Andy Reichel (aka Gel-Sol): A genre-hopping DJ who likes to "keep it weird, funky, and funny." Credit: Cindy Reichel
Andy Reichel (aka Gel-Sol): A genre-hopping DJ who likes to keep it weird, funky, and funny.
Andy Reichel (aka Gel-Sol): A genre-hopping DJ who likes to “keep it weird, funky, and funny.” Cindy Reichel

ANDY REICHEL (aka GEL-SOL; )

Current top 5 tracks:

Isaac Hayes, “Pursuit of the Pimpmobile” (Enterprise)

Mike Ratledge, “Riddles of the Sphinx – Sequence 3” (Mordant Music)

Uschi Brünin, “Eifersucht” (Amiga)

Wigwam, “Pedagogue” (Love Records)

Sonny Sharrock, “Once Upon a Time” (Axiom)

Crew/label affiliations:Patchwerks; SYNPROV CORP (Monster Planet); Verses Records (Washington, D.C.)

Styles played: “Progressive rock, classic electronic, ambient, funk, psych, international. If it’s from ’67-’74, I almost don’t care what the genre is.”

Events organized: Monster Planet; various Patchwerks events

DJing philosophy: “The music depends on where and when, but I generally like to keep it weird, funky, and funny. I also prefer genre-hopping vs. playing the same type of music for an entire set.”

Preferred format: “Vinyl.”

Worst request: “A couple drunk women came into Hazlewood during PROG! and requested ‘(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life’ from the Dirty Dancing soundtrack, when I clearly wasn’t playing anything remotely poppy or crappy. That request was particularly chuckle-worthy to me, since Dirty Dancing was my mother’s favorite movie and it was filmed down the road from where I went to college. I told the women that I would absolutely not play that record, and if I possessed that record, I would break it over my knee.”

Upcoming events:
Gel-Sol/Monster Planet LIVE + VR Installation at Mokedo on Friday, October 20. Horse Head Bookends album release show.
Monster Planet: 3rd Mondays at Re-bar
PROG!: 3rd Thursdays at Hazlewood Bar

Dave Segal is a journalist and DJ living in Seattle. He has been writing about music since 1983. His stuff has appeared in Gale Research’s literary criticism series of reference books, Creem (when...