Australian EDM artist and label chief Andy Van has enjoyed a thumping career. He’s had a No. 1 in the U.K. with his act Madison Avenue, his international touring career is going strong with his current group Vandalism, and the label he co-founded (Vicious Recordings) has had more than 500 releases.
Now he’s got another type of hit in his sights.
The Melbourne-based dance music veteran has built a crafty sampler app for DJs and producers. The iPro.DJSampler app’s features include an XY pad, trigger pads and DJ effects, and there’s an in-app store where users can purchase licensed sample packs. These sample packs include stems, vocal cuts, beats and chopped-up tracks which can be reconstructed at the press of a button.
The artist admits he developed the software out of “frustration” — he “couldn’t find an app on the iPad that could do what I wanted.”
Launched through Andy Van’s iThirtySeven company, the app carries licensed content from the likes of Skrillex’s OWSLA label, Nick Thayer and Steve Aoki’s label Dimmak.
It’s targeted at a “middle ground — a pro-sumer,” he explains. “It’s someone who’s keen, but they’re not a ‘pro’ yet. They know what they’re talking about, they just don’t know how to get there. This is not the tool, it’s a tool to get them across the line and get them inspired very cheaply. With EDM blowing up in America, I think I’ve just been lucky with the timing.”
The iPro.DJSampler is a free download in the Apple App store and can be found here. Additional sample content, effects and features are available via in-app purchases.
Andy Van became one of Australia’s first bona-fide electronic music superstars when his act Madison Avenue scored a U.K. No. 1 in 2000 with “Don’t Call Me Baby.” The follow-up “Who the Hell Are You” also cracked the U.K. top 10 and reached No. 1 in Australia.
Andy Van also played a role in introducing Tim Bergling – aka Avicii – to the world. He recalls, “I was in his one-bedroom apartment in Sweden, sitting there with him and his laptop listening to demos. I thought, ‘this kid is going to be a star.’ I didn’t know how big a star, and I didn’t know how quickly we could get him there. We signed him and put out the first nine tracks for Avicii. His 10th track, unfortunately for us, was ‘Levels’,” he says with a laugh.
There are no plans to retire from clubland, but developing technology is a direction Andy Van will continue to pursue. Asia has broken-wide open for EDM in recent years, and Vandalism is a regular tourist in the region. “Asia is very exciting. EDM is monstrous over there,” he tells Billboard. “We would do 15 gigs a year. We’re over in Asia every month, or every second month. We’ve played a festival in Korea for 30,000 people, there are (super-clubs) in Jakarta for up to 5,000 people. We’ve done gigs in China, Hong Kong, Japan. It’s a huge scene.”