MistaJam.com’s Sam Moir speaks to the man who warms up for some of the biggest names in music.

The Tuesday Club in Sheffield can lay claim to being the biggest student night in the nation. In the last year it’s hosted Chase & Status, Skream, Major Lazer, Scratch Perverts, Eve, DJ Yoda, Andy C, DJ Zinc, Mary Anne Hobbs, Caspa & Rusko, Toddla T and Sub Focus. That’s just a few that roll off the tongue.

Soon to be celebrating its 12th birthday, one of the men responsible for making the night so successful is resident and warm-up DJ, Andy H. Such is the man’s talent, people will often turn up right from the start to enjoy the night from the moment that first tune is played.

“The people who come in to the venue early are normally the music heads so it’s good to give them the new and interesting stuff because they appreciate it, then as people come in later on, I gradually build from there,” Andy tells me.

“You have to think “what would I want to hear right now”, especially if a crowd have come out with a certain headliner in mind.”

If you are into DJing as an art form, you will know about the DMC Championships. The DMC DJ Championship started at DMC’s first DJ Convention in London in 1985 and the event is still going strong in 2010. DJs from all over the world compete, scratching and mixing against one another and Andy’s a former finalist.

“It was my first time at the DMC, I had been encouraged to compete by various DJs I had met warming up for, so I gave it a go.”

After qualifying through the eliminator, he went on to win the Liverpool regional.

“I went on to finish 4th at the UK final which was great for my first attempt but it became obvious comparing my set with the others that I was so much more excited about entertaining the crowd than I was at working on the technical scratches.”

“I didn’t really see myself as a battle DJ. I think that being able to juggle and scratch just makes you a more versatile club DJ and means you can add more to your sets.”

While on the subject of scratching, it seems relevant to ask him his thoughts on the change in DJing over the years. Everyone fancies trying to mix and DJ now but you can’t say the same about scratching with the latter seemingly dying out.

“When it was all record shops and vinyl I spent hours talking to the shop owners and listening to tracks on the listening posts trying to find the right sound for my sets. It was also really expensive to buy a handful of new tracks. I did love the “vinyl days” but technology has helped make it much simpler to start out.”

So while purists may look down on the digital age of DJing that we see today, the advent of new technology seems to have made the scene easier to break in to.

“It’s so easy to get into now because the equipment is really cheap. The music is less than a pound per track and there are loads of people to watch to learn from. It’s also really easy to find out about new music online.”

With 15 years of DJing experience, he has spent this time working on all the elements of DJing including competing in competitions, DJing for vocalists and being in a DJ crew. It was pirate radio that first got Andy into music, “I loved the fact that DJs were playing music they were into just because they thought it was good and wanted others to hear it, not because they were getting paid to play it.”

“In many cases they didn’t even know if anyone was listening. I also loved the fact that back then there were nowhere near as many tracks coming out as there are now but you could still hear a DJ and know their style straight away by which tracks they selected and how they played them.”

Fifteen years is a lot of time in the music industry and there have been big changes in terms of the widening of music genres. “Around the time I started to make a name for myself as a DJ more people just seemed to be into one style of music.”

“Drum & Bass, Hip Hop, Garage and House were all kept relatively separate. Now with the blurring of genres I can happily cover a wide range of styles in one set and the same people are into them all.

“I can only see this being a good thing as it’s very easy to become stale as a producer or DJ if you end up playing a narrow sound for along period of time.”

When it comes to addressing the paying punters who want a particular genre, Andy tries to accommodate it, “As for my sets I’m all about playing for the crowd if a track or style makes a crowd jump then I build it into my sets, it’s as simple as that.”

“In the past it has felt like there has been a bit of a drought in fresh music coming out but these new styles have opened the flood gates to scores of brilliant new tracks.”

Former BBC Radio 1 DJ Mary Anne Hobbs has played at the Tuesday Club on many occasions and as well as it being her favourite university gig, she also has praise for the nature in which the club works on bookings.

“The people who book the line-ups are bringing the best artists internationally into Sheffield every week and there’s just this incredible exchange of energy between the audience and the DJ,” says Mary Anne.

Andy agrees and believes Sheffield, a city known for its rich music history, has a balanced mixture of big and small events, “The small nights often showcase the new interesting up and coming acts and the big events draw the big names to the city from where ever they are in the world.”

It’s the big names that make The Tuesday Club such a seminal night in electronic music now and it is because of the regular big name DJs that play, Andy has perfected the art of warming up.

“Looking back over years of warming up for hundreds of DJs I guess I learnt the art of “warm up DJing” by just doing it week in week out, it’s the best way to learn. It’s your job to make sure people enjoy themselves and to make sure that the atmosphere is set for the headline artist.”

Bearing all this in mind, there must surely be a sense of frustration when you have a tune you know will tear the floor up but can’t play it because the headliner is most likely to play later on in the night? “It’s just not fair. You have to see the night as a whole and doing your job well as a warm up means the headliner gets to do his job well to. Everyone’s happy.”

In fact, he sees it as a challenge for the headliner, “I love to raise the bar for the headline act so they feel they have to work hard and put on a big show to prove themselves, after the warm up.”

Andy’s shared the stage with some of the biggest names in music and could go on for hours discussing some past memories. “There are so many DJs that I have looked up to over the years and finally getting to share a stage with them is so exciting. A few of my favorites at TTC include Jazzy Jeff (probably the best DJ ever)who also encouraged me to do the DMC, Mix Master Mike, Qbert and Mark Ronson”

“All these DJs are super technical but they still know how to rock a crowd. I love it when you come away from a night just inspired to go home and practice even harder.”

For more information on Andy H visit his MySpace or e-mail mike@tuesdayclub.co.uk. His latest mix is available to listen here.

MistaJam will be bringing his Speakerbox tour to The Tuesday Club on 26th October with Donae’o (Live), Shapeshifter (New Zealand Live DnB) and a Special Guest.