His Aim is true

It’s hip-hop Jim but not as we know it. Hinterland, the second album from Aim, aka Cumbria-born Andy Turner, is so much more than a mere hip-hop album. Tracks like ‘No Restriction’ and ‘The Omen’ are pure American-style hip-hop from the top drawer, but these are counterbalanced by tracks like the Portishead-esque jazz stylings of the beautiful ‘The Girl Who Fell Through The Ice’.

Part of the reason for this juxtaposition of styles and genres comes from the fact that Andy’s father is a jazz musician and the young Turner was weaned on jazz.

“When I got into hip-hop, it was hip-hop that sampled jazz that really turned me onto it, so jazz is a strong element in my music. Until I heard people like Pete Rock, who were sampling the likes of Tom Scott, hip-hop hadn’t really affected me.”

When he was bitten by the hip-hop bug, Turner found himself temporarily incapable of serving any other musical mistress.

“I had been playing different types of music for about three years: house, breakbeat, American garage, but once I got into hip-hop, I forgot all about that, and all I bought for a couple of years was hip-hop.”

When he started to create this album, Andy admits that he originally felt that it was going to be a pure hip-hop album.

“I had this feeling that hip-hop was hip-hop and all this other stuff that I was into was over there [gestures] and never the twain shall meet,” he admits. “But once I realised that I could draw on all this other music that I loved, it got really exciting. The foundation for just about every track on there is hip-hop: after that, I just keep layering stuff up and see where it goes.”

It is that ‘seeing where it goes’ that has led to some of the album’s standout tracks, most of which feature guest vocalists, from Diamond D and Souls Of Mischief to Canadian chanteuse Kate Rogers and Babybird’s Stephen Jones.

“None of those people are on there to get their name there,” enthuses Andy. “They are there because I totally respect what they’ve done and I think they can add to what I’ve done. It’s a totally musical thing.”

Humbly confessing that the only expectations he has for this album is that it sells enough copies to allow him to make another one, Turner seems genuinely surprised when I venture that the album could have the same crossover appeal as, say, Moby’s Play.

How would he feel if something like ‘The Girl Who Fell Through The Ice’ was a huge mainstream success?

“I’m not sure, to be honest,” he shrugs. “I’ll deal with it if it happens, but it’s certainly not why I’m doing this. In Manchester, if you start acting like you’re summat special, you’ll just get a slap. So whatever happens, happens. But if it did get in the charts, it would be a nice little bonus.”