves and electronic music, “when I was 13 my sister took me to my first illegal rave in a barn in Essex.” The party was in 1989, before the scene had taken off, and Andy C’s sister, Sarah, was already on the frontlines of a musical revolution. It was songs like A Guy Called Gerald’s ‘Voodoo Ray’ that got young Andy listening to old pirate stations, ‘Centre Force’ and ‘Sunrise’ every morning before school. At age 15, Andy’s father bought Andy his first little sampler, which he and family friend, co-founder of Ram Records, Ant Miles started to use in the studio to produce tunes.

Although Andy and Ant Miles were producing music in the studio, it was not until Andy met Red One that he witnessed the true power of the DJ. Red One describes in an interview with earwaks.com how he and Andy’s relationship began, “I was promoting parties at the time, Andy basically came out one night and he liked it. He got into the music, bought some decks, and then I gave him his first gig.” That first party Red One took Andy to was called ‘Imagination,’ and Andy reveals to The DJ List (www.thedjlist.com) how “just seeing the guys play, controlling the crowd, smashing the big tunes, seeing the atmosphere when it went off n all that really inspired me.” From that moment on Andy’s future career as a DJ had been decided, and after he got his decks he started to make mixtapes. While Andy was passing his mixtapes to friends at school, Red One was sending them to promoters.

Back in the early 90s, it was often the promoter’s name that generated a party’s audience, unlike today where a DJ’s name alone has the power to create that audience. The crowd trusted the promoter’s talent in recruiting the best DJs for their parties, so when big time promoter, Elevation contacted Red One, Andy got his first chance to play in front of a huge audience with a proper MC. Andy describes in All Crews the anxiety that came during his earliest moments playing in front of large crowds, “I’d be shaking, and my hand would be shaking trying to get the needle on the record, but now it’s more about anticipation and excitement. That’s what kind of buzz you get.” By the time Andy turned 16, that excitement buzz had already begun to take shape in his music, and with some help from Red One, Andy’s audience kept growing. Burning the candle at both ends, Andy would practice DJing until 6 in the morning, sleep for an hour, and be ready for school by 7:30. To follow his passion for music, Andy left school and started a record company with Ant Miles and Red One. Utilizing his sister’s artistic talent for the first logo, Ram Records was born.

Since its inception in 1992, Ram Records has been synonymous with high quality and technically innovative sounds that can bring any club to its peak of the night. People go to hear Andy C live, and when his collaboration with Ant Miles, under the name Origin Unknown, ‘Valley of the Shadows’ (also known as ‘31 Seconds’) hits the needle the crowd goes wild. During its 15 year life, some of the world’s best DJs have added tracks to Ram Records’ large and eclectic catalog. Tracks like Bad Company’s ‘Space Hopper/Tonight’, Andy C and Shimon’s always popular ‘Body Rock’, Ant Miles and Red One’s ‘Bring It On/Musica’, and Ram Trilogy’s chapter series.

Ram Trilogy is actually a super crew consisting of Andy C, Shimon, and Ant Miles. Some famous mixes to come from Andy C outside of Ram are his Drum and Bass Arena (w/bonus DVD) mix and Fabriclive 18 mix, featuring Andy with DJ Hype.

In Japan though, it can be tough to find a music store that carries albums from the Ram Records label. DJs have an easy time finding records in stores like Manhattan Records, King Kong Records, or Tower, but the average customer buying cds usually has the best luck on the internet. This poses one of the largest problems in exposing Japan’s youth to Jungle/Drum and Bass. One way to get records or CDs into the stores is to tour, extend your fan base, and increase demand. Andy C and Red One, both being smart business men, understand the importance of a good show, so when the clock struck 11:30 on the night of June 3rd, our heroes entered Club Triangle, ready to give Japan a reason to supply more albums from Ram Records.

To get to the DJ booth, Andy C and company were forced to walk through a dance floor completely filled with sweat-covered JDB enthusiasts, all ready for his vivacious set. Once the headphones hit Andy’s ears, the crowd began to close-in on the stage. Andy’s set began slowly, getting the crowd to bounce a bit, but after a few minutes, and some quick finger maneuvering, Club Triangle instantly turned into a madhouse. As the beats per minute increased, so did the power and intensity. It was as if Andy had poured some sort of mystery chemical into his mixer because the instant his sound reached your ears he controlled your body, and there was no escape. By the time the needle hit the wax of his fourth record, everyone in the club had been drawn in to Andy’s magnetic field, like a spaceship being pulled into a black hole. People were dancing with such passion and vehemence that the heat from their bodies made the people on the second and third floors become drenched with their own sweat. The green-like acid rain effects turned Club Triangle into the Matrix, and Andy C into Neo. He had complete control over everyone on the floor, and with Red One standing behind him, Andy seemed to be right at home. This was the view from the DJ booth, but the vibe from the middle of the dance floor was the center of the storm. Mosh Pits broke out, sweat was flying, and all the green, red, and blue lights stimulated every sensor in the body.

It was truly astonishing to see how deep the Japanese audience got into the music. You could hear the word, “yabai!!” being shouted in 10 minute intervals. The word, “yabai,” is Japanese slang for “awesome!” Knowing how reserved most Japanese people are it was fascinating to see them cut loose during Andy C’s set. Once Andy finished his set there was only one person talented enough to keep the vibe going, and that was Red One. Red One did not miss a beat as everyone in the audience dug deep within themselves to keep up with the music. The energy kept rising, and even Andy C could not stop himself from bouncing up and down. As the lasers and flashing lights continued to add to Red One’s mystical voyage through the outer regions of space, Andy C looked at the animated audience, then looked at me and said, “this is the real shit.”

By the time Red One finished his set the audience was Jello. Despite being drenched with sweat and the dazed look on their faces, everyone was smiling. Club Triangle’s third year anniversary party was a complete success, and both Andy C and Red One could not have gotten a better reaction from the crowd. So how do the Japanese view JDB? Andy C considers the Japanese audience a great one, and this being his eighth time here he has witnessed its growth over the years. Andy C and Red One prove day in and day out that JDB is a positive scene. They traveled across an ocean to spread their unique sound to Japanese people desperately eager to hear it.

As a child in school we are taught to never give up and follow our dreams. Through pirate radio, raves and parties, and true perseverance JDB entrepreneurs, including Andy C and Red One, made their dreams of creating something special came true. These are the kind of inspirational stories we should be telling our children before they go to sleep.

© Sam Frank
The Oceanbun
www.theoceanbun.com