noizemagazine - Index

noizemagazine - noiZe Magazine Issue 60 May 2009 - Index

Quentin followed the underground
success of “Cloud 9” with his epic
remix of Mariah Carey’s “Don’t
Forget About Us,” a 13-minute
track that demonstrated Harris’
virtuosic production talents—and
‘Like Grace Jones said, give them
what they’re not expecting.’
the track that catapulted him onto
the gay scene. In 2005, his original
track, “Let’s Be Young,” gave
him widespread recognition across
Europe, and his reinterpretation of
the Leela James classic, “My Joy,”
has become legendary. He also produced
a remake of the ‘90s After 7
hit “Can’t Stop” with Jason Walker,
which was recently nominated for
an International Dance Music Award
(IDMA) for Best House/Garage Track
of 2008.
Keeping the Dance Floor Guessing
The records, although all produced
by Harris, are all sonically different.
“I do whatever I feel works with the
song. I've never been able to confine
myself to one sound, and I've
always experimented with music
and meshing things together. Just
like if you hear me DJ, you’ll hear all
different kinds of things. My music
has always been like that.”
today’s DJs don’t take enough risks,
especially since the average partygoer
can download almost anything from such
sites as Masterbeat.com and Beatport.
“It goes back to making the record say
something,” he comments. Harris sees
his job as finding the good stuff and
using the most up-to-date technology to
spin it in unique ways—just as he heard
Junior Vasquez and Timmy Regisford all
those years ago.
Harris himself enjoys a huge international
following. He travels extensively
to London, Frankfurt, Ibiza, and points
beyond, including exotic locations like
Estonia and South Africa. If you check
out his numerous clips on YouTube, you
can see how the crowds overseas idolize
Harris like a rock star. They stare up
at the DJ booth like he’s spinning straw
into gold.
He credits his success to his production
work. Although Harris has been making
records for years, however, he just
recently released his debut album, No
Politics, on Strictly Rhythm. In addition
to his recent hit “Can’t Stop” with Jason
Walker, the disc also includes tracks featuring
Colton Ford, Monique Bingham,
and Byron Stingily.
Harris has also collaborated with House
legend Ultra Naté and is currently working
on an album with her. He is also
At a time when music is so accessible,
and everyone is calling himself
a DJ (including iTunes), it can
be challenging for an artist with
Harris’ musical background and talent.
Promoters looking at the bottom
line might be more inclined
to hire a local iPod DJ to spin Top
40 because they feel that’s what
the crowd wants. Harris counters
that someone had to play Britney,
Whitney, and Madonna for the first
time when they were still unknowns.
He believes his job as a DJ, “first
and foremost, is to entertain; then
you have to inform the people and
educate them.” He strives for balance
in his playlists. If you hear
Madonna in a club, you should also
hear an unknown artist that you’ve
never heard of. He believes that
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