MLA Q&A || Harrison

If you aren’t familiar with London-based DJ Harrison, that’s about to change. Generating attention from collaborations with artists like David Guetta, Hardwell, Chuckie, Laidback Luke, and more, he clearly doesn’t plan on slowing down anytime soon. Harrison stands out from the rest of the crowd as a DJ, Producer, and Vocalist, providing an interesting twist on his live sets and giving fans more than your average DJ can. His talents have already taken him around the world, playing in clubs and festivals ranging from the Ministry of Sound to Privilege, and tours stretching from China to South Africa.

His breakthrough track with David Guetta and Glowinthedark, “Ain’t A Party” caught on quickly and is a track that you can still hear played out in sets at major festivals around the globe. That track led to some solo releases, as well as a collaboration with Hardwell on hit track “Sally“. Coming off his release of “Never Rave Again” with Laidback Luke, we had a chance to chat with Harrison so he can share his insight, career experience, and what’s to come!

You are definitely a multifaceted artist, producing your own tracks, and providing vocals for your own tracks as well. Do you think this is a rising trend in an often formulaic EDM world?

I think that the more you try to learn about the industry, the better you will understand it, and most likely become a better artist. Not everyone has a great voice so I understand that DJs like to work with vocalists to find someone to do this part for them, and therefore it won’t become a trend that many DJs follow. As a DJ you tour a lot, so its difficult to get those hours in the studio that are necessary to create a great track. That’s why prioritizing and planning to make sure you balance both is extremely important, also since in a lot of cases DJs wont get as many gigs unless they have consistent releases.

You recently collaborated with Laidback Luke on “Never Rave Again”. What was it like working with him?

Luke is one of my favourite guys in the industry. He is so talented, and has so much positive and powerful energy. I went to Amsterdam and went round his house to his studio and we created “Never Rave Again”, he was so humble and just a good friend, and if we are at the same venue we like to perform that track together – it’s always very fun!

https://soundcloud.com/harrison-official/laidbackluke-harrison-never-rave-again

Which artist, if any, has been your favorite to collaborate with?

As you mentioned all have been good in different ways, collabing with Hardwell, Luke, Steve, Vinai and Juicy M have been good for the reason that we have performed our tracks live, allowing for our collabs to live on and it always makes it extra fun for the fans – they love it!

Are there any more exciting collaborations you can let us know about?

There will hopefully be a few more collabs in the near future, but nothing is set in stone yet. I am trying to focus more on me as a solo DJ/performer and create my own music that I can tour with, so that I don’t have to rely on collaborations.

What has been the experience like working with Armada? How have they helped perpetuate the rise of your career?

Armada are cool, I’ve only worked with them twice now, the first time was with Thomas Gold our track “Take me Home’” and then the second time was with Juicy M our track “LA Girls”. Both times they have been very reasonable and believed 100% in the tracks. They also love a good music video which I love since I’m really into cameras and the whole idea of creating a story for each track, since it gives the track more to it and people can visualize your meaning of the track as well. With Armada I have also had my credit for productions, meaning I’m not just featured on the track as a vocalist.

Your initial breakthrough track with David Guetta “Ain’t A Party” definitely generated a lot of attention. Where did the initial connection between the two of you come from, and what was the response to the release, both online and the live circuit?

I created the track with DJ Chuckie first, and he played it at festivals like Ultra, where other DJs like David heard it. He jumped straight on it and really wanted to be apart of the track and that’s where that connection started. The response to the release was so positive, everyone loved it from different DJs to all the fans, it’s a track that gets sampled so much still to this day, whether its my top line or parts of the guitar riff that are played/ sampled out. The online response was also very good, especially through social media I started gaining more and more fans on my platforms, and everyone just seemed to love it.

https://soundcloud.com/harrison-official/david-guetta-glowinthedark-1

As a solo artist, you seem to have performed all over the world; from Ministry of Sound in the UK, BCM in Majorca, as well as events in China, South Africa and the list goes on… what has been one, or some, of your favourite events to play? Where have you had the most positive responses?

I have really enjoyed… I would say 95% of my shows so far which is very good odds, some of my favourites were South Africa (H20 festival) as the atmosphere was so crazy and the crowd was really going for it. I would also like to mention some of my recent shows in Japan that have also been amazing, but when looking back I could name 10 more that were fantastic. They were all so different and amazing in their own way. I say this because I had different vibes in each one, the stages are amazing when playing festivals. At festivals you get crowds that are not even possible to fit in a club and get to pull off crazy stuff like a sit down or the wave. But then my club shows, they are so personal and fun because I get to interact with the crowd in different ways since the booth is normally a lot closer.

Can we expect to see you at any more US and worldwide club events, or any big events at this summer’s remaining festival circuit?

Not in the US this summer unfortunately, but we’re working on it for 2017. Will be doing a circuit round Europe all in August – in Malta, Italy, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Ireland, Netherlands etc… and hopefully an Asia tour again in September/October.

If you were to venture into any other genre, what might that be?

Pop!

Finally, what is next for Harrison?

Next for Harrison there will hopefully be a lot more touring, as well as my new radio show will be up and running very shortly, and possibly some new solo Harrison releases. Thanks for having me and check out my socials for the updates on Harrison!

Connect with Harrison on Social Media:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | SoundCloud | YouTube