DJ Harvey (GB)

DJ Harvey (not to be confused with PJ) is no stranger to rhythm. He started off an a drummer in punk bands with names like 'Ersatz' and ‘Your Dinner’ - John Peel even played his stuff on the radio when Harvey was just thirteen. By the mid-eighties, Harvey had bought a pair of decks and began cutting up breaks as part of the Tonka Sound System, a collective of alternative DJs, musicians and sound people, throwing warehouse parties and jams such as at the Zap in Brighton, England. Harvey's sound can be described as a mix of classics with fresh house, an approach which led him to star at nights such as ‘New Hard Left’ and ‘Moist’ at Ministry Of Sound in the nineties. He has made his name through DJing, scratching and especially re-editing, often together with Gerry Rooney on the now legendary Black Cock label. “I was aware of the whole edit thing that came out of the US and Paradise Garage scene and there were tracks I would play two copies of or record them to the reel to mess around with as I was Djing and re-editing for me was just an extension of that,” says Harvey. “When you have a residency you are playing records week after week breaking new stuff and it’s a way to keep things fresh and exciting and put your personality on the music.” Harvey has issued a number of pioneering leftfield disco mixes now considered to be classics, including DJ ‘Late Night Sessions’ on MOS [1998] and ‘Sarcastic Study Masters’ [Sarcastic], both of which now fetch big dollars on eBay, adding to Harvey’s cult-like status amongst disco and reedit connoisseurs. In 2005 Harvey teamed up with Thom Bullock from Rub N Tug as Map Of Africa releasing on Whatever We Want Records and has since gone on to find success with his Wildest Dreams band project (released on Smalltown Supersound) for which he writes, and plays all instruments. He has also achieved success as Locussolus where he sings alongside featured singers, actress Sam Fox, Tara Selleck and DJ Heidi Lawden. DJ Harvey tours the world at his own pace leaving plenty of time off for his other hobbies, surfing, collecting hi-fi, vinyl and riding vintage motorcycles. These days DJ Harvey runs a gallery space/club Thirtyninehotel in Oahu, Hawaii.