Calvin Harris

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Calvin Harris
Calvin Harris in 2007
Calvin Harris in 2007
Background information
Also known as Stouffer
Born January 17, 1984 (1984-01-17) (age 24)
Origin Dumfries, Scotland, UK
Genre(s) Electronica
Pop
New Wave
Disco
Dance
House
Dance Pop
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, Producer
Years active 1999-present
Label(s) Sony BMG, EMI Music Publishing
Website calvinharris.tv

Calvin Harris (born January 17, 1984), is a British singer, songwriter and record producer. He was born and grew up in Dumfries, South West Scotland.

Contents

[edit] Music career

Harris began making music as a 15 year old boy. His earliest success was a collaberation with friend Paul Fisher when he was 18: the songs "Da Bongos" and "Brighter Days" were released as a 12" club single and CD-EP by the Prima Facie label in early 2002 under the name Stouffer.[1]

Harris signed contracts with EMI (publishing) and Sony BMG (recording) in 2006, after his music had been discovered on the social networking website MySpace. Harris had recently moved back from London to his hometown of Dumfries because he was unable to find a job.[2] He had only managed to release one song in 2004 with artist, Ayah. The song appears on The Unabombers' 'Electric Soul 2'.

His first album I Created Disco was released on 18 June 2007. The album contained uptempo electroclash songs that were influenced by music from the 1980s. To promote I Created Disco, Harris embarked on a tour of the UK, supporting Faithless and Groove Armada.[3][4]

The first release from the album was "Vegas" on limited edition vinyl and the first charted single released from the album was "Acceptable in the 80s", a tribute to the style and culture of the decade. The song reached the top ten on the UK singles chart, remaining on the chart for fifteen weeks.[5] "The Girls" was the album's second single, it reached the top 5 in the UK singles chart. The fourth release from the album was "Merrymaking at My Place" however it only reached #43 in the UK chart.

In 2007 Harris also recorded with Kylie Minogue. He had caught Minogue's attention after his recordings had been passed on to her by another record producer.[3] Harris says that working with Kylie was "surreal, but fun" although revealed to mixmag in 2007 to "needing a few drinks before meeting her." Harris co-wrote and produced two songs on Kