~ ANDEE FROST INTERVIEW ~
28th of April, 2010
I was very lucky to have an opportunity to speak with the main man in Melbourne city, Andee Frost. He’s been around these parts for a while now (but still looks young and handsome as a 21 year old choir boy) and has built quite the reputation for mastering dance floors where-ever he travels. Although quite a novel in itself, the result of this interview reveals an insightful passage into the inner-caves of Mr. Frost’s world. There’s innuendo on his latest joint-venture with good friend and fellow producer Ooh-Ee (the two of them combined are titled ‘A+O’; a great future lies ahead with a track dropped on the latest DJ Kicks courtesy of Juan MacLean and also a new EP coming out on Stilove4music) and also the important topic of the current state of the Melbourne club scene… or an honest take…
PATCH: So Andee, how did the music journey start?
ANDEE: Well my parents are pretty dumbfounded by this because neither of them have any ability [with music] but me and my brother both play instruments. I think I was like 8, maybe, when I started doing piano and he was always playing guitar. I got sick of piano as a kid because, well, it can be kinda boring but it’s one thing I wish I had stuck with because now I’m trying to re-teach myself, as it’s the building blocks music. Then when I was 13 I moved on to tenor saxophone. I played that till I was like 20. I once played at the Melbourne Concert Hall as part of a school’s orchestra. I had a solo in it too.
I ended up selling my sax to pay for a car when I was 20. By this stage I had already taken up DJ’ing and was more concerned with buying records.
I also started doing community radio at 16 in a small station in the eastern suburbs. This is where I taught myself how to mix records together. I was a co-host on a show called Clubfront with a friend of mine. This kind of gave me an introduction to dance music. It was my first foray into community. So, I was DJ’ing for two years before I set foot into a club.
PATCH: I want to know about how you got your first gig, and what was going through your head?
ANDEE: I don’t remember my first club gig because from 16 I was doing radio and also doing the lighting at an underage (Jooce in Ringwood) but I also jumped on the decks there from time to time. The other two DJ’s who I guess you could call my mentors were James Ash (who went to do Rouge Traders) and Ivan Gough (of TV rock fame). Pretty funny, but nevertheless, they are both great DJ’s and taught me a lot of good lesson’s and tricks. This was all pre pioneer mixers and CDJ’s too; pretty much exclusively vinyl.
What I do remember is I used to get really nervous and pretty much putting the needle down on the first record was such a task. That doesn’t happen that much these days but every now and then the nerves attack.
PATCH: You were mentored by James Ash and Ivan Gough? That’s amazing.
ANDEE: Yeah kinda funny seeing I am the way I am. Maybe that’s why? But you know, I started out as a commercial DJ. It’s the best place to start. It gives you an understanding of people instead of just jumping up and going, “Well I’m gonna play my Beatport top 100 that I downloaded this week.” You learn to read a crowd – you jump up and look at the crowd and see what they need instead of playing what you need.
PATCH: Just touching upon you doing radio at age 16; is it now a dream come true to be hosting your own weekly show on Melbourne’s independent radio station RRR?
ANDEE: Yeah it’s pretty awesome although the timing could have been better. I love doing RRR but I think the importance of radio now has gotten less in this digital age, which is a shame.
PATCH: So you think you should’ve started several years ago?
ANDEE: Oh no, not like that. I’ve done radio continuously my whole life: Eastern FM, Street FM, Kiss FM, RRR, etc. What I’m saying is that nowadays with podcasts, iPod’s, etc. people listen to the radio less and less, compared to the old days. For instance, do you have a radio tuner in your house?
PATCH: *laughs* Good question! I have a stereo amp that has radio connectivity but it isn’t connected to the wall. I guess all my radio listening is done in the car or streamed.
ANDEE: Exactly my point. But in answer to your question, yes I do feel extremely lucky to have a show on RRR.
PATCH: And I now understand why you have such an anti-podcast ethic.
ANDEE: *laughs* I’m not anti-podcast. I’m more anti-technology and the negative effects it has on the way we go about our lives. I would podcast but I’m too lazy.
PATCH: *laughs*
ANDEE: No, actually I am planning it at the moment.
PATCH: Get out!
ANDEE: I now have copies of all of this year’s shows and I’m getting a website built.
PATCH: What ever happened to what you told me: “They have to be tuning in to hear the music. Like an exclusive experience….”
