DJ Harvey

DJ Harvey (born Harvey Bassett) is a DJ born in Cambridge, England. He was an early exponent of the US disco/garage/house sound in the UK.

DJ Harvey
Birth nameHarvey Bassett
BornCambridge, England
Occupation(s)DJ

Career

As a young teenager, he became a drummer for a Cambridge punk band, Ersatz. The band formed an indie label, Leisure Sounds, releasing the single "Smile in Shadow", which was broadcast on BBC Radio 1 by John Peel.[1]

On a trip to New York City he was inspired by the emerging hip-hop movement. He felt that "cutting up" breaks was an extension of drumming and so purchased his first pair of Technics, brought them home and practised. He was a graffiti artist and member of the group TDK (Tone Deaf Crew), which was later renamed TONKA Hi Fi. The group threw weekend-long parties in Cambridge, Brighton, London and on the festival circuit. The Brighton parties continued for five years, from 1988 to 1993, to The Zap Club, and, after the club closed at 2 am, on the beach at Black Rock.

His focus moved from hip hop, electro and disco to house music and garage, and he began playing more parties in London with the US DJs Francois Kevorkian[2] and Kenny Carpenter, playing at clubs including Solaris and Freedom.

In 1991 Harvey was a full-time DJ with his own weekly night "Moist" at the Gardening Club in London.[2] He brought over DJs from New York City and other US cities including Larry Levan,[2] He held six-hour mixes of disco, house, garage and rock records, a sound he has carried through to later residencies, including at the Hard Left at the Blue Note.

After Moist ended, Harvey played at London's Ministry of Sound.[2] This resulted in the 1998 release of his DJ mix album for MOS label's "Late Night Sessions"[2] He played for clubs including Cream in Liverpool and Back to Basics in Leeds, and in Ibiza.

He is one half of the duo behind the Black Cock record label, on which he has recreated edits of disco records by house music artists including Larry Levan and Ron Hardy.

Harvey was married in Hawaii where he resided and founded a gallery and nightclub thirtyninehotel in Honolulu, Oahu with his ex-wife, and played at the club exclusively. He has also collaborated with Thomas Bullock (of Rub'N'Tug and A.R.E. Weapons) on the disco rock project Map of Africa.[3][4]

He relocated to Los Angeles, and performed around the US with a bi-monthly residency at Santos in New York. His debut tour of Australia ended in him destroying $15,000 worth of DJ gear in a rumoured homage to his idol Jimi Hendrix as he played the sunrise set at the Meredith Music Festival.[5] In 2012 he played alongside DJ James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem at MOCA, as well as PS1 NY for Kraftwerk and FYF Fest.

His new recording project is as Locussolus, a project released on International Feel Recordings. He released singles in 2012, featuring vocals by Tara Selleck (niece of actor Tom Selleck), actress Sam Fox, and DJ Heidi Lusardi.

In 2013, Harvey opened an online store "Harvey's General Store" with his most Elite son Harley, where he sells various merchandise as well as music both new and old.

In the summer of 2014 he released an album with a new band 'Wildest Dreams' on Smalltown Supersound. The album was very well received and critically acclaimed.[6]

In 2014, at the DJ Awards in Ibiza, Harvey was the recipient of the Outstanding Contribution Award, in recognition of his body of work and influence within the Electronic music industry.

In 2018, he appeared in a scene as himself in the movie Mission: Impossible - Fallout.

References
  1. Clay, Joe (18 October 2012). "All Guns Blazing & A Heart Full of Love: DJ Harvey In His Own Words". thequietus.com. The Quietus. Retrieved 9 January 2017. The other guys in the band were like 18 and 19—really old—and their girlfriends would look after me, which was wonderful. I was being looked after by 18-year-old chicks who looked like Cher when Cher was 18, not like she is now. And they would buy me little bottles of orange juice and then when nobody was looking they'd slip the vodka into my orange juice and then I'd have my Dutch courage and I could really give it some.
  2. Bidder, Sean (June 1999). House: the Rough Guide. Rough Guides Ltd. and François Kevorkian
  3. Harvell, Jess (31 May 2007). "Stuck on Repeat: Map Of Africa Polish The Mirrors Above Their Beds". Idolator. Archived from the original on 9 August 2007. Retrieved 21 August 2007.
  4. Smith, Caspar Llewellyn (17 June 2007). "Map of Africa, Map of Africa". The Observer. Retrieved 21 August 2007.
  5. ""You Forgive a lot of Things on the Dancefloor": An Interview with DJ Harvey". Vice.com. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  6. First Listen: Wildest Dreams, 'Wildest Dreams', Npr.org 20 July 2014
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