ECLECTIC

Having cut ties with the now defunct Manchester hip hop label Grand Central, Andy Turner as Aim has found a new creative freedom on his own ATIC Records. His new album Flight 602 furthers a journey into excitable syncopation and lush melancholy. ‘I think a lot of people on the label felt there was a box that you had to fit in almost, so it’s nice to be out of that’ says Andy of the ageing Grand Central, a label that Aim had been very much an intrinsic cog within from day dot. ‘There’s an acoustic track on my album with no beats on it at all and it’s nice to be able to do stuff like that. Some people might be surprised by it but the last thing I wanted to do was remake the last two albums. I will be working with MCs again too, but for this album I just wanted to try and get to the essence of what I was doing and let the music stand on its own.’

Those last two albums, Cold Water Music and Hinterland proved sleeper hits for the Cumbrian, charting a slow rise from the underground and spawning a celebrated live ensemble with his wife and former GC chanteuse Niko. ‘It’s two-fold really, with the band. Because you’re with all your mates doing something together, it’s a lot more enjoyable I find. And now I don’t see it as a separate thing, and when I’m writing now I’m thinking of the band and how it will translate when we play it live. It’ll be interesting to see how far we can take it.’