ACM (aka Andy Muscat) sits right in the heart of the Melbourne’s underground music scene. As one of the founding members of the notorious Bunker crew and being at the helm of one of the best live sets in Australia, ACM is one to watch across the next decade. His passion for music is like an Italian’s passion for home cooked tortellini; very strong. After having seen Jeff Mills some years ago, it inspired Andy to begin his path to playing live techno. Since then, his live set has developed into a hugely impressive hardware only setup. Andy’s sound is unique in the techno landscape of Australia as there really isn’t a setup out there in that compares to his.

An ACM live set exists in the realm of hard pulsing techno, with gritty drums, lashings of acid synths and cosmic pads. Having played his live set for many years now, ACM has really evolved what he’s capable of doing with his setup.Recently, he released a recording of his live and improvised set from Technoir’s annual Christmas party at Lounge bar in Melbourne. He claims to be his favourite set of 2016, which I must say is high praise coming from a man who is his own harshest critic. For you to gain some more perspective on ACM, I shot over a few questions.

ACM:There isn’t really a right or wrong way to answer this question, I get it quite often as well… We’re in a world where technology is allowing us to blur the lines between live and DJ sets more and more and I think this is what confuses people. A DJ set is fundamentally where tracks are mixed into each other regardless of whether it is done on CDJs, in Ableton or on vinyl!  To me a live set is about using instruments such as drum machines and synthesisers to create the individual sounds that make up a track, with the ability to modulate and manipulate them in the moment.

FS: Explain how your live set came about and how you’ve developed it over the years? Do you have any plans to develop it further into 2017?

ACM: After watching Jeff Mills perform an improvised hybrid set with his TR909 drum synth and 4 turntables a few years back I was left inspired to try something new. I was a DJ at the time and wanted to incorporate more of a live element in my sets. Starting with a drum machine as my live tool I was bitten by the bug and got a little addicted to expanding my collection of synths. It has now developed into a set from an all hardware rig. My sound is always evolving but I think 2017 is the year where I slow down a little bit in terms of buying new toys. I’m quite happy with the set-up as it is now and would like to just spend more time realising the full potential of the instruments I already own. I think this is how I will deepen my sound and develop the most.

FS: To follow on, can we expect some releases from ACM in 2017?

ACM: I would like to release an EP this year, hopefully the stars align and I get something out!

FS: Give us a rundown of your set at Technoir’s annual Christmas party. What was the vibe of the night, when did you play and what were your thoughts coming into the set?

ACM: I left my family’s Christmas lunch early to go and do sound checks before the event. I knew everyone on the line up and had been to many Technoir gigs so I was comfortable knowing there was going to be great techno on all night. As I always like to do, just before the set I jumped into my booth and gauged the crowd – they were fuelled up and ready to roll. I also recognised a few local techno artists, some of which I see almost as my mentors. That made me a bit nervous but I think it helped my performance.

FS: What are your thoughts on Melbourne’s techno scene currently? Where was it a few years ago and what have you seen change across that time period? Are you excited for the future of music in Melbourne?

ACM: I really like what is happening in Melbourne. There’s a lot of really passionate people doing really great things. Over the last 5 years I feel like there has been a lot more interest in techno, especially from a younger demographic. Techno will always be more of a niche genre in Melbourne but it’s a pretty big movement at the moment and I love being part of it! The growth has also seen the return of a many amazing DJs, both local and international, some who hadn’t played in Melbourne for years. The thing that I like the most is I can still watch DJs and live artists like Honeysmack or Matt Radovich who have been pillars of techno in Melbourne, show what it means to them. That makes it feel that little more special to be a part of.