ANDEE: Well they should be… but I guess if I want to let the world know about this show, this is sadly the only way to do it these days. I have to update my thinking
PATCH: True true, we must all adapt to the changes. OK, I want to shift focus now onto your job in selling records. You worked at Central Station right?
ANDEE: Yep, but first I worked at a label Prodj. You may remember them from such hits like ‘Wamdue Project – King of My Castle’ and many cover versions of tracks Dujour. I then worked at Central Station from the time of the re-opening of their Melbourne store in, I think, 2000 or 2001, in Swanston Street.
PATCH: Can you tell me about how Central Station evolved into Hear Now and also your involvement?
ANDEE: So the owners of Central Station, Jo & Morgan, decided to retire. They owned the store CSR was in and they wanted to sell it, so they told us this and asked us if we would be interested in taking it on. At the time we didn’t know anything else so we got together what money we could and made them an offer for the business. We then scoured the city trying to find a location to move it to. It was then that we came across the old Au Go Go store.
We liked the idea of reviving an old record store space; there was even an old bunker shelf left in there. We opened the store and ran if for five years. It was awesome and was so rewarding to have people like Danny Wang, James Murphy, 2many DJ’s, Moodymann, Maurice Fulton and so many more come into the store and just get blown away that there was a store like this in Melbourne – that was the best bit.
PATCH: Would you personally invite them or would they just stroll in without warning?
ANDEE: Nah, they would be with friends or they would want to go record shopping. Sadly, the people of Melbourne (bar a very small few) didn’t really care for a record store so it became increasingly hard for us to pay the rent and that’s when we decided to give up and close the store. But looking back on that now I can’t really blame them; I buy the majority of my records on Juno now and it’s so easy. But the one thing I do miss is the interaction. You can’t get that online. And the recommendation. And the chance discoveries. All my favourite things about going shopping and none of them you really get online.
PATCH: All you have to go by [when buying online] is a 10second ripped sample.
ANDEE: Exactly! So many records I’ve bought and just felt so cheated by the guy who records the samples. That’s why I prefer buying old music because you can always go find that track on Youtube, hear the whole thing and buy it on Discogs.
PATCH: Plus, there is so much emphasis on playing the latest, newest tracks these days…
ANDEE: There was in the old days too. But the difference was only a select few people had the newest tracks/promo’s – these days the kid down the street is just as likely to have that new DFA record as I am. I think that’s where I stopped caring about new music. I’d rather play good music than the latest greatest track.
PATCH: I’m guessing the average person would just know you as Mr. Frostie and that’s all. So please enlighten the readers of your F*kn Poser days. A duo of some sort right?
ANDEE: Fukn Posers was myself and Jim K, my best friend, and we had the record store together. We DJ’ed together for probably about 4 years, playing backroom at Revolver on a Sunday for 8 hours at a time and all sorts of other places.
PATCH: When did you guys form?
ANDEE: Umm…. like maybe 2003? I can’t remember. But we basically were playing all this stuff, everything from Rock ‘n’ Roll to RnB, all mixed. It was the beginning of the whole mash up sound. I guess it was more about an attitude than a sound. We kind of had a take no prisoners approach to DJ’ing.
PATCH: *laughter*
ANDEE: It was great fun but then Jim grew tired of DJ’ing and stopped turning up to gigs and that’s when I came up with Andee Van Damage. Well, Andee Van Damage was one of the Fukn Posers first. It’s kind of like creating a personality that your projecting onto people to do something you normally wouldn’t.
PATCH: An illusion of some sense…
ANDEE: Yeah totally. I used to DJ as AVD and also as Andee Frost and the sets were always completely different. AVD was a piss take noisy wasted character for tweens and club kids, where as Andee Frost used to play disco and house and a bit more sophisticated stuff for older crowds at clubs like Witness Protection Program and Honkytonks, etc.
PATCH: Ah, I was just going to ask about your styles of music and if you had alias for each style of music.
ANDEE: Yeah, that’s why I create them.
PATCH: So as Andee Frost, this is how you started out?
ANDEE: Umm, actually I think I was Frosty first. I could list all my alias but that would take all day, but the main 3 were: Andee Van Damage, Frosty and Andee Frost.
PATCH: And these days you stick with Andee Frost, playing your House / Disco tracks?
ANDEE: Yeah, Andee van Damage died of an overdose around the same time as Third Class shut its doors.
