Back in about 2005 Andy got himself a Roland electronic drum kit. It was limited, and ultimately didn't have the variety of tone Andy was hoping for so was only with him for a year or so. But during that time we put together this song - him on drums, me on the rest ... and I still love listening to it. There's some beautiful subtle playing from Andy here, and it's not a genre that he was 'famous' for.
But it's just further evidence how good he was at so many things, from DJ-ing to guitar, tennis to drums. 
As the years have gone on, this song's proved to be one of my favourite I ever made - I still get a lot of enjoyment out of the guitar and piano work on here. Please forgive the awful buzzing of the guitar lead throughout! This was early ion the production-learning journey... :)
RIP Andy. Still thinking of you daily.

Anydays feat. Andy Skopes

Andy passed away 5 years ago to the day. I hope wherever he is he doesn't mind, but I thought I'd share the last track he was working on, from November 2018. A very much working title of 'Prednisolone Ween', which gives you an idea of the kind of thing he was dealing with in his last few months. 
It's a work in progress tune, not finished by any means, but it has so many great touches even at this stage that it felt wrong letting it languish on a hard drive for eternity, without sharing it. 
RIP sir. 🤜

Andyskopes - Prednisolone Ween 28.11.18

Easter 2009.  Mike Rea, Andy Lawrence (Andy Skopes) and Paul Webb (Coerce) on a bunch of instruments...

For fans of GY!BE, Mogwai and that ilk.

Easter Post Rock Milieu

Written by Andy Lawrence and I in 2009.  Guitar and bass by me, strings, drums and overall production by Andy.  

It was a response to the breakup of our band, both a kind of love letter to our friends but also an experiment to see if we could record music together that was any good.  

The song got put on hold as I couldn't work out a vocal melody that worked, and never got back to it.  But I hope people might find the song interesting, particularly hearing more of Andy's music away from drum n' bass.

What Year Is This by Mike Rea & Andy Skopes

Made at Daniel Bissex's house back in the mists of time (2000 maybe?), I added some drums and extra instrumentation in Garageband in 2019.

Changes - Mike Rea And Daniel Bissex

Apologies about the hum on the track, recorded back when I was still learning the ropes!

Deep End Travelogue - Mike Rea

A song I originally put together in 2011, thought it deserved a modern remaster with proper drums.

Fiddlesticks (Future Remaster)

A bit of an experiment with violin playing, along with a tremolo pedal on the guitar. A demo in the vein of Ry Cooder's work on Paris, Texas or numerous David Lynch / Coen Bros. scores.

Let me know if you'd like to use it on your next film!

PTSD (2019 Remaster)

A mix by Andy Skopes from 1996/1997 or so, playing the kind of tunes he knew I loved (drumfunk / choppage). 
Side 2 coming soon!

Mike Rea

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