Aim (Andy Turner) grew up in the coastal town of Barrow-in-Furness, England. In the late early 90s, Andy was drawn to underground clubs and warehouse raves and started DJing, making regular trips to Manchester’s Eastern Bloc and Spin Inn Records and putting on basement parties in his hometown.

In 1990, he opened Speed Limit Records, a specialist, vinyl-only store during hip-hop’s ‘golden age’. Week after week he would be sent boxes full of life-changing hip-hop LPs and 12″s by the likes of Nas, Pete Rock, Diamond D, Souls of Mischief and Main Source. Inspired by these records, Andy bought a Commodore Amiga and started making beats.

A demo found its way to Manchester’s Grand Central Records who signed him soon after. He released his debut studio album ‘Cold Water Music’ in 1999, which The Sunday Times dubbed “a touchstone in UK dance music.” After selling out Shepherd’s Bush Empire and smashing Glastonbury along the way, Aim cemented a reputation as one of the UK’s leading underground artists, achieving a kind of cult following whilst bridging the impossible void between creative independence and inescapability.

We are so excited to celebrate 25 years of ‘Cold Water Music’ at Cross The Tracks 2024.