In Awe of Andy C

Whether we’re talking about MotoGP, Formula 1, and IndyCar pilots guiding their two-and-four wheeled machines around finicky circuits at more than 300 kms/hr…

Eagerly plowing through the pages of excellently-written fiction into the morning’s wee hours…

Watching the Toronto Maple Leafs’ star duo of Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews connect in glorious fashion over a goal that doesn’t seem possible…

Or—as I discovered last weekend—a DJ commanding the decks like they were born fused to their fingertips with a sense for rhythm and flow infused into their bones…

Awe-njoyment is the deep sense of satisfaction, enjoyment, and amazement you can only glean from watching a master (or masters) at work—and I simply must share my most recent, profound moment of awe-njoyment with you.

Enter Andy C, also known as The Executioner, who, as it turns out, isn’t merely a DJ… 

He’s a producer, a conductor, a goddamn wizard. Despite being aware of his reputation and pedigree in the drum’n’bass scene, I didn’t know what I was in for.

Tucked inside Vancouver’s Harbour Event and Convention Center, along the False Creek seawall, I found myself awash in the music—not just aurally but physically. 

Granted, this may be the acid talking, but never before have I felt like I was physically existing inside the music—transported into the sonic realm by treble and bass.

I must say though, the crowd didn’t do much to heighten the magic. If there was an award for the Most Spatially Oblivious Ravers, this lot would’ve won gold. Fueled by ketamine, cocaine, or both, and sheer self-centeredness, most seemed blissfully unaware of the world beyond their noses—or, more accurately, their elbows.

Still, I managed to carve out a mental bubble of space, commiserating with a few like-minded survivors, and let the music do its thing.

Serum caught me pleasantly off guard with a funky, jungle set that I instantly loved.

Wilkinson delivered the polished, buoyant energy I’ve come to expect from him, even though the vibe of this set was cut from a different cloth than his prior ones I’ve seen.

And Kanine’s tunes—who I was most excited to see—were firmly my favorites. I’ve been rinsing Chemicals and Light It Up for months now. Hearing these live, along with his rendition of the newer Wicked and Dark was everything I wanted.

But then Andy C arrived, and suddenly we were in a whole new league.

Feeling him work wasn’t just entertaining—but transcendent. His mixing was so seamless, I often couldn’t tell where one song ended and the next began. His transitions didn’t just happen… They flowed with an almost gravitational inevitability. 

And his doubling, tripling, perhaps even quadrupling—layering multiple songs simultaneously—of tracks? Pure perfection that I’m still in awe of, days later.

I’ve seen a couple dozen drum’n’bass DJs over the past year and a half, and all of them were excellent. But Andy C in Vancouver was in a league of his own. His mastery was undeniable, a showcase of both technical prowess and creative vision.

Apparently The Universe thought I needed a comedic moment to cement Andy’s set in my memory forever, which came near the end of his performance when the guy next to me leaned over and said, with the gravitas of someone relaying a prophecy: 

“The beacons of Minas Tirith are lit.”

Regrettably, I didn’t trust my instinct in wanting to reply with, “For Gondor, we ride.” 

Instead, I put my arm around his shoulder, guided his gaze towards the flickering, flashing, spasming light array, and intoned, “There they are, and away we go.”

This exchange was ridiculous, so out of context, and an absurdly perfect close.

So there I was, absorbed in Andy C’s god-tier set, feeling like a beacon myself—alive, electrified, and connected to something much greater than the sum of its parts…

Awe-njoyment in its purest form.

And now I know:

You don’t just listen to Andy C. You surrender to him; conductor of your experience.

With love from the forest,

~ Alexander

(AKA: Wiz, WOW, and The Wizard of Wordcraft)