PATCH: *rapturous laughter*
ANDEE: Andee Frost is fine by me for now, I guess. It’s my real name so I only use it when I’m playing stuff I really love and now days I only play stuff I love.
PATCH: That’s the way it should be or else where is the fun/enjoyment?
ANDEE: Fun and enjoyment sometimes get lost along the way when money is involved.
PATCH: I want to know if there is much comparison to the music you play now to say your early radio days / early DJ days.
ANDEE: Not really. As I said before, I started playing commercial music (alot of disco could be classed as commercial in its day) but I also loved house music but it was just straight up house music or remixes of commercial acts. I have gone through a lot of genres along the way but it’s primarily house music and disco stuff but there was also a bit of a prog/tribal phase I went through.
PATCH: Oh sorry I forgot about the commercial background – see, it totally doesn’t suit you!
ANDEE: Well it depends on what you class as commercial. Now days, a lot of stuff is commercial. A lot of what was underground is now commercial. Back in ‘98 there was a very distinct line as to what was underground and what was commercial; you had to search out the underground.
PATCH: So much has changed then. What people consider indie/underground in today’s standard really is “commercial” to some.
ANDEE: Yeah, conformity is the new individuality. I guess this is because of the internet – it influences everyone into liking the same shit. There is no discovery anymore; you get force fed everything. So it creates this mass influence over what people like. Like everybody likes the Bloody Beetroots or Deadmau5 or Crookers because if you go to the Hype Machine and type one of those artists in, it links you to the other ones.
This is for a blog yeah … so I’m kind of slicing my throat being anti internet. *laughs* However, I don’t hate blogs – it’s a great way for someone to get their material out. It’s more the lazy people who rely on them I have a problem with. Discogs and Youtube are recourses. It’s like going to the library. Blogs are more like vending; there are heaps of different ones but at the end of the day what comes out of it is the same.
PATCH: Am I right to say, apart from playing Revolver and such with Jim, that Honkytonks would be your first proper playing field?
ANDEE: As far as nightclubs that I would call a home goes, yes. I played Honkys (guest spots) on Saturday nights at the Slap Shack to start. Then I started running a Sunday called “Gag Reflex” and also a Wednesday named “Hear Now Presents”.
PATCH: And how did you get on board?
ANDEE: I started going to Honkys to hear DJ’s play. From there I met Angela and Anthony, and also Michael. I just started going every week as it really was the best place in town to party. You could get away with almost anything. They always had the best internationals on and the crowd was one of the best crowds I’ve ever seen – a lot older and more educated and not so worried about being seen but more worried about getting fucked up and dancing. Plus you could smoke inside back then too! So yeah, I just kept going every week and then Ant & Angela gave me a guest spot. And then after that Michael asked me if I would like to do a Sunday night and it just went from there.
PATCH: And so when the Tonks went under, 3rd Class immersed….
ANDEE: Yes. It was only ever supposed to be for three months. This was all at the time when the licensing laws started changing dramatically. So at the time Michael had a new space that they were waiting for a licence on (which is now 1000 Pound Bend) but sadly a group of residents started lobbying against the proposed licence. They ended up having something like 500 complaints put in against it and the licence was barred. Meanwhile we were supposed to be kicked out of the Honkytonks building after a few months because they were starting construction but they didn’t have all their permits and stuff so it just got dragged out over two years.
PATCH: Jeez, amazing. Everyone would’ve just been counting their blessings of each visit to 3rds then.
ANDEE: Yeah, it was pretty temporary. It’s a shame we couldn’t have kept it as Honkytonks but Michael found out so late in the piece that there wasn’t much he could do about it – the wrecking ball was already swinging, so to speak. But Third Class was fun too. I think that environment made for an even crazier party. Honkytonks was opulent beautiful and totally over the top; Third Class was like going to a squat party every week with a bar and running toilets.
PATCH: Did you think Third Class defined a culture?
ANDEE: I think that Third Class defined a shift in culture. OK, this is where it starts to get deep. I think Third Class was more defining a change in guard which in turn ended up a complete change of the culture purely because the new guard had different values. They were also part of a different generation which changed things immensely, but not always for the better.
