Influential British DJ and artist Mr. Scruff, real name Andy Carthy, plays at WOMAD in New Plymouth on March 16-18. BRANNAVAN GNANALINGAM talks to him about his love of music, tea, and where that name actually comes from.


BACK IN THE LATE 1990s, there was this weird little song that got a lot of play on alternative radio in Wellington, despite alternative radio rarely playing anything electronic. It was called ‘Fish’ by a certain Mr. Scruff, and was an oddball collection of over one hundred vocal samples. It was a bit of a novelty song at the time, and while interesting, barely scratched at the talent and influence that Andy Carthy (aka Mr. Scruff) has had in electronic music circles for over a decade. He’s playing at WOMAD this year, which given his interest in all things musical, would probably be an inspiring time to see him.

Just where that name comes from is a highly contentious one if the internet is anything to go by. “Just with a lot of the names for tracks it’s generally something I think off on the spot. I just recorded a four-track ep and I had to think of a name straightaway. No reason, though I used to spend a lot more on records than I did on clothes”. It kind of sums Carthy up, not afraid to improvise or simply just try things out.

He was always an avid music fan. But it was discovering a stack of his father’s original Blue Beat 7’s that had the profound impact on his music taste. Being a fan of the Two-tone punk/ska of the late 70s and 80s, he discovered some Prince Buster songs in particular on his Dad’s records which had been covered by the Two-Tone band, Madness. Ever since then he started looking back at the roots of the music he was listening to, and this started expanding his musical world. “I just caught the bug”. I asked if there’s something obsessive that is needed to be a music collector. “Yes, anyone who does anything that requires a lot of collecting, accumulation of knowledge, has a few screws loose”. He first encountered mixing when as a 12 year old he heard some electro records from a friend. Ever since then, he’s been constructing his own mix-tapes and compilations, but it took ten years for him to perform for an audience. “I spent a long time developing a DJ style playing to myself, and it was just at a local college. It was quite nerve-wracking until the party got going. The interaction was a bit strange, I wasn’t used to people dancing to it.” He’s released four albums – Mr. Scruff (1997), the excellent Keep it Unreal (1999), Trouser Jazz (2002) and Keep it Solid Steel (2004). He’s also a renowned re-mixer, recently remixing John Arnold and Jazzanova.

One of the things which sets Mr Scruff apart musically, is there sheer volume of music used in the sets. On his website he writes that any night can include the blues, jazz, soul, funk, 60’s R&B, disco, boogie, deep house, reggae, ska, rocksteady, dancehall, electronica, electro, hip-hop, African, Latin, drum and bass, breakbeat, and any combination of the above. He’s not afraid to chuck obscure sounds in, and to mix disparate sounds, and he’s not afraid to share his passion for obscure music with a receptive audience. “For most people, music is not the be all and end all. If you’re a chef, it’s cooking [that’s your passion] and you try and widen people’s palettes. There is such an amazing variety of music out there and the mass media is incredibly bland and will cover about 2% of what’s out there. I don’t want to be overbearing or holier than thou, but it’s about sharing that excites me. People do react very favourably.” He’s always on the hunt for new music and new sounds from around the world. “That’s why I’m so looking forward to playing at WOMAD. You’re going to come across artists from twenty or thirty countries. It’s a dream holiday.”


Electronic music has developed immensely since the 1980s. In the early years, a DJ would have to be a jack-of-all-trades as the genre hadn’t developed fully. Now twenty years on, given the advances in technology and the sub-cultural shifts, electronic music is in a considerably different state. However Carthy denies says it hasn’t had too much of an effect. “People always want to go out and enjoy themselves. Technology has changed, digital stuff like that. But everything goes in cycles. The general premise of a night out has been dancing for a long time now.” That said, as the genre mutates, there are now a lot of DJs who just focus on a particular area of DJing. “A lot of people do, I get very bored playing one type of music all night. There is so much music that inspires me. If you are Jeff Mills and you invented techno, then fine but a lot of other people just stick to a narrow range. Obviously as a DJ I’d feel weird just doing that. I’m on my toes, I never prepare anything, I just bring everything with me. I know hundreds of DJs with amazing record collections but only play a small proportion of them”. Carthy is a very funny interviewee, and his humour definitely comes out in his music. I ask if that’s something he does consciously. “It depends. Most of the fun element comes from instrumental and samples. Sometimes samples from different sources can have a jarring quality which can be enjoyable. I really enjoy making music so hopefully part of that feeling rubs off to my audience”.

One of the more endearing traits of Mr Scruff gigs is the fact that Carthy sells tea during his UK gigs (unfortunately, it’s unlikely this will happen in New Zealand too). “We have a tea shop at all our UK gigs. It’s great because tea is such a popular drink in the UK but as soon as head into a nightclub it’s fizzy lager or terrible sugary drinks. I suppose people find it funny when they walk into a club but it puts people at ease, it’s a friendly, convivial thing to do, it’s a sort of ice-breaker.” He’s a big fan, and his website includes Carthy’s recipe for an ideal cup of tea. “I’m also working on my own blend at the moment.” But it’s not just tea that excites his taste buds – he’s a big fan of wine and pies for example. “As long as it’s good, I don’t discriminate”. When reminded of the great New Zealand pie, he admits “I knew there was some reason for coming over. I’ll be wandering around WOMAD with a pie and a glass of wine”.

He’s also politically aware, and his website features links to a lot of political websites and groups. “I wouldn’t say I was a spokesperson, there’s a lot of important issues. I just point at stuff and say I’m interested in them. Any sane human being should be interested in it. I’m wary of drawing the line – someone working full-time will know more than me, I’m just happy to point them out. I’m not a fan of forcing things like my music or my political views down people’s throats.” An area which comes up on his political radar is the ocean. It also comes up a lot in his music (such as in the song ‘Fish’), something which is not particularly intentional. “It was just a subject to base songs around. It could have been about a donkey, breads or carrots. It’s nice to have a specific subject and combining hundreds of little spoken work to create a little story”. The amount of material meant he was able to craft a number of songs around the same theme.

It’s the sort of free-flowing, improvisational style that Mr Scruff is world-renowned for. His playful, irreverent, wide-ranging, educational style of DJing will certainly be something well worth checking out at WOMAD.