Anyone who’s sold their sole to the Dublin dancefloor knows this fair city of ours has acted as a dumping ground for half arsed sets on more than one occasion. With larger cities awaiting essential mixes the aim of the game is often to get in, get out and lash as little out as possible. So it’s nice to see an artist who actually pays a little attention to what an audience needs. “We’re talking about Friday and Saturday night,” Andy Carthy AKA Mr. Scruff tells me over the phone from his Manchurian abode. ” It’s about enjoyment. People have waited all week for a night out and you should take it seriously.” He tells me a little bit more about his approach…
You’re known for playing six hour sets, pretty remarkable considering most acts can barely be arsed doing one.
I never do a gig where I roll up before I’m on and play a couple of hours. I spend the day soundchecking and play the whole evening. I get to see every person as they walk into the room and see the drama of the night unfold. From when people start dancing, creating the atmosphere to when they bugger off.
I tailor my set to each club. I check the sound system specs of a venue, make sure its spot on for what I want to do because listening to music on a bad sound system is like going to a restaurant and eating food off a dirty plate. I check the websites and light specs, who else played there, just get the feel of it. Being over the top about the details means once I’m on all I have to worry about are what records to play.
Your music is incredibly accessible. How important is this to you?
Accessible is a good way of putting it. As a DJ I have access to all this great music and I want to share it all. Not in a “oh look at this cool record you’ve not got ” more in a “listen to this amazing tune. Everyone should know this tune”. A lot of music I play is music that grabbed me on the first listen. That’s what accessible is…you get it straight away or soon after. That’s the nice thing about DJ’ing . A lot of DJs are like archivists, Librarians of music. People like to hear old stuff that they have never heard before.
Do you think there is a trend whereby people become so arsey about music it can only be appreciated by the anally retentive?
Specialization is great; it’s a necessary part of dance music. My whole magpie approach wouldn’t be possible were it not for certain artists ploughing a very narrow furrow and me picking what I take to be the best of each one. My Northern Soul knowledge comes from the sort of people who listen to Northern Soul to the exclusion of anything else for forty years.
What is it about that genre that inspires you so much?
It’s a unique scene. You have people going out in there 50s and 60s dancing to Northern Soul with an immense amount of knowledge about records I’ve never even heard of. I mean it puts me in my place.
Guests on your new album include Roots Manuva, Will Holland and Alice Russell. If you could collaborate with any artist, dead or alive, who would it be?
I’m always a bit funny about that kind of question because they’re my favourite artists, because they make brilliant music Whether or not I could improve on that… probably not. I generally collaborate with people I know and get on with and I kind of have a feeling that between us we could probably create something quite special. I’m not one for unreasonable wish lists.
And naturally this wouldn’t be a Mr. Scruff interview without the obligatory tea question. Can you remember the best cuppa you ever had?
I had this amazing tea in Japan in a mad department store in Tokyo. It was like assay tea but it had banana in it. I thought it was going to be disgusting but it was fantastic. But any tea when you really need it. It’s like a pint, if you’ve had a long day and you have a nice brew at the end of it. Or when you get up in the morning and you’ve really earned it simply by not having a cup in 8 hours.
Mr. Scruff plays the Button Factory, Friday 12th June at 9pm.
Tickets are €22.50. Strictly bring your own tea.