PATCH: Very interesting Andee. We know that you feel very strong in this area (the Melbourne club scene) so we will come back to this a bit later on. Since the close of Third Class, the Melbourne kids are really in limbo on where to go and we’ve seen new opportunities pop up here and there, for example, New Gurnica, Mercat and Sorry Grandma! (just to name a few) that are taking greater focus. And we know you were the music director at Sorry Grandma. Can you tell us about your experiences at Sorry Grandma!?
ANDEE: Sorry Grandma! was the club Melbourne so desperately needed in my opinion but seeing it fail the way it did brings up so many questions about the actual scene and the people involved in it. In the year that I was music director there we brought out some amazing acts (which I’m not going to name because I will forget too many), but the reality is there just isn’t enough people who are dedicated to going out, to support these acts week after week. The club holds 700 people and it’s hardly ever full. It’s a great grand old nightclub, but it’s never full. There actually aren’t enough good people going out in Melbourne for it to be amazing so you have to let in a few randoms from the King Street traffic. The Paradise Garage, Studio 54 – all these legendary clubs held upwards of 2000 people. Even somewhere like Chevron, which used to have “Freakazoid”, all these clubs are massive. But people would go to Sorry Grandma! and say, “Oh, it’s too big, ah! It’s this or it’s that…”. Totally forget about the fact that the music that is playing is amazing. There’s a purpose built dance floor, amazing sound system, good cocktails, private rooms out the back and friendly staff – that’s not why you go out is it?
So in the end the management really didn’t understand what I was trying to do with the music in there, even though everyone else was applauding it. They became increasingly difficult to deal with and like with all things I do, I do them staying true to myself and my beliefs. This was not the case there so I resigned.
PATCH: Did you and Michael end it on bad terms?
ANDEE: Not at all. We are bestest of friends. I should make this clear: the management is not Michael (who has also resigned now). The management of Sorry Grandma! is a company called EMS. It is run by Peter Iwanik who also owns the following venues: Bubble, Mens Gallery, Inflation, Centerefold Lounge and a few more I can’t remember, but basically the guy owns half of King Street. So reading that list you can probably understand why he didn’t get what we were doing.
PATCH: Can you give me a rundown of your night “House deFrost” at the Toff?
ANDEE: The House deFrost is my tribute to the people I most admire. It’s approaching its 2nd Birthday this year. The night started from basically me getting tired of touring. Around that time (of Third Class and such) I spent alot of time playing around the country and when I came back to Melbourne, apart from Third Class, there really wasn’t much good going on. I was also beginning to get a bit tired of Third Class as it’s a pretty one dimensional venue. So the Toff had been open for about six months and not really set anything in the Saturday night spot so I approached them with a proposal and we went from there. It started out as me and a guest but it didn’t work out so I started doing the night by myself. For me, I come from a background where playing the whole night is pretty much the norm. I also thought it was kind of timely considering what was happening around town where DJ’s were playing 45 minute sets and shit, which I think is a joke.
PATCH: Well, who really wants to play a rushed set? And with the whole night to yourself, you have the utmost complete control.
ANDEE: Totally. Well, when I split the night between me and another DJ, we would end up finishing at 3am but when I took control of the whole night, people stayed til 5.
Then I slowly introduced bits along the way: I bought the Bozak, we’ve had a few shows and a great line up of internationals.
PATCH: Ah, the mighty Bozak: everyone loves her.. or is it a him?
ANDEE: The Bozak is a tranny; bit of both.
PATCH: *laughs* Just shows that your presence alone is enough to keep the punters happy!
ANDEE: That and a really dark light setting. But yeah, the disco is evolving every-week. I now have a new lighting controller to compliment my smoke machine. I have some dancers who will be performing soon. I’m basically stepping things up a notch now since I have some more spare time on my hands.
PATCH: Well I believe the Toff has such a rich environment. In some sense, the music you play really wouldn’t suit anywhere else really. The Toff just has that magic; it’s hard to describe.
ANDEE: Yeah, it’s got a certain chemistry. The venue, the music, the smoke and the sound-system. Plus all the staff are a real team.
PATCH: The soundsystem sounds so authentic as well.
ANDEE: The soundsystem is amazing. It’s a full Nexo rig that’s about four times more powerful than it needs to be. The sound tech is amazing although he is leaving in a week which I’m sad about. The best bit is there are no noise restrictions so we can run it as loud as we like!
PATCH: That’s always a positive. You’ve had a nice range of special guests, Holy Ghost!, Sweeney, Horse Meat, etc..etc.. Are you going to keep bringing out people?
