Andrew Shallcross (born 4 November 1975), known as Andy Votel, is an English musician, DJ, record producer,
graphic designer
A graphic designer is a practitioner who follows the discipline of graphic design, either within companies or organizations or independently. They are professionals in design and visual communication, with their primary focus on transforming ...
and co-founder of
Twisted Nerve Records and the
reissue
In the music industry, a reissue (also re-release, repackage or re-edition) is the release of an album or single which has been released at least once before, sometimes with alterations or additions.
Reasons for reissue
New audio formats
Reco ...
label Finders Keepers Records.
As musician
Violators of the English Language
Votel began making music in the late 1980s as the youngest member of the group Violators of the English Language (from which the VOTEL stage name is derived). The group appeared on the
Howard Jacobson BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
documentary Think of England in 1991 performing a
rap song with a young
DJ Semtex as a backing dancer. Violators of the English Language failed to gain label interest as a group but Fat City released the Violators of the English Language instrumental tracks as VOTEL in 1996.
Solo career
In 2000 Votel signed to
XL Records. He recorded two albums for the label, ''Styles of the Unexpected'' (2000) and ''All Ten Fingers'' (2002). These albums featured original Can singer
Malcolm Mooney
Malcolm "Desse" Mooney (born 1944) is an American singer, poet, and artist, best known as the original vocalist for German krautrock band Can (band), Can.
Biography Early life
Malcolm Mooney's father, after serving in the navy, became a jazz pia ...
,
Guy Garvey
Guy Edward John Patrick Garvey (born 6 March 1974) is an English musician, singer, songwriter and radio presenter. He is the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band Elbow. He has a weekly show on BBC Radio 6 Music titled ''Guy Garvey's Fines ...
, Gramme, and
Jane Weaver
Jane Louise Weaver (born 28 February 1972) is an English singer, songwriter, and guitarist
A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical gu ...
.
Votel's music is often released under a pseudonym. His aliases include Applehead, Anworth Kirk, Tandy Love, Xian Orphic, Slant Azymuth, Neotantrik, and Tony Deval.
As DJ
Having built a reputation through Violators of the English Language, Votel began mixing
psychedelic music
Psychedelic music (sometimes called psychedelia) is a wide range of popular music styles and genres influenced by 1960s psychedelia, a subculture of people who used psychedelic drugs such as Dmt, DMT, Lysergic acid diethylamide, LSD, mescaline, ...
with
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
and hip-hop records at clubs like
The Hacienda and Home And South from the early 1990s. He is an internationally renowned DJ and has performed at events such as Sonar, All Tomorrow's Parties, and the
Green Man Festival
The Green Man Festival is an independent music, science and arts festival held annually in mid-August in the Brecon Beacons, Wales. Green Man has evolved into a 25,000 capacity week long event, showcasing predominantly live music (in particular ...
. Votel founded the B-Music DJ Collective alongside ex-Hacienda DJ and journalist John Maccready. Other B-Music collaborators include
David Holmes,
Belle And Sebastian
Belle and Sebastian are a Scottish indie pop band formed in Glasgow in 1996. Led by Stuart Murdoch, the band has released twelve studio albums. They are often compared with acts such as the Smiths and Nick Drake. The band took their name from ...
, Edan,
Bob Stanley, and
Gruff Rhys.
Votel has presented shows for
Radio 4 such as 2011's ''Free Wales Harmony'', which documented the history of Welsh
protest music
A protest song is a song that is associated with a movement for protest and social change and hence part of the broader category of ''topical'' songs (or songs connected to current events). It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre.
...
. He appears regularly alongside
Stuart Maconie
Stuart John Maconie (born 13 August 1961) is an English radio DJ and television presenter, writer, journalist, and critic working in the field of pop music and popular culture. He is a presenter on BBC Radio 6 Music where, alongside Mark Radc ...
on ''The Freakier Zone'' show on
BBC 6 Music
BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It primarily plays a wide range of alternative music, from established and emerging artists and bands. In 2002 it was the first national music radio station t ...
.
As record producer and remixer
Votel has produced extensively for
Badly Drawn Boy
Damon Michael Gough (born 2 October 1969), known by the stage name Badly Drawn Boy, is an English indie singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.
