Los Angeles-based Andy Caldwell wears many guises: Songwriter,
producer, classically trained pianist and trumpeter, remixer, DJ and
label owner (of the recently re-launched Uno Recordings). The journey
of his 14-year and counting recording career has brought many accolades
and honors, from writing Grammy nominated songs and sharing stages with
legends like James Brown to making the tunes of choice for countless
top DJs worldwide. Flying more than 200,000 miles and playing more than
100 shows a year, Andy Caldwell is a preeminent fixture on the global
dance music scene.
The last few years have been both productive and immeasurably fun for
Caldwell: he headlined the 25-city House of Om tour, recorded the
exotic Om Dubai mix collection as well as a double-disc of jamming
electro for Bargrooves. He led a float at the Berlin Love Parade,
played Ibizan superclub Pacha, rocked 70,000 at the Los Angeles
Coliseum for Electric Daisy Carnival and opened for James Brown at the
massive Good Vibrations festival tour in Australia.
He debuted on record in 1994 with the huge buzz of the single
"Superfunkidiculous," and shortly after formed the live group Soulstice
with Gabriel Rene. The pair worked together for five years, signing to
major label Dreamworks and releasing the soulful electronic albums
Illusions and Mixed Illusions on Om Records. Working with Soulstice
allowed Caldwell to hone his skills in writing, arranging and producing
in preparation for working solo.
Recording singles for Om Records and Naked Music, the former San
Francisco native quickly became a staple on the acclaimed Om Lounge,
Sounds of Om and Mushroom Jazz mix series, tiding listeners over until
his first full-length solo album Universal Truth emerged in 2006. Among
the many gems featured on the studio album, "Warrior" gently emerged as
the torch song for the summer of 2007. The track written by Caldwell,
features the incredible vocal talents of Lisa Shaw and has been remixed
by Claude Von Stroke, David Alvarado and Chuck Love. Quickly rising to
the top of many compilation inclusions, it has been featured on
releases by Hed Kandi, Vendetta and Ministry of Sound to name but a few.
In 2008, Kaskade's "Sorry," which Caldwell co-wrote (along with
"Everything"), was nominated for a Grammy for Best Remixed Recording.
Caldwell has also made waves as a remixer of both underground heroes
and mainstream icons alike. He has collaborated with DJ/producer
Behrouz on several remixes for the Yoshitoshi label, including the
Grammy-nominated "Safe From Harm" by Narcotic Thrust and Hani's "Never
Felt This Way," the latter of which was featured on Deep Dish's Global
Underground Toronto CD. His work for superstar artists has emerged
officially for the likes of the Bee Gees and Jennifer Lopez and
unofficially via his immensely popular bootleg of Nirvana's seminal hit
"Come As You Are." Andy's music has been licensed to dozens of
television shows, video games and movies including ‘Six Feet Under',
‘Sex in the City', ‘FIFA Soccer 08' and ‘Forces of Nature'.
His knack for A&R leads him to find and sign tunes that have gone
on to be licensed the world over, as in the Trentemøller remix of
Yoshimoto's "Du What You Du." And with the recent re-launch of his
label Uno Recordings, Caldwell once again has an official outlet all
his own to nurture and discover tomorrow's talents that are pushing
stylistic boundaries.
"It's all pretty exciting for someone whose biggest goal when I first
started was to hear my music played on huge speakers in front of a lot
of people," says Caldwell, who is currently at work on his next
high-profile album. "That was all I wanted. I didn't care if I ever
made a dime, I just wanted that experience."
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