ANDEE: Trevor Jackson, Canyons, Optimo, Andrew Weatherall, Thomas Bullock, Felix Dickinson, Jonny Chingas.. sorry, trying not to leave anyone out. Plus we were also voted one of the top five nightspots in the world by V magazine. I would like to keep bringing out people but the support that most of these shows get is a bit lack lustre so it makes it hard. I am only one person who takes all this on. The venue help out with a bit of stuff but ultimately I am the one responsible for paying the bills.
PATCH: And also the fact it’s such a small and intimate venue. Maximum of 250ish people?
ANDEE: And yes, the price you sometimes have to charge, people are not willing to pay. It costs a lot of money to get these artists to Australia alone, and then you have to pay for accommodation, internal flights and all the rest. And with such a small capacity you have to basically sell out the show most of the time just to make your money back. So for the moment I have kind of taken a little rest with the internationals. I had DJ Harvey but the tour has been postponed till the end of the year so that will be the next one.
PATCH: You said that you were busy touring before House deFrost? What did that involve? Countless festivals? European tours?
ANDEE: *laughs* Nah, more club shows. I did a few national festivals: V fest and big day out – they are fun because you usually have a group of people that you tour with and it makes time go by quicker. For V fest I was always with the Bang Gang boys and The Presets, and for Big Day Out I would hang out with the guys who run Lilyworld. Fun times! I kind of got fed up with it [touring] and wanted to just have something good to do every week in Melbourne instead so that’s why I started The House deFrost.
PATCH: I know you are also affiliated with Modular? I see the term Modular DJ get thrown around everywhere.
ANDEE: Modular do my bookings for the rest of the world (outside of Melbourne), and I did that “Leave Them All Behind III” mix as a “Modular DJ.”
PATCH: When did they sign you?
ANDEE: I’ve been with agent Modular since the agency started – a few years now I think.
PATCH: Now, let’s talk about the production game. When did you first get into music production?
ANDEE: Ummm… 2000. I did a bootleg with a producer named Luke Chable, who’s kind of a big deal nowadays. It was pressed onto vinyl and I think it did pretty well, although I never saw a cent from it but that’s not really the point. But then someone bootlegged our bootleg and repressed it a few years ago so that was funny.
PATCH: *laughter* And the sad thing is they probably made money from it.
ANDEE: Yeah I know who it was too. He’s been bootleggin’ a heap of Moodymann stuff so I think he will be getting a knock on the door soon.
Then I did snort it with Bongmist around 2005-6 I think, which was just for fun. But nowadays I produce with Oohee and we have been doing stuff for the past four years I think – 3 or 4.
PATCH: You and Daniel have just had tracks surface up until recently, right?
ANDEE: We did a remix for The Presets and some for Beni last year. But we are just starting to release our own original stuff. We have a 12” coming on Stilove4music in May, we were on Juan Macleans’s DJ Kicks and we have a few bigger labels sniffing around so it’s starting to get interesting. There is a whole new batch of A+O stuff almost completed. We have been giving it test runs in clubs across Melbourne and it has been a pretty positive reaction so far.
PATCH: My money is on ‘What’s a Name’.
ANDEE: *laughs* As long as the samples doesn’t come back to haunt us.
PATCH: Do you have a release date for the EP? Sometime in May you said?
ANDEE: Umm pretty soon. It’s stilove26. I just got an email from the label. It’s getting cut this week. So I would say mid to late May. But ‘Take Me’ was also included on the vinyl pack for DJ Kicks so if you’re hungry for it, you can get it there as well.
PATCH: So on the stilove4music vinyl it will be ‘Take Me’ and what else?
ANDEE: It’s a three track EP: ‘What’s a Name’, ‘Take Me’ and another track ‘Misunderstood’.
PATCH: Very exciting.
*I then found the Discogs entry of Luke Chable/Andee Frost release and I expressed my keenness to hear it.*
ANDEE: I think I have a record lying around somewhere. It doesn’t exist digitally. Oh wow! Two people want it on Discogs.
PATCH: Six for sale, here’s my chance.
ANDEE: *rapturous laughter* OK, back to the current stuff then. Let’s leave that one in the closet, until prog makes a comeback .
PATCH: *rapturous laughter* Ok, so with you and Daniel, obviously you guys are on the same wavelength and gel well together when making a track?