Gough chose his stage name from a character in the show '' The Magic Ball'', which he saw on TV ...
, including tracks on the
Mercury Music Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual Music award, music prize awarded for the best album released by a musical act from the Music of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom or Music of Ireland, Ireland. It was cre ...
winning album ''
The Hour of Bewilderbeast
''The Hour of Bewilderbeast'' is the debut studio album by British musician Badly Drawn Boy, released on 26 June 2000. Damon Gough, who performs as Badly Drawn Boy, wrote, produced, and played several instruments on the album's eighteen tracks, s ...
''. He has also produced music for Gruff Rhys including the single 'Shark Ridden Waters' on the album ''
Hotel Shampoo''. Votel has also remixed or produced material for
Ian Brown
Ian George Brown (born 20 February 1963) is an English musician. He was the lead singer and the only continuous member of the alternative rock band the Stone Roses from their formation in 1983. Following the band's initial split in 1996, he be ...
,
The Avalanches
The Avalanches are an Australian electronic music group formed in Melbourne in 1997. They have released three studio albums, ''Since I Left You'' (2000), ''Wildflower (The Avalanches album), Wildflower'' (2016), and ''We Will Always Love You'' ...
,
Lamb,
Elastica
Elastica were an English rock band formed in London in 1992 by guitarist/singer Justine Frischmann and drummer Justin Welch after their departure from Suede. The band was stylistically influenced by punk rock, post-punk and new wave musi ...
,
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
,
Death in Vegas,
Kings of Convenience,
Tim Burgess, Broadcast, and Elbow, among others. Votel also creates mix compilation CDs, including the ''Music To Watch Girls Cry'' series,
''Vertigo Mixed'', a compilation of rare tracks from the
Vertigo Records
Vertigo Records is a British record company. It was a subsidiary of the Philips/Phonogram record label, launched in 1969 to specialise in progressive rock and other non-mainstream musical styles. Today, it is operated by Universal Music Group#B ...
catalogue, ''Brazilika'', rare Brazilian tracks and ''Hungaraton'', rare Hungarian music.
As record label founder
Twisted Nerve
In 1997 Votel met Badly Drawn Boy and the pair founded the label Twisted Nerve, initially to release music by Badly Drawn Boy and
Dave Tyack
Dave Tyack (4 March 1978 – c. 2002), who also recorded under the name Dakota Oak, was an English musician and a founding artist on the Twisted Nerve Records label. He recorded alongside fellow Twisted Nerve artists Badly Drawn Boy and Andy ...
. The label then expanded, releasing the earliest recordings of many other artists including Doves, Elbow, PlanningToRock, and Alfie.
Finders Keepers
In 1999 Votel, along with Doug Shipton and Dom Thomas, founded the reissue label Finders Keepers. The debut release was a reissue of the then-obscure ''L'enfant Assassin Des Mouches'' by
Jean-Claude Vannier. The label then carved a niche in reissuing vinyl obscurities from around the world, tracking down artists such as
Selda Bagcan,
Bruno Spoerri and
Jean-Pierre Massiera.
Other labels
Votel co-runs Bird records with Jane Weaver and co-runs Pre-Cert Home Entertainment with
Demdike Stare and Boomkat.
As graphic designer
Votel is a graphic designer
and has created over 150 record sleeves. Notable artists to use his graphic design work include
Gilles Peterson
Gilles Jérôme Moehrle MBE (; born 28 September 1964), better known as Gilles Peterson (), is a broadcaster, DJ, record label and festival owner. He is renowned for his genre-defying approach to music with jazz at its core. From this base he ...
, Badly Drawn Boy, David Holmes, and
Cate Le Bon. He has also designed campaigns for
Adidas
Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...
,
Stüssy
Stüssy () is an American Privately held company, privately held fashion house founded in the early 1980s by Shawn Stussy. It benefited from the surfwear trend originating in Orange County, California, but was later adopted by the skateboard and ...
,
Levi
Levi ( ; ) was, according to the Book of Genesis, the third of the six sons of Jacob and Leah (Jacob's third son), and the founder of the Israelites, Israelite Tribe of Levi (the Levites, including the Kohanim) and the great-grandfather of Aaron ...
, and Adam Et Rope. He was also the in-house designer for Fat City. Votel teaches part-time at Stockport Design College.
Personal life
Votel is married to musician
Jane Weaver
Jane Louise Weaver (born 28 February 1972) is an English singer, songwriter, and guitarist
A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical gu ...
.
Other activity
Votel has been the
curator
A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...
of a number of events including the 2006 event at the
Barbican Centre
The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London, England, and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings a ...
celebrating the music of
Jean-Claude Vannier and
Serge Gainsbourg
Serge Gainsbourg (; born Lucien Ginsburg; 2 April 1928 – 2 March 1991) was a French singer-songwriter, actor, composer, and director. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French pop, he was renowned for often provocative rel ...
. This event reunited musicians who played on the albums ''
Histoire de Melody Nelson'' and ''L'enfant Assassin des Mouches''. It also featured a number of contemporary artists as guest vocalists including
Jarvis Cocker
Jarvis Branson Cocker (born 19 September 1963) is an English musician. As the founder, frontman, lyricist and only consistent member of the band Pulp (band), Pulp, he became a reluctant figurehead of the Britpop genre of the mid-1990s. Cocker h ...
,
Badly Drawn Boy
Damon Michael Gough (born 2 October 1969), known by the stage name Badly Drawn Boy, is an English indie singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.
Gough chose his stage name from a character in the show '' The Magic Ball'', which he saw on TV ...
,
Brigitte Fontaine
Brigitte Fontaine (born 24 June 1939) is a French singer of avant-garde music. She has employed numerous unusual musical styles, melding rock and roll, folk, jazz, electronica, spoken word poetry, and world. She has collaborated with Stereola ...
, The Bad Seeds'
Mick Harvey
Michael John Harvey (born 29 August 1958) is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter, composer, arranger and record producer. A multi-instrumentalist, he is best known for his long-term collaborations with Nick Cave, with whom he formed The ...
and
Gruff Rhys. Other notable events include Barbican shows with
Magma
Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma (sometimes colloquially but incorrectly referred to as ''lava'') is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also ...
, Jean-Pierre Massiera and Polish composer
Andrzej Korzyński and assisting Jarvis Cocker with the 2007
Meltdown Festival. He also curated 2013's ''Festival Number 6'' at
Portmeirion
Portmeirion (; ) is a folly*
*
* tourist village in Gwynedd, North Wales. It lies on the estuary of the River Dwyryd in the community (Wales), community of Penrhyndeudraeth, from Porthmadog and from Minffordd railway station. Portmeirion was d ...
.
Votel writes about
outsider music
Outsider music (from "outsider art") is music created by self-taught or naïve musicians. The term is usually applied to musicians who have little or no traditional musical experience, who exhibit childlike qualities in their music, or who have ...
for websites such as
Red Bull Music Academy
The Red Bull Music Academy (RBMA) is a world-traveling series of music workshops and festivals that was founded in 1998 by Red Bull GmbH. The main five-week event is held in a different city each year. The public portion of its program is a festiv ...
.
Discography
Singles
* "If Six Was Nine" (12",
Grand Central Records, 1996)
* "Canter" (7", Sluts Small, 1999, split single with Add N to X)
* "Whirlpool" (
Twisted Nerve Records)
* "The Amazing Transplant EP" – with
Cherrystones (12", Stark Reality, 1999)
* "Girl on a Go-ped" / "Return of the Spooky Driver" (
Twisted Nerve Records)
* "Girl on a Go-ped" (Remix) (
Twisted Nerve Records)
Albums
* ''Styles of the Unexpected'' (
Twisted Nerve Records, 2000)
* ''All Ten Fingers'' (
Twisted Nerve Records, 2002)
Compilations
* ''Music To Watch Girls Cry'' (2003)
* ''Folk Is Not a Four Letter Word'' (2005)
* ''Vertigo Mixed'' (2005)
* ''Songs in the Key of Death'' (2005)
* ''Songs of Insolence'' (2005)
* ''Welsh Rare Beat'' (2005)
* ''Prog Is Not a Four Letter Word'' (2006)
* ''One Nation Under a Grave'' (2007)
* ''Vintage Voltage'' (2010)
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Votel, Andy
English record producers
Musicians from Stockport
1975 births
Living people
English electronic dance music DJs