biography
Quentin Harris
In the hermetically sealed world of dance music, where genres split tangentially with regular and bewildering regularity, there are a few whose music is expansive enough to cross barriers, ignore micro-idioms and appeal to many. Quentin Harris IS one of the few.
“I’m proud of the fact I wake up each morning to a job that I love doing; one that touches people in so many different ways,” states Quentin. Indeed he does. Quentin’s name has been on the lips of many since hearing his midas touch on Donnie’s “Cloud 9” and hearing his original productions, like the timeless “Let’s Be Young,” which blew up over five years ago. Since then it’s been an endless whirl of global DJing engagements and many hours acquiring a studio tan in the service of some of the best house music to be heard in quite some time. Some say he single-handedly rejuvenated the house music scene.
Although he’s made his mark in the past decade, Quentin Harris has been making music much longer. Raised in Detroit, he cut his teeth listening to the highly influential DJ Ken Collier (a regular ally of Was (Not Was)) and, of course, The Electrifyin’ Mojo, the Motor City’s equivalent of the UK’s John Peel. “I so wish radio was still like it was then. It was programming to de-programming, so to speak. I would sit there getting schooled on stuff I didn’t know and sometimes he would just play Stevie Wonder records all night.”
Quentin was something of prodigy as a kid, teaching himself to play piano to such a level that, by the time he was able to take lessons, he’d already outgrown the teachers themselves. The route to the studio came through an uncle who fancied himself as an MC and enrolled the kid with the musical chops in the venture. “We went to this little studio and I’d play little synth lines on these demos. I went so often that I ended up controlling how they sounded. At the time, I didn’t realize that I was performing the functions of a music producer. Once that stopped, I had the bug to make my own music.”
Next up, an interning gig at Anita Baker-producer Michael Powell’s Vanguard Studios enabled Quentin to develop his R&B skills playing for music legends such as Aretha Franklin. At home, furiously working on beats, he was noticed by NY MCs Masterminds, who loved what he did and used some of his tracks on their debut. “Working with Masterminds is what caused me to start visiting New York a lot. I ended up producing the whole of their next album. One day, they said, ‘Do you DJ?’ ‘Yes I do.’ They needed a touring DJ. I never looked back after that.”
Despite his burgeoning rep in hip hop circles, Quentin had long been messing about with four-to-the-floor stuff in his studio, undeterred by the occasional negative comment. “When I let people who I admired hear what I was working on, they’d say, ‘Oh it’s not clean or it has to sound like this.’ So I thought, ‘Oh, fuck this shit, there are too many rules in this game. I’ll stick to hip hop!” He laughs uproariously at the memory.
In 2003, his remix of Donnie’s “Cloud 9” on Giant Step broke through. Within a year he’d made the era-defining “Let’s Be Young”, a tune born out of anger (you can hear it in those sabre-like techno stabs). “A friend had booked flights to Miami, but booked the hotel on the right day in the wrong month. Instead of getting angry I just said, ‘You fix this right now,’ and then I started working on something. “Let’s Be Young” is what came out. That same friend thought it was amazing and different and I was like, ‘Ok whatever.’ But you never know. Quincy Jones thought Michael Jackson should remove Billie Jean from the Thriller album!”
Quentin Harris has become one of the most in-demand remixers in the world, adding necessary club sheen to R&B vocals, house tracks and frequently turning the proverbial turd into a polished diamond. No wonder he’s been called on to remix everyone from Justin Timberlake and Mariah Carey to Femi Kuti and Blaze. In addition to “Don’t You Forget About Us” from Mariah, and “Not Like Crazy” by Jill Scott, one of his benchmark rubs was a sneaky re-production of Leela James’ “My Joy”, transforming her dynamite blues jam, into classic deep house. He says he never thought it would cause such a splash. “I had no idea that “My Joy” would turn into what it turned into. The records I really loved and had the most fun working on, like Justin Timberlake’s “What Goes Around,”, stayed under the radar. You know, I never know. I just do what feels good.”
This May sees the release of his sophomore album, “Sac•ri•fice”, the follow-up to 2006’s “No Politics”, a collection that encompasses Harris’ widescreen house vista. “It’s taken me two years to make “Sac•ri•fice,” he confides. “There was a year of frustration because of writers’ block and also, I was hearing a lot of records that I felt were copying my sounds and I was challenged with trying to come up with something new without alienating my fan base. I hope I’ve succeeded. If I had to describe “Sac•ri•fice” sonically, I would say that it sounds like the album Prince, Murk and I would make together, if such a dream session should ever happen.”
Harris’ success has been built on the rare ability to straddle genres effortlessly, with productions that gracefully sit between the soulful end of the Shelter and the tougher sound that many European audiences demand. Danny Tenaglia called it Hard and Soul and Quentin surely lives up to it. “I go out and listen to everything even if it’s not my scene,” he states. “For instance, Victor Calderone is a good friend of mine – and even though I won’t necessarily love everything he plays, I do think it’s important to go out and hear him play. I love to go and get out on the floor with the crowd; not hang out in the booth. When I hear a record and it really really catches my attention, I get crazy about it, and then I’m like, Ok that’s the record of the night for me, I’m gonna go and find out what it is and then go home.”
That polymath approach to music would surprise few who have heard Quentin’s studio output or his extended live sets. Whether he’s wowing crowds in Ibiza with a dose of Leela James or delving deep into his creative reserves for another genre-defying re-production, Quentin Harris is the man who can. No politics, no doubt.
discography
Quentin Harris & Inaya Day : Do The Right Thing
Released: 03/10/2010, Strictly Rhythm
Quentin Harris is back with new found energy, a fistful of grooves and a brand new album, ‘Sacrifice’. And what better way to start the party with a record that’s the soul mate of ‘U Don’t Know’, the record that kicked off the campaign for Q’s debut album ‘No Politics’. ‘Do The Right Thing’ boasts the same fearsome, low-slung bassline bounce and vocals from the irrepressible Inaya Day, Harris once again flexing his talent by moulding Day’s vocals to his own sound rather than vice-versa. And that’s it – no trailer load of remixes, just the pure, concentrated profile of one mix and an instrumental.
Tracklisting
- Do The Right Thing (Extended Mix)
- Do The Right Thing (Instrumental Mix)
Quentin Harris feat. Jason Walker: Can’t Stop
Released: 09/29/2008, Strictly Rhythm
Inspired by the many legends from his hometown of Detroit, Quentin Harris has slowly but surely established himself as one of the great producers of the time and is now recognised as one of the leaders in the field of deep house.
Tracklisting
- Can’t Stop (Original Extended Mix)
- Can’t Stop (Quentin Harris 2008 Remix)
- Can’t Stop (Joey Negro Remix)
- Can’t Stop (Joey Negro Dub)
- Can’t Stop (Groove Assassin Remix)
- Can’t Stop (Daddy’s Groove Magic Island Re-Work)
- Can’t Stop (Daddy’s Groove Magic Island Dub)
Quentin Harris: No Politics
Released: 04/07/2008, Strictly Rhythm
House music is not typically known for carrying a message but the title of Quentin’s album, ‘No Politics’, reflects a desire to rid music of niches, divides and genre boundaries: “I have this analogy – and this belief – that nothing is new. Everything’s been done before – we’re not re-inventing the wheel. I just like all music and what I make just so happens to sound like what it sounds like.” But despite his desire for music to be politics-free Quentin cites his own album as an example of current concerns. “There were disagreements between the American record label and Japan,” he explains. “It’s complicated but it became very political; that’s when I decided the album should be called, ‘No Politics’.”
Tracklisting
- No Politics
- Gotta Do
- Hate Won’t Change Me
- Reason For Love
- My Joy
- Can’t Stop (from ‘No Politics’)
- Don’t Know (Big Room Mix)
- Haunted
- Beautiful Black Women Come From Brooklyn
- Travelling
- Joy
- Political Interlude
- Poor People
Quentin Harris feat Margaret Grace: My Joy
Released: 04/07/2008, Strictly Rhythm
A track that’s been been generating some serious heat for a while now becomes the second track of the year to come out on Strictly. The Original mix is deep House at it’s very best, with a haunting vocal courtesy of Margaret Grace while Quentin’s production keep the track beautifully layered and polished to perfection. But it’s the Harry ‘Choo Choo’ Romero Mix that everyone’s been talking about; with a peak-time version that build and builds to a crescendo of big synths and raised hands. If these two monsters aren’t enough, check out mixes from Yass, MandS and Louis Benedetti for more interpretations of this awesome crossover sleeper.
Tracklisting
- My Joy (Main Mix)
- My Joy (Harry ”Choo Choo” Romero Mix)
- My Joy (Harry ”Choo Choo” Romero Dub)
- My Joy (Yass Remix)
Quentin Harris ft. Cordell McClary: U Don’t Know
Released: 07/02/2007, Strictly Rhythm
Inspired by the many legends from his hometown of Detroit, Quentin Harris has slowly but surely established himself as one of the great producers of the time and is now recognised as one of the leaders in the field of deep house. ‘U Don’t Know’ is a slow building, beautifully layered track that showcases Quentin’s deep, techy production abilities to great effect. Featuring a sublime vocal from Cordell McClary, the track builds to an electric climax and exudes class from its first to last beat. As equally suited to peak time dancefloor action as it is to after-hours partying, the versatility and depth of this track further establishes Quentin Harris’ reputation as a man of the past, present and future of the house scene.
Tracklisting
- U Don’t Know (Original Mix)
- U Don’t Know (Big Room Mix)
- House (Danny Howells Re-Edit)
