Unsung Heroes: Andy Mac

What’s your role at Skint and Loaded?
It's kind of multi-headed, I'm A&R Manager for Skint, have some input on Loaded, and we've recently started an artist management arm to the company which I’m getting more and more involved with.

What’s makes a Skint record and what makes a Loaded record?
It's a good question without a simple answer. Firstly it's the same (small) team of people working on both labels. Both labels have and do release club orientated or more commercial tracks. For example Loaded have released underground electronic acts like Super_Collider and top ten singles by Freemasons, whilst Skint have released hit commercial singles by X-Press 2 and Fatboy, and heavy club tracks by Alter Ego and Dave Clarke. I guess you could describe it as Skint's ying to Loaded's yang.

It seems like Skint is going through a bit of a change (with Mirrors etc). Can you explain what the label is about these days?
People ask us this question every time we sign a more 'traditional' band to Skint, which is about every couple of years, acts like the Ralfe Band and Lucky Jim. It's something we've always done alongside the dance/club stuff, and there's no real grand plan to 'change direction'. Regarding signing the Mirrors it's just the normal criteria, we think they have something a bit different sounding about them, they're great live, everyone in the office believes in them, and most importantly we'd be happy to have a night in the pub with them.

What’s been your proudest Skint/Loaded moment?
After 14 years here that's a tough one, there have been so many but I guess for me there's what I’d call the Fatboy Phenomenon around the release of the ‘You've Come A Long Way Baby’ album, for about two years it was non-stop, number one singles and albums, the Spike Jonze videos, so many awards. Every day we'd be getting more great news about the albums and singles, really a surreal time. Secondly I’d have to say when X-Press 2 got to number 2 in the charts (bloody Gareth Gates kept them off the top spot!) with Lazy featuring David Byrne from Talking Heads, it was such a great song and so well deserved for the band, three humble acid house DJ/producers, who were heroes off mine when i first started DJing, and some of the loveliest blokes I’ve ever worked with.

How did you get into music and into the music business?
I was 17 in 1989 and got swept up in the whole acid house explosion, a life changing time, mainly at the old Zap Club listening to resident DJs like Chris Coco, Carl Cox, and Damian Harris my future boss, I soon got into DJing myself and spent the next few years doing the Brighton circuit and beyond and then a little bit of music production, and through this met the partners in Skint, JC, Tim and Damian. I was recording sporadically in their studio when the label started to really take off in 1996, they needed a spare set off hands, I started making the tea, and I’m still here!

Do you think that you’ll get bored of music?
Nope can't see it, tastes change all the time and i might get bored with one sound or genre, but then something new comes along, blows you away and everything's very exciting again.