ANDEE: Yeah after four years we have a good understanding of each other. He gets what I mean when I say no more like this or like that. He is probably one of the more talented producers in Australia but totally doesn’t get the credit he deserves. He has done a lot of production for a lot of big names that you’ve probably heard so it’s nice that he is actually getting some recognition for this stuff as he is really talented!
PATCH: Now… What’s planned for the future?
ANDEE: Well I will be running a new club night titled ‘WAX!’. I am taking over the back room at Revolver upstairs – starting June 4th. We have the Revenge for the first night.
PATCH: That’s big!
ANDEE: After I left Sorry Grandma! I was kind of left a bit lost as to what’s going on with the Melbourne scene; all these clubs have pretty much sold out. I thought there is only one true underground club left in Melbourne and that is Revolver. Revolver has never sold out; they have always stayed true to what they believe in and it’s an amazing venue with so much history. And for me, I kind of got my start in Melbourne city there so it’s kind of like a homecoming to return there to run a night. Plus they fully support my music vision which is nice. So I’ve handpicked my favourite DJ’s and will be taking them with me to hopefully try and re-invigorate what is becoming a pretty stale scene.
PATCH: Can you reveal who’s on the roster?
ANDEE: Oohee, Otologic, Mr George, Aram Chapers, Lewie Day, Fantastic Mr Fox, Jnett, El-sea, Roman Bruce, Biscuit… and myself of course. Plus regular internationals and guests.
PATCH: Kicking off with The Revenge is bound to get the new night rolling in style. Oh and I’m sorry, did you say what nights?/weekly?/etc. ?
ANDEE: Totally! This is Friday weekly.
PATCH: Now Mr. Frost. This is my final question and one which I’ve saved for the end. And we know how passionate you are on the topic. So, please enlighten the readers of your opinion of the current Melbourne music scene.
ANDEE: God, I’m sure everyone’s sick of hearing about it but here we go. The scene is in a very weird time at the moment; everything has changed and it doesn’t look like it will ever change back which really makes me sad. I was lucky enough to see a fair share of amazing clubs and have some great memories, but when the children of today’s scene reach my age, I’m sad that they probably won’t know how it really should have been for them. Here’s what I think is wrong with our scene:
Everyone’s a DJ. Everyone else is a promoter or a wannabe club photographer, or a social climber. Nobody wants to pay to get into a club. Why would you when you can become a promoter? The internet has killed individual taste the world over. Kids these days have no respect for each other and no patience; they expect everything instantly. Drugs are getting worse and worse. You can’t smoke inside clubs, so you can’t keep dancers’ attention; they are always darting outside. Smoking also makes your drugs work better; when you could do it on a dancefloor you never had to leave and it created a sick vibe! That’s why warehouse, house parties and festivals are so good because there is no smoking bullshit. Once upon a time people used to go out and interact; now everyone sits on Facebook and does their interacting via an online personality. This creates cliques inside a club. The group gets smaller and smaller and no one is united anymore; everyone spends all their time bitching about the other people in the venue. In the past it used to be you and everyone else in that club against the rest of the world every night, and you thought you could do anything. Now people spend all week talking on Facebook and then when they go out what do they do? Talk all night. What happened to dancing all night? Too many DJ’s are sheep and don’t have enough balls to play the stuff they really love and try push new music onto people. Nine times out of ten if it’s good, they will dance. People are force fed everything so they have become more lazy to go and seek out new things. In the old days, people used to have jobs outside of the club they went to. This sustained a club because people spent money on entry, drinks, etc. Now the trend is to try and work for the club, throw a night, be a promoter, be a bar tender, even though you really want to be a DJ. It’s all an “in” to the industry. No one does anything because they “love” doing it, well, at least in a good chunk of the clubs across Melbourne. There is an information overload: once upon a time, if you wanted to become a producer or a DJ you had to dedicate yourself to do it, go out and get a second job just to be able to afford records or equipment. Now it’s as easy as anyone with a computer can “give it a go” – you can download a week’s worth of music in just over an hour with the right connection. These people dabble for a short time and expand on the masses amounts of shit mediocre music, DJ’s, clubnights already on offer and it dilutes what little scene there is even further. And finally, old people like me bitch and moan about how good it used to be, which kids either love or hate. At the end of the day, we are only trying to relive what was an amazing time. I think the clubbers of Melbourne deserve that much!
