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Alien autopsy

Up close and personal with Whistler’s favourite DJ

Did you ever go on vacation with your family to somewhere wonderful and wish you could just stay there forever?

Back in 1995, Mat Andrew and his family came to Whistler on holiday from their home in Bury, U.K. just outside of Manchester. The area made such an impression that after a few more trips the whole family decided to make the move permanently.

Mat immediately immersed himself in the local DJ scene, jamming with locals Vinyl Ritchie, Kilocee and Ruffian. The kid could hold his own, having grown up hanging out in his dad’s record shop and taking to the tables himself since the age of 15. His newbie status set him up for good-natured ribbings. He was nicknamed the "Alien" since a mouthful of Manchester accent often rendered him incomprehensible, not to mention his foreign heritage spawned the joke about him being an illegal alien.

Fast track to 2004, the Alien tag is less to do with nationality and entirely about Andrew’s otherworldly skills as a turntable technician. Seamless cuts, awe-inspiring scratch sessions, Mat the Alien is Whistler’s most renowned and respected DJ.

This year the Pique’s Best of Whistler poll made it official, but we’re not the only ones that have the down low on this Alien. Andrew has a world-wide profile, regularly jet-setting off to spin in locales all over the world.

Recently returned from Miami, he is back manning the decks at his regular local nights: Wednesdays at Moe Joe’s, Mondays at the Garibaldi Lift Co. with an upcoming NYE set for the resort’s First Night festival.

Lucky for Whistler music fans of all ages, the Alien has landed here once again. And in light of his title win, Pique thought it a good time as any to catch up.

Pique:

What’s going on with you right now in terms of producing and recording?

Mat the Alien:

I released a CD for C1rca with DJ Dopey, the DMC world champ in 2003 (this past summer). The CD has gone out all over the world – 30,000 copies.

I’ve set up my own label, Really Good Records. The first release is out now, my debut solo CD Downtime . It’s a mix of tracks with MCs from the Northwest and instrumental tracks all produced by me. The second release is Subliminal JC’s solo CD.

We’re also working on the AweDaCity LP, which is me, JC and Ty-C, produced by me and JC. It should be out in the summer. Ty-C and JC are amazing MCs with some of the fastest double time flows.

I just got distribution in the U.K. and I’m still working on Canada and the U.S. I’m just doing it independently for now. It’s starting out really small. It costs a lot of (money) to start a label and make videos and promote the albums, but its going good.

I’m trying to make all the tracks I produce and work on and have a big DJ influence in the way they are put together by adding scratching and scratch fills to the tracks. I’ve also been making lots of new beats for my next CD and helping produce a local snowboard TV show called FSI Cartel which will air in March.

Pique:

When you travel, what's it like to be from Whistler? How do people perceive Whistler?

Mat the Alien:

Lots of people have heard of Whistler or seen it on TV now with the hype from the Olympics. I was in Austria in March at a big air contest and everyone there knows Whistler for its snowmobile backcountry access as nobody is allowed to have snowmobiles there. In Guatemala people mountain bike down the volcanoes and have heard about the biking in Whistler. In New York they’ve heard about the bears and think we live in igloos. In Miami they’ve heard about the cold weather.

Pique:

You're on the tables this year for First Night, and you were also part of the program for the World Ski and Snowboard Festival last April. Big events for your sound to be associated with. Do you feel like your sound represents Whistler?

Mat the Alien:

I think it represents me and I’ve spent a third of my life in Whistler so its represents Whistler too. I learned from DJ-ing here that you can play a variety of music as the crowds are from different parts of the world and are all different ages. In big cities DJs often just play one kind of music. That can be good but it can get stale and only appeals to a certain group of people. I like to do sets that mix all genres of music – hip hop, funk, dancehall, reggae, jazz, rock, breaks, drum ’n’ bass – overall a hip-hop feel with lots of scratching.

Pique

: How has the Whistler club scene changed since you started DJ-ing here?

Mat the Alien:

"It’s constantly changing. People come and go in Whistler so it’s difficult to build a consistent scene. It’s still only a small town. Big cities have millions of people to support their music scenes whereas Whistler only has 10,000 people or so. It seems like more mainstream music is being requested than ever and the clubs are catering to that rather than building individual nights that don’t conform to what people want. When you play a track people know, the floor is packed. Play a track that is just as good but not as well known, and the dance floor goes to the bar. The key is to trick people by giving them some of what they want and then something new. That way hopefully people are educated on new music and other beats such as drum ’n’ bass and breaks.

Pique:

What have been some highlights of your DJ career so far?

Mat the Alien:

Highlights have been the World Ski and Snowboard Festivals in 2003 and 2004, European tours in 2002 and 2004 – especially Westendorf and Innsbruck. The North American tour in 2002, the Miami Winter Music Conferences 2002-2004, Shambhala 2002 and 2003 and DJ-ing at a house party last New Year’s Eve.

Snowboarding is also a highlight. It’s always an honour to meet people at the club who are into the music who are snowboarding pioneers. That’s why I came to Whistler. There’s no snow in England. Just dry slope and indoor snowboarding.

Pique:

Where would you like things to go?

Mat the Alien:

I guess I’d like things to go a bit less commercial and be more about good music, whatever music that is. Bigger sound systems are always good. People getting to the club earlier is good. All I can do is keep on doing what I do, playing music I like. Always try to learn new scratches and find more records. I’ve got about 6,000 records now.

Pique:

You recently had surgery. Has it affected your outlook as an artist?

Mat the Alien:

I collapsed my right lung last April and my left lung three years ago mountain biking. It’s a tall-skinny people-thing. Recently I had three blisters cut off my right lung and had it stapled back together. I’ve been taking it easy the past two months and I’m getting back to normal now. They trapped a nerve in my neck so some of my right arm went numb. It should come back fully in six months. I can still scratch. As an artist it just makes you appreciate being healthy and being able to do everyday things like breathing.

Pique:

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Mat the Alien:

I’d like to stay in Whistler so I need to make millions of dollars. I’d like to continue doing what I love, but working toward getting out of the nightclubs and touring more instead, giving me more time to make music and collaborate with people. Also, I’d like to work with new artists and help them get their music out. I’ll still be snowboarding and one day have a family that will grow up in Whistler too.