Studio wizard The Emperor Machine is back with more of his brilliantly inventive and colourful tracks as he joins the Skint family.
The UK artist, born Andy Meecham has long been dazzling dance floors with his synth-heavy, tough-edged and psyched-out disco beats. He has released solo as The Emperor Machine for labels like D.C. Recordings, Internasjonal and Southern Fried Records and has a long and revered history as part of Chicken Lips, and before that Bizarre Inc.
A driving force behind the Acid House movement, The Emperor Machine is the button loving producer redefining dance floors via his love for analogue. Therefore it is only fitting we invited the analogue addict to our Behind The Headphones series.
The Summer of Love and the Acid House generation was a turning point in electronic music and the building block for modern culture. Can you tell us about your experiences back then and how it has influenced you as an artist?
I was working at Blue Chip Studios In Staffordshire around that time and also as a lighting technician in a nightclub. So I was mainly programming and engineering in the day & working the lights at night. I was hearing loads of house and acid tracks at the club & also new imports being brought into the studio from Dean Meredith.
The music that I remember working on around that time was an Album called Acid Trance that Dean was writing – I played some keyboards & did some programming on the Lp. This was probably one of the first sessions I started to work with Dean. It was a really busy time inspiring & exciting.
We recently spoke to Steve Lawler who said the biggest difference for him between early rave culture and modern dance music is the organisation. He described a scene where DJs, promoters and party people alike had no idea what was going on. In his words, “everyone was winging it.” What do you think the biggest difference between the past and present is?
I know what Steve means. I look at the itineraries that fly around now and I am not quite sure how it all came together back then, without the aid of mobile phones too.
I’ve been in many a convoy. I know that there is footage of me somewhere being interviewed outside of Shelley’s nightclub in Stoke in the early 90s and I had absolutely no idea where we were heading next. The only reason I mention this is because it makes it even more alarming that winging it was my normal state of being.
However for this reason, for me, the process of how I produce music has stayed quite similar. My influences are external and have remained constant, sounds noises etc.
We have read that ‘Planet Rock’ was the “thing that got you hooked” and you take a lot of inspiration from futuristic, Scifi sounds. While a lot of your counterparts are doing revival parties and classical house nights you seem to continue to push boundaries in new directions. Why do you think forward progression is so important?
I never said never in relation to the classic house nights. There was a few I did as Bizarre Inc, about 6 in the end. I caved under pressure to do it and I’m pleased that I did. It was an eye opener & great to see some old faces.
I did, however, get to play in Brazil and in The legendary Golden Lion in Todmorden. Neither of these was a revival night as such – they were live gigs. They were amazing. I fell in love with The Golden Lion and this led to a residency at their sister bar – House Des Lowe so nothing but good came off it.
This brief foray did distract me from the business of being in the studio but revisiting, where I started musically, was really good. I have always been terrified of being too predictable. It literally scares the shit of out of me.
My cheese filter is set to low and very little of what I do makes the final version of my music. It’s not that I set out to progress as such, I just love to find different ways of doing things. It’s great to step back musically but I love to reinvent and push things forward or I think I’ll go mad if I don’t.
BUY: Function – The Emporer Machine [Skint]
We know you are a bit of an analogue lover and make a lot of your music on synthesisers. Is there a reason you prefer analogue to more digital production methods?
I love buttons, knobs and dials. I think it is because both figuratively and literally I work in a hands-on way. There is a connection with the instrument I love. Nothing inspires me more than getting a new synth or drum machine.
There is also nothing more guaranteed to throw my deadlines off than getting a new synth. The sounds that you can get from analogue synths really cause an effect, particularly with an instrument like the EMS VCS3 for example. You patch away here & there and twist a few knobs and sound comes out! I love that.
I have never been snobby about analogue equipment and was always clear that I would never say never to virtual synths if they work in the track that’s fine with me. However, until really recently they just have not delivered what I felt I wanted.
A question we often ask is, ‘have you ever had an experience where someone felt the need to share a negative experience of your track or DJ set’ however we want to ask you about how The Emperor Machine project came about as we heard this was through some negative press around a certain analogue machine. Is this correct?
Yes! I got really annoyed when someone decided to slate the Roland SH3a. I felt the need to defend it so I wrote a track just using that synth & that was me sticking two fingers up at whoever the author was. Out of respect, I called the track Roland SH3a.
That then evolved into the Emperor Machine project an idea of just using one synth to create tracks. That approach really forced me to be creative. I loved and hated it but at the same time I could really indulge myself and I didn’t worry too much about the market or audience. It meant a lot to me when people started to pick up on it and rate the Emperor Machine.
What do you think is the key to success as a producer or DJ in the modern world?
Patience because there is just so much music out there.
As a DJ open-mindedness, learn how to beat match without the sync button.
As Producer save up & buy an MPC go to car boots get digging for vinyl. It’s great to release your music on Bandcamp & create a buzz it can produce some valuable returns in the most unexpected places
Finally, if you could play to any dance floor past or present which would it be and why?
I would love to have played at the Danceteria in New York in the 1980s I remember watching a short documentary on a Channel 4 program called TheTube when I was a teenager. Someone has uploaded that original doc ! it is up on youtube !!
