1. How’s life in the fast lane?

Life is hectic, which is the way I like it. 2008 has been my busiest year yet, as I really wanted to push things forward with what I was doing in the studio and work on writing a lot of new original material. My label AWsum launched in March and has monthly releases of my own tracks and various collaborations and remixes by Matt Lee and Klubfiller; my 2 in-house producers.

On the event side of things I held my second one on May bank holiday @ Ministry Of Sound in London which was absolutely brilliant, we’ll chat more on that in a few minutes though!

I’ve just launched my own range of clubbing clothes; Whitbywear which can be bought from www.whitbywear.com. It features cyber outfits for girls that I’ve designed with Contagious and we are just waiting on the girls and boys tops & t-shirts to be printed so they will be added in the coming weeks.

2. Your gig list looks like a world cruise itinerary… how was Moscow?

Russia was crazy, a really good experience. I was lucky enough to have BK with me the whole trip, we met in the airport @ silly o’clock in the morning; he’d come from the hospital and was told not to fly anytime soon but came straight to the airport; now that’s hardcore!

The event was called ‘Wonderlake’ and it was pretty much that; a huge wonderful party on the side of a lake in the middle of a gorgeous forest. Around 4000 crazy Russian clubbers turned up and it ended up going on til 11a.m the following morning, they are bonkers over there!

3. One AWsum Night at Ministry of Sound was packed to the rafters, did you enjoy it?

I was extremely pleased with AWsum @ MOS on Bank Holiday. It was absolutely packed out, and considering every major night in the scene and Summer Sound System were on the same day we kicked ass!

Something I was really happy about was we wanted to try hard-dance across all the rooms, and it worked perfectly. All 4 rooms were busy all night long.

4. Are these nights going to become regular events then?

The AWsum events are about putting on special nights at special places, and trying something that little bit different. They won’t be ‘regular’ just a little more ‘frequent’…if that makes sense!

Next on the agenda is One AWsum Tour, which we’re just putting together now and will be launched in the coming weeks, more info on that very soon!

5. You launched the AWsum label a couple of months back, how is that going?

The label side of AWsum is growing at a frantic pace (no pun intended), with each release selling more than the last which I’m really pleased about. AWsum is a true reflection of the sound I’ve been pushing in the last couple of years through my sets.

6. You’ve produced a compilation CD for us to be released as part of the Music For A Harder Generation series, is it an engineered production or did you record it live?

As with all my mixes, this was mixed live. In the past I’ve heard rumors some people find it hard to believe I mix all my CDs and compilations live but I’ve always said if you don’t believe it can be done just come and watch me in a club.

99% of compilations in shops nowadays are done by computer, which is usually down to the DJ wanting the C.D to just be about the tracks. My opinion is if you buy a C.D mixed by a DJ you want his or her personal mixing style included.

7. Looking at the track listing there seems to be a lot of new material on there, is this showcasing some of the output from AWsum?

There are 22 tracks on my mix, although I was only allowed 17. I mixed it and then told Sam @ Tidy I’d gone 5 over the allowed amount which he was cool about, as long as they worked in the mix and I didn’t just try to pack as much of my own material on there as I could.

I wanted to mix it in similar style to my AW mixes that I used to do; a true reflection of the Whitby mixing style and I felt I achieved it.

There are 7 AWsum tracks on the compilation, although I could have easily put 22 on there if I was allowed. The quality of the material coming out on the label right now is so high and this will be the basis of AWsum compilations I’ll be doing in the future.

Another exciting things about the AWsum tracks on the mix are it lets people see the range of music we make. From the bouncy ‘Wait A Second’ through to the hard-edged ‘Like This!’, the vocal ‘#1’ or the unique sounds on ‘The AWsum Theme’ its across-the-board hard-dance, with something for everyone.

8. Describe your Music For A Harder Generation mix…

For my mix I wanted to try and put together what I feel is the true sound of hard-dance in 2008. To show people who might have left the scene in recent years that the music is now much different; more exciting and refreshing than it has ever been, with a much broader across-the-board sound to it.

I was asked to do the mix several months ago, while they decided who was going to do the second disc. I’m glad in the end Rodi did it as it’s the perfect contrast to mine, he’s a good friend and what he’s doing for the harder side of hard-dance is incredible.

9. Am I right in thinking a couple of the tracks are exclusive to this compilation?

That is indeed the case. This is my 7th compilation, and I wanted it to be the best yet, so I called in some favours and got some tracks made especially for my mix.

‘Music For A Harder Generation’ by Technikal was one, and I think its an incredible track, really different than previous material Alf has done. He also bootlegged his 2 biggest tracks ‘Back 2 The Old Skool’ and ‘Supersonic’ especially for the mix. I think as a consumer its great to pick up a C.D in a shop and know you’re getting something that’s got some special tracks on it, it shows a bit more effort has gone into the planning instead of just some tracks you’ve heard already.