And here are some edits from the man himself, “for DJ use only”:
Andreas Frostarelli & Damiano Diggerelli – Heart & Soul
Village People – Macho Man (Andee’s Body Conscious Edit)
Andee Frost – How to Piss Off a Bogan

the heart & soul track is amazing!
interesting read even if ive never been to melbourne but i agree with andys crit and how modern clubbing is rubbish. same here in cape town. too many djs and the kids dont dance unless theres a party pics photographer on the floor.
What a total hypocrite. Look at how long his list is of all the different things that are “oh so wrong” with the club scene these days.
I understand that you’re pissed about the fact that smoking laws mean that Andee Frost has to play to a half-empty dancefloor every weekend, but to have the nerve to blame this on the progression of “Melbourne’s club scene” instead of being proactive and throwing the kind of parties you WANT to play at is petty and babyish.
Also, does anyone else see a bit of irony in the way that after accusing other DJs of being mindless sheep, one of the mp3s included in this post is a Village People re-edit of Macho Man? If that’s not pandering to audiences, I’m not sure what is.
Hopefully the “scene” will oust you sooner than later.
hi.
just a wee bit of real talk – andee has for a very long time thrown exactly the parties he wanted to play at for a very long time. it’s described in the article, if you cared to do more than glance at it.
as a producer, promoter and artist, andee’s second to none. he’s always done what he wanted and contributed more to your town than anyone else I know, in a dance music sense.
that’s it.
thanks.
vi
disclaimer: I booked andee for a few gigs in sydney and my old party bought many artists off andee’s old company, hear now. just so you know: I am either biased, or know what I’m talking about. you decide.
where are your points on why the scene is so good at the moment ?
The main man in melbourne, huh? Not so sure about that one, innit
oh the irony !!!!
pretty sure he does throw half the parties in melbourne uh & huh,
you should listen tot he village people edit it sounds like he’s taking the piss for sure
Great interview and really appreciate the tracks at the end.
Nah fantastic interview and as a Melbourne fairly regular clubber, I whole heartedly agree.
Also Andee Frost is a quality dj and House De Frost is easily the best regular nite in town, dudes pretty well placed to make his criticisms IMO!
Referring to Andee a hypocrite for producing his own disco edit suggests your clueless and are probably one of the degenerates guilty of undermining our music culture. His opinions are as valid as any given his years of contribution to the Melbourne (and abroad) dance music scene.
If “Ha” had taken his Riddlin before reading this interview, he would have clearly read how Frost is putting his money where his mouth is with, “The House De Frost” and the upcoming “WAX” nights.
I suppose you can’t blame technology for making it easier for individuals to get into mixing, producing and photography, everyone deserves a go of some sort, but you need to acknowledge the talented (or talent-less) are managed/filtered properly and are hired on merit, not how many plebs they bring to the door.
Love it or hate I think he’s right. As far as I’m concerned Andee Frost is the scene at the moment, if you don’t like it UH, you may feel more comfortable in Sydney. Enjoy that third track on your way.
SNAP!
solid interview. well done.
Deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep interview. great reading though!!
so it’s a dj bookers job to fill a club too ? what are all the promoters for ?
he quit his job, and since leaving sorry grandma has become another king st shithole,
didn’t he give you a gig ?
me mate frosty is bloody top notch and he’s hit the proverbial nail on the head here. the kids aren’t alright. how bloody good is the k in melbourne at the moment? miss yous.
fitchy?
pedigree pal! that was tops! well done patch! well spoken andee! but i think i need a cigarette after all that [+ i smoke outside]
got any drink cards?
The issue with Andee Frost, and the nights he put together is that they were never friendly like Andee suggested. I completely understand his frustrations with young social/dj wanna be’s, as they also frustrate me. But Andee, and most of the staff at his clubs, were so unaccommodating.
Andees taste and style is the best out there in Melbourne, but he is not the most approachable guy. Even a mature minded punter, a genuine fan of the music Andee pushes, would be looked down upon by Andee and most of the staff at his club, alot of the time.
Unless you are a semi-famous/famous producer/DJ, Andee would turn his nose up at the sight of you near his DJ both. Even if you’re a genuine fan and consumer (I mean that in the non-blog sense) of music, and not a social ladder climber.
