I realize that most of my posts describe when I first heard about the artist. I guess its just my way of letting whoever is nice enough to still be reading my blog the mental journey I had when first listening to the artist, and what brought me to their most recent production.
I believe it was on Ministry of Sound's radio station that I first heard "Acceptable in the 80s." I liked how it sounded, and then once I saw the video, I was hooked. Being a product of the early 80s, I grew up with all the pop madness that defined the decade, including the misuse of animals for testing. I love how the video captured that.
So 2007 was when I discovered Scottish producer Adam Wiles, aka Calvin Harris. I had already quit working at the record store, so I had to special order his album "I Created Disco" as it was only available as an import, and I paid a ridiculous amount of money for it. But I really liked it, and when I heard "Dance Wiv Me," Harris' collaborative effort with my favorite Grime producer Dizzee Rascal the following year, I had solidified my opinion of Calvin Harris.
He then came out with his sophomore album "Ready for the Weekend" and was still relatively unknown internationally. Tracks like "Flashback" and "I'm Not Alone" are very comparable to his current mainstream hit "Feels So Close" but most people are none the wiser.
Side note: the videoclip for "Ready For the Weekend" featured Funda Onal who appeared in the first season of British reality show "Made in Chelsea" and Lauren Pope, who is currently on ITV's hit show "The Only Way is Essex."
Calvin Harris used to joke on Twitter back in 2009 about wanting to be like David Guetta. I sincerely could not tell if he was being serious or mocking Guetta. But in the Fall of 2011, his career skyrocketed to Guetta proportions when his production was given international radio play with Rihanna's "We Found Love." Accompanied by a video that seemed autobiographical to Rihanna's real life drama, the song with its catchy hooks and electro synths gained massive appeal from people inside and outside the electronic world. Now that he has collaborated with the likes of Rihanna, Ne-Yo, Cheryl Cole, Scissor Sisters to name but a few of the pop stars demanding his production services, there's no way Calvin Harris cannot but respect what Guetta has done. Also, Calvin Harris is a friend of SHM, having opened for them at their Masquerade Motel events, among others as a supporting act. His latest release is "Let Go" featuring Ne-Yo, and upcoming for Harris is the release of Rihanna's Where Have You Been, another dance anthem, Cheryl Cole's much anticipated "Call My Name."
What prompted me to write this was actually not Calvin Harris, but one of my favorite producers Brodinski. I heard a preview of his remix of the Scissor Sister's latest "Only The Horses." Upon further investigation, I found out that the track was produced by Calvin Harris! Jake Shears has been canoodling with a number of electronic producers as of late, so I cannot say I'm surprised by the track's producer or remixer.
No comments:
Post a Comment