Generation X? Do me a favour. At the tender age of twenty Andrew Barlow has been there, seen that, done it and now he's putting it down on vinyl. Barely out of short trousers he was being influenced by breakbeats, space funk and industrial noise in the States. Hip hopping across the Transatlantic and buzzing with ideas Andrew was rudely awoken by the underworld of head banging techno. The result of this nasty hybrid of hi-fi sonics is the funky jam of one man band Hip Optimist.
'Anafey' is the first result of this sole voyage and provided his key into the music industry. Andrew played it to anyone who'd listen, blagged it with everyone and got himself a job first remixing Hardkiss' 'Phoenix', then dabbling with Skylab and finally hooking up with his soul sister for Lupe.
As well as dipping his finger into lots of tasty pies, he's also composing freaky electronics to accompany sick sci-fi play 'The Torture Garden'. In his spare time Andrew is kind to small animals and children.
Momentarily striking out on his own and taking a breather from the studio, Mr Barlow is releasing 'Anafey' through street urchins Skint. Check it, check it out and see what all the fuss is about.
Skint Records press release, dated 1995