The track I’m most excited about on the C.D however is Matt Lee’s new remix of Rokk Ya Body, a track I had released last year that won runner-up tune of the year before it had even hit the stores. Matt is easily one of the most talented producers I’ve ever met in my life; the energy and tightness of his tracks is superb and I knew as soon as I asked him to do this mix he wouldn’t let me down - it’s incredible!

10. So this is as if we’ve recorded one of your sets and released it then?

Pretty much, although I’ve held back on some of the tricks I do live, as sometimes certain effects don’t come across well on a recording that wow crowds live. Sometimes it’s as visual as it is audio, so to keep the mix flowing smoothly and easy to listen to I’ve cut back on some things.

11. AWsum has signed two in-house producers, Matt Lee (aka Gammer) and Klubfiller. What do they bring to the AWsum party?

Matt and Stevie (Klubfiller) are 2 of the best producers I’ve ever come across in my life. The second they contacted me saying they were keen to start making hard-dance I jumped at the chance to work with them and sign them to AWsum.

Matt, under his alias Gammer, is one of the best producers in hardcore and has made some of the biggest tracks in the history of that scene. He’s found his own sound in hard-dance really quickly, which bridges between the 2 genres perfectly. His production is so tight and powerful, the way it cuts through on any system is unlike anything I’ve ever heard.

Klubfiller is also known as Stevie B, and works very closely alongside Ministry Of Sound, AATW and many other leading dance labels worldwide. He was signed to AWsum just as the scene was screaming out for a decent bounce producer, but his production talents go much much deeper than that. Some of his most recent tracks have really shown off his range; from the hard-style influenced ‘Way Of Life’ (one of the most talked about tracks of this year), his remix of Matt and mine’s ‘#1’ and his vocal-led hard-trancer ‘All Alone’.

I felt for AWsum to really move forward and start having an impact on the scene I wanted to have a good team around me. With Matt, Stevie and Cally I have that. I run and own the label, but the music that comes out will always be focused around the 4 of us.

12. What’s “The AWsum Theme”?

The AWsum Theme is a track I made with Matt, featuring the vocals of MC Whizzkid. It tries to capture what AWsum is all about, all within a single track. It features the samples of many of the AWsum releases, all chopped up in a bootleg style. The bassline always gets a huge cheer when it drops as its sheer power and the amount of messages I get about it show that its already having a big impact in my sets, something I’m really happy about.

13. Now the summer appears to be here, what’s do you think we should watch out for in terms of top summer tunes?

My top 10 hard-dance tracks for the summer are:

1) Andy Whitby & AH – Rokk Ya Body (Matt Lee’s AWsum remix)
2) Andy Whitby & Matt Lee - #1 (Klubfiller remix)
3) Klubfiller & Paul Roberts – Don’t Stop
4) Andy Whitby & Matt Lee feat. MC Whizzkid – Rock It!
5) Andy Whitby & Matt Lee feat. MC Whizzkid – The AWsum Theme
6) Klubfiller – Way Of Life (Andy Whitby & Matt Lee remix)
7) BK & Cally Gage – Get With This
8) Klubfiller – Defiant We Stand
9) Rhythm FX – Big Fella (Klubfiller remix)
10) Andy Whitby & BK – Diversion

14. Are you doing Ibiza this year?

I am indeed doing Ibiza this year, in fact I’ve just got back from Judgement Sunday in Ibiza, it was my debut there and I had an absolutely incredible time! I’ll be adding a little video diary of it to AWsum.TV very soon so make sure you check it out!

I’ll also be back there in August and September for appearances @ Advanced Tidy. The main room of Eden is brilliant so it’ll be good to be getting back on the decks there a few times over the summer. I’ll also be staying in a villa over there in Sept for a week so if you see me out and about feel free to come over and buy me drinks, I won’t complain!

15. What else is in the Whitby pipeline?

With every aspect of my career, as soon as one thing is underway I’m moving on to the next, I never like to stand still.

Obviously this mix is about to hit stores, the next AWsum event is being planned, the Frantic and AWsum tours are being finalized for later this year, so lots of new clubs to be playing at.

On the AWsum side of things, I’ve just launched my YouTube channel www.awsum.tv which features videos of what I get up to at weekends and will be having interviews with the AWsum 4sum, behind the scene footage and some fun stuff that most people don't see.

AWsum music will keep releasing monthly, with a compilation coming later in the year so lots going on really!

Music For a Harder Generation 05: The New Generation is available now from HMV, Tidy.com and all good record stores!

***www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iv5ZznM7BCo]*** Watch The Video Here***