Andee, you throw the best parties with the best acts in Melbourne, but you are not that special. You have no doubt had a little bit of luck on you’re side to get to where you are today, and so many Melbournites would give anything to be in your position, so just embrace the fans, and and be a little more friendly.
As for bagging laptop djs and the like, keep that up, thats another thing I agree with you on
These are all good points but I think what everyone seems to failed to have noticed in this whole discussion is that the introduction of the CDJ and the phasing out of vinyl was so much more damaging than anyone could have known. It was never a case of “well burn it off and play it”. A song had to be on vinyl to be played. Not to mention, good enough to press and distribute in the first place. This meant there could be no expectation to hear certain songs or artists – because none of the other dj’s could play them either. Now, labels will just throw anything on a digital release because it’s inexpensive. There’s no quality control. It’s ironic that as the technology allows us to play more, dj’s are encouraged to play so much less. People used to go see the dj who had developed a skill and had the unique and well chosen record collection. Now it’s to go see the part-time real-estate agent by day who happens to be the batman of burning off Beetroots by night.
Integrity is lost. Frosty still has it and that’s harder to find than a good party.
Very good point.
Agreed. See all “digital labels” producing mediocre music, often giving it away for free. Since when was music meant to be totally free? How can we expect quality if no one is willing to pay for it? So many questions. So few answers. So little money spent in recorded music that this demise in quality was inevitable.
I had no idea that an Andee post would be so controversial!
your a fagget ben
I think you mean “you’re a Faggot”, you slut.
JD i know it;s hilarious, i guess i hit a few touchy points
Hi BEN
seeing as the other 2 negative comments on here are pretty much childish digs from other dj’s i’ll respond to you, as you seem to deserve a response
thanks for you criticism. i agree i can be unapproachable at times, i don;t have the greatest people skills, but i’m not a politician so i guess they don;t matter so much. regardless of how i come across when i’m loud and wasted, im a fairly private person and i really only open up to my friends(even that takes time), like most people. however if you had an interaction with me outside of a club/record store/festival then you might see a different side. when i’m not working/worrying about a failing business/contemplating the scene/dealing with drunkards/which record to play next or which famous dj/producer has just walked into the club and needs a drink
i think i’ve done my fair share in helping out a a lot of up and coming kids and also a lot of venues/parties that are in competition with mine and will continue to do so.
i have never claimed to be special, tho my mum might disagree with you there
and as for having luck on my side i can honestly say that i have worked my ass off to get where i am, pretty much says that in the interview, nothing has ever been handed to me on a silver plate and i will continue to keep doing what i’m doing until there is some change around this town!
hugo you hit the nail right on the head buddy !!!
cheers and thanks for all the positive feedback people have been giving me about this interview, it;s nice to hear people care! hopefully together we can re-build this little scene of ours !
hi ben
Oohee – “He is probably one of the more talented producers in Australia but totally doesn’t get the credit he deserves”
Totally agree. Glad he is finally getting more credit for his work.
Ohhhhhh man I love the Honkys and Third Class flashbacks. What a great interview.
Everyone remember the do-whatever-the-fuck-you-want toilets at Honkys? Fuck or snort or pass out; no matter. And there were dicks all over the walls. Ah, opulence.
Third Class was disappointing, comparatively, but in a sense it was the perfect segue. It’s a shame 1000 Pound doesn’t have the same feel (IMO, anyway).
It’s so great the way everyone is getting all hot, outspoken and defensive. Reading this I can almost feel a glimmer of passion left in Melbourne’s club community. Very Inspiring. .
Hey Andee, Can I add to that list? Then can we begin naming people too?
need. . a. . . revolution?
Third Class was fantastic for the first half of its life, then it slowly started turning into something more like a princeclass. Andee’s fridays where what made it.
TBH, I thought I was getting over Third Class, then when it closed, I realised how much it really was awesome and unique.
*Andee’s fridays were what made it GOOD
Great read
Crusty Ice
Nice to hear someone’s passionate enough about music in Melbourne to throw a few rocks at it. I think Andee’s pretty close to the mark with his remarks. As for him being a hypocrite? Not true at all – always helpful/civil/polite when I’ve ran across him, and he didn’t really have any reason to be.
I have respect for anyone who has the faith to put their own money into record shops and clubs, rather than just coming into the scene with a sense of entitlement. It might sound like oldman speak but imagine how things would be if smoking wasn’t banned and people still played vinyl…