Introducing Bad Andy … Backyard Opera’s Resident DJ
Backyard Opera is very excited to introduce Andy Ross, also known as Bad Andy. After a huge career that spans the world, Bad Andy is kicking off his third decade as a DJ with BYO to deliver exclusive mixes and great content. The 43-year-old Australian began his DJ career in Australia after returning from Switzerland, cementing an international legacy through his numerous residencies. Now he is back in Sydney ready to begin sharing music once again.
“I’m 43 now and started when I was 16. I don’t feel like I’ve aged,” Andy explained. “I still feel that excitement. Whether it’s new or old music. It’s more than just DJing and it’s more than just playing some records. There’s so many layers and you see these things over the years. It’s pretty special.”
Andy’s DJ career began when he moved back to Australia, from Basel, Switzerland, in 1992. One night, a 16-year-old Andy living in Forrest, Canberra, had a sleepless night, plagued by a thumping noise coming from the window. In his pyjamas, he wandered out of bed and discovered a party, hosted by legend of the Sydney scene Ken Cloud. Cloud took the underage Andy past security and into a venue called the Bass to check out a set from Ken Jensen. Exposed to a house party rave for the first time, Andy was draw to the strange nature of the music and the even stranger nature of the scene.
“Apart from this weird stuff like a smoke machine and lasers and a wild, thumping bass, I noticed that everyone was facing one direction,” Andy explained. “They’re all facing the DJ and I’m like ‘what the hell are they doing, what is going on?’ because I’d never seen that before. I’d never been to one of those things, but I was like ‘man this is cool, this is different.’ That was the start of what got me excited about this scene. It was somewhere where people would go, have the patience to listen to the whole set and just dance.”
After this first experience, Andy was hooked. He started expanding his music taste, listening to as many genres as possible while amassing a small vinyl collection. Moving from jungle, to break beats and to deal house, Andy’s passion for discovering obscure music directly lead to an eclectic mix of records. His local store, UMM Underground Music Movements, had a sudden intake of a new, exciting and innovative electronic genre from the UK. Jungle music was the first genre that Andy began to collect, giving him the material he needed to begin DJing. Wiring up two mismatched record players with two different amps and no mixing equipment, Bad Andy put out his first mix, before receiving his first 70s mixer. Taking up a residency at Heaven Nightclub and the Meridian, Andy was stepping up his game. However, he believes it was a short residency in Melbourne, during the Sunday morning sessions at Revolver, that allowed Andy to get into the rhythm of his DJ life.
“During that time, it’s basically all I did. I DJ’d,” Andy said. “It was kind of like an after party so I would play more obscure stuff. I would start at 4 in the morning and play until 6 or 7. I basically just did what I loved. I collected music in the week, went record shopping, practiced and listened to music, then performed and played on the weekends.”
Following his multiple residencies in Melbourne, Andy moved back to Switzerland for what was supposed to be the start of a trip across the globe. The one year he planned to spend in Europe turned into twelve, as Bad Andy made a name for himself overseas. Still grounding his sound in the break beats of jungle music and the variation of his many influences, he eventually would return to Sydney, fulfilling a long desire to live back by the ocean. Now, he is excited to share his music with the readers of Backyard Opera.
“Backyard Opera is a platform for me to share music,” said Andy. “It’s a platform to be able to share my passion with someone else. I like the idea of making a little mix for 45 minutes that someone can listen to while they drive to work, commuting, while they’re relaxing at home, if they put their headphones on and they want to hear something new. I know those people are out there.”
Bad Andy’s debut mix for Backyard Opera premieres tomorrow, so be sure to sign up HERE to stay tuned.
