Calling commercial EDM “suspect,” Calvin Harris says he finds himself more drawn to the studio than to DJ gigs.
If you have yet to catch a Calvin Harris DJ set, you’ve apparently got about a ten-year window to do so. The Scottish EDM hitmaker wants to stop DJing altogether, ideally before he hits age 50.
Harris, who just turned 40 last month, shared as much during a Wednesday interview with MistaJam for Capital Dance alongside “Giant” collaborator Rag’n’Bone Man. “I’ve always said that once I get past 50, I can’t see myself DJing, man,” Harris said.
When MistaJam asked about Carl Cox, who is still DJing at 61, Harris retorted, “It’s a certain type of DJing though innit. The more commercial end it gets a wee bit (pauses) a little bit suspect.”
How would he prefer to be spending his time? In the studio, apparently. This comes as no surprise given that Calvin Harris catapulted into mainstream awareness largely thanks to hit singles like “We Found Love” featuring Rihanna and “Bounce” featuring Kelis in the early years of the EDM explosion.
But Harris sees himself aiding in other artists’ creative process more so moving forward. “I think that’s where the majority of my talent lies, making something sound good,” he said. “So I would like to make other people’s records sound good.”
For six years in a row in the 2010s, Forbes had declared Calvin Harris the highest-earning DJ in the world. He had an exclusive residency with Hakkasan Nightclub in Las Vegas, where bottle service famously went for $500,000 during his 2014 New Years Eve performance.
But life has slowed down somewhat for Harris, who joked that he recently searched for anti-aging supplements on Google. Last summer, he married Vick Hope, whom he said has so much energy that he’s “trying to keep up with her.”
For now, at least, Calvin Harris remains active on the nightclub and festival circuit. On March 16, he returns to LIV Beach Las Vegas before performing at Ultra Music Festival in Miami from March 22-24.
