Biography
Few figures have done more than Andrew Weatherall to connect indie and alternative rock with dance music culture, securing his status among the most esteemed DJs in history. A constant presence in British clubs from the 1980s onward and a co-founder of the Boys Own collective amid the acid house surge, he grew into heavy demand both on turntables and in studios. Landmark productions and remixes for Primal Scream, Saint Etienne, My Bloody Valentine, the Happy Mondays and additional acts followed. He also launched the Sabres of Paradise and Two Lone Swordsmen, two widely praised and influential groups that fused dub, left-field house and electro, issuing material on Warp alongside their own labels. From the late 1990s he put out several unmixed compilations, among them the well-regarded Nine O'Clock Drop, plus DJ mixes such as 2004's Fabric 19, and recordings under his own name, beginning with the 2009 solo debut A Pox on the Pioneers. He kept probing neo-psychedelia and electro-disco through later outfits including the Asphodells and the Woodleigh Research Facility, staying active until his passing in 2020. Phonox Nights, the third album from the Woodleigh Research Facility, came out posthumously in 2023.
Andrew Weatherall started frequenting disco parties and soul weekenders while still a teenager. His broad musical knowledge and growing record collection secured him DJ bookings after he relocated to London in the 1980s, at which point he also began contributing freelance music journalism. With fellow DJ Terry Farley he launched the fanzine Boys Own, later expanding it into a label, and became a regular at acid house hotspots such as Danny Rampling's Shoom, Nicky Holloway's Trip and Paul Oakenfold's Future/Spectrum as the sound swept the U.K. Those connections resulted in a remix of New Order's "Worlds in Motion" and, alongside Oakenfold, the Happy Mondays' "Hallelujah." Primal Scream enlisted Weatherall for the Top 20 single "Loaded" and production duties on the landmark Screamadelica. The record's massive impact established him as one of the U.K.'s leading remixers and producers. Following a period behind the decks at London's influential KISS-FM, he operated two clubs in the capital and, in 1993, collaborated extensively with techno-pop outfit One Dove.
That same year Weatherall formed the Sabres of Paradise alongside Jagz Kooner and Gary Burns; the trio released a run of pioneering ambient experimental techno singles and EPs on their own imprint, later gathered on several Warp Records compilations. He co-produced tracks for Beth Orton's 1996 folktronica landmark Trailer Park. After the Sabres disbanded he created Two Lone Swordsmen with Keith Tenniswood and launched the Emissions Audio Output label. Following another collaboration with Primal Scream on the track "Trainspotting" for the film of the same name, Weatherall mixed the third installment of the Heavenly Presents: Live at the Social series in 1999. The set highlighted his characteristic command of both vintage and contemporary electronic music. Two Lone Swordsmen moved to Warp, releasing acclaimed IDM albums such as Stay Down and Tiny Reminders. Weatherall's unmixed, post-punk-focused Nine O'Clock Drop surfaced in 2000, while the minimal techno mix Hypercity appeared on Force Tracks in 2001.
After several further mix albums, his debut solo EP The Bullet Catcher's Apprentice, which moved from his techno origins to the rockabilly leanings heard in later Two Lone Swordsmen work, arrived on his own Rotters Golf Club imprint in 2006. His first full-length, 2009's A Pox on the Pioneers, proved equally wide-ranging. In 2013 Weatherall joined forces with Battant's Timothy J. Fairplay as the Asphodells for the album Ruled by Passion, Destroyed by Lust. That year he also began programming the annual Convenanza Festival, staged inside a castle in Carcassonne, France. The Woodleigh Research Facility, his duo with longtime collaborator Nina Walsh, issued its first album, The Phoenix Suburb (And Other Stories), in 2015. Weatherall's 2016 release Convenanza was co-written with Walsh. The remix album Consolamentum, containing reworkings by Fairplay, Solar Bears, Red Axes and Black Devil Disco Club, followed later that year. Qualia, his final solo album, came out on Höga Nord Rekords in 2017.
Weatherall died on February 17, 2020, aged 56, from a pulmonary embolism. The dub single "Unknown Plunderer" and electro EP Pamela #1 appeared soon afterward. Walsh carried on releasing music under the Woodleigh Research Facility name, yet 2023's Phonox Nights constituted a posthumous collection of tracks co-written with Weatherall.
Andrew Weatherall started frequenting disco parties and soul weekenders while still a teenager. His broad musical knowledge and growing record collection secured him DJ bookings after he relocated to London in the 1980s, at which point he also began contributing freelance music journalism. With fellow DJ Terry Farley he launched the fanzine Boys Own, later expanding it into a label, and became a regular at acid house hotspots such as Danny Rampling's Shoom, Nicky Holloway's Trip and Paul Oakenfold's Future/Spectrum as the sound swept the U.K. Those connections resulted in a remix of New Order's "Worlds in Motion" and, alongside Oakenfold, the Happy Mondays' "Hallelujah." Primal Scream enlisted Weatherall for the Top 20 single "Loaded" and production duties on the landmark Screamadelica. The record's massive impact established him as one of the U.K.'s leading remixers and producers. Following a period behind the decks at London's influential KISS-FM, he operated two clubs in the capital and, in 1993, collaborated extensively with techno-pop outfit One Dove.
That same year Weatherall formed the Sabres of Paradise alongside Jagz Kooner and Gary Burns; the trio released a run of pioneering ambient experimental techno singles and EPs on their own imprint, later gathered on several Warp Records compilations. He co-produced tracks for Beth Orton's 1996 folktronica landmark Trailer Park. After the Sabres disbanded he created Two Lone Swordsmen with Keith Tenniswood and launched the Emissions Audio Output label. Following another collaboration with Primal Scream on the track "Trainspotting" for the film of the same name, Weatherall mixed the third installment of the Heavenly Presents: Live at the Social series in 1999. The set highlighted his characteristic command of both vintage and contemporary electronic music. Two Lone Swordsmen moved to Warp, releasing acclaimed IDM albums such as Stay Down and Tiny Reminders. Weatherall's unmixed, post-punk-focused Nine O'Clock Drop surfaced in 2000, while the minimal techno mix Hypercity appeared on Force Tracks in 2001.
After several further mix albums, his debut solo EP The Bullet Catcher's Apprentice, which moved from his techno origins to the rockabilly leanings heard in later Two Lone Swordsmen work, arrived on his own Rotters Golf Club imprint in 2006. His first full-length, 2009's A Pox on the Pioneers, proved equally wide-ranging. In 2013 Weatherall joined forces with Battant's Timothy J. Fairplay as the Asphodells for the album Ruled by Passion, Destroyed by Lust. That year he also began programming the annual Convenanza Festival, staged inside a castle in Carcassonne, France. The Woodleigh Research Facility, his duo with longtime collaborator Nina Walsh, issued its first album, The Phoenix Suburb (And Other Stories), in 2015. Weatherall's 2016 release Convenanza was co-written with Walsh. The remix album Consolamentum, containing reworkings by Fairplay, Solar Bears, Red Axes and Black Devil Disco Club, followed later that year. Qualia, his final solo album, came out on Höga Nord Rekords in 2017.
Weatherall died on February 17, 2020, aged 56, from a pulmonary embolism. The dub single "Unknown Plunderer" and electro EP Pamela #1 appeared soon afterward. Walsh carried on releasing music under the Woodleigh Research Facility name, yet 2023's Phonox Nights constituted a posthumous collection of tracks co-written with Weatherall.
Albums
Singles
