Andy Turner (Aim) grew up surrounded by music. His father, a jazz drummer, owned a musical instrument shop and taught Andy drums when he was just old enough to hold the sticks. At around 6 or 7 he began guitar lessons but these were dropped soon after to concentrate on the drums. A few years later whilst still at school, Andy put his first band together,'The Chelsea Flower Show'. Formed with friends who shared his musical passions (The Smiths, The Wedding Present) the Flower Show started out doing covers but before long, Andy was writing original material for the band, some of which made it onto the their one and only recording, a four track EP from 1986, 'An Eternity Isn't That Long'.
The band played often in Andy's home town of Barrow-in-Furness gaining a reputation for exciting, unpredictable shows. Ironically, as The Chelsea Flower Show really hit it's stride, ditching covers and playing only original songs, Andy found himself drawn to dance music and the culture surrounding it, eventually leaving the band behind.
"I hated dance music with a passion, I remember feeling distraught and flummoxed when Soul II Soul went to number one with 'Back To Life'. I still think that's a shit track but the dance thing in general bothered me. At some point though, we started going to club nights put on by local DJ's and my conversion was swift. Suddenly I was hearing this music that, combined with various substances that came with the scene, amazed me. Tracks like 'Test One' by Sweet Exorcist and 'Sweet Sensation' by Shades of Rhythm were like nothing I'd ever heard. I didn't realize at the time that they were a continuation of the US house tradition but, before long, I realized that that was really where it was at".
So taken was Andy with the whole dance music thing, he opened his own record store, 'Speed Limit Records', selling everything from the deepest underground US house 12"s to Main Source and Tribe Called Quest LP's.
"The shop became a focal point for anyone into the scene and to be honest I never worried to much about the business side of things. It just meant I got free records and as I was my own boss I could throw up the 'gone fishing' sign and go for a smoke in the park on a sunny afternoon".
It was during his time working in Speed Limit that Andy developed his love for early nineties US hip-hop.
"Hearing records by producers like Pete Rock and Diamond D was a turning point in my life. Until this point I'd dabbled with production but after hearing their music I started to take it seriously. All of my spare time was spent making music and tracks like 'Let The Funk Ride' and 'Diggin' Dizzy' (from the 'Pacific Northwest EP') were written during this period".
After cleaning out all the local charity shops Andy started looking for records to sample further afield, eventually ending up at Fat City, a new record store in Manchester's Afflecks Palace run by Mark Rae, who, on seeing the pile of records picked out by Andy, inquired as to what he was doing with them. Andy sent Mark a four track demo tape and before long was signed to Grand Central Records as 'Aim'.
Over the next 6 years Aim established himself as one of the UK's leading underground artists releasing the critically acclaimed 'Cold Water Music' and 'Hinterland' albums as well as remixing a whole host of artists including Ian Brown, St Etienne & The Charlatans.
At the end of 2004 Andy left Grand Central and, after recently launching his own independent label - ATIC Records - is gearing up for the release of his third album, 'Flight 602' which looks set to propel him to the next level when it's released next summer.
Andy explains the recent developments, “Grand Central changed a lot from when I first signed. I wasn’t sure about the direction it was going in so decided it was time for a fresh start elsewhere. I just felt our relationship had run its course.”
Explaining his reasons for starting a new label rather than signing to someone else, Aim continues, “I like to oversee every little detail of my releases from the tracks, artwork, remixes, press, promotion, gigs etc. Often, my views weren't shared by Grand Central and whilst I usually got my way, it seemed a lot less hassle to just do it myself rather than try and find another label to put my stuff out.”
When asked what other music he has been listening to recently, some might be surprised; “I guess the most important discovery for me over the last few years has been Nirvana. Obviously I'd always been aware of them, I loved 'Heart Shaped Box' and the video for it but other than that I hadn't paid much attention. I guess I was into the Stone Roses when Nirvana blew up so they didn't really register but in the back of my mind I always felt I would get into them, it was just a matter of when. After reading an article in a magazine, I went and picked up 'In Utero', listened to it and realised what I'd been missing. The melodies, the lyrics, the whole aesthetic blew my mind and the more I read about them and listened to them, the more they meant to me. I've since amassed a nice collection of live bootlegs on CD and DVD and unlike other bands I've been into, I just never seem to tire of them.”
That said, Andy hasn't lost his affinity to Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys. “'Smile' by The Beach Boys has been very important to me. Although it was never completed or officially released in its original form, there are many many bootlegs available (of varying quality - be careful!) and a couple of summers ago they were all I listened to. The album was recently 'finished', re-recorded and performed live by Brian Wilson and his new band. The gigs were cool but unfortunately, I felt the new recording lost some of the spellbinding magic of the original 60's sessions.”
As for the future, ATIC Records will release it's first 12” EP in November with a track each from the four signed artists - Aim, Niko (who Aim is producing), Gripper and Paperboy - a new band Andy has started up with the singer from his old band, The Chelsea Flower Show.
As to what we can expect from the new LP 'Flight 602', Aim explains; “I have all the tracks together now but there's still a lot of work to do. It's sounding really good though and a definite progression from anything I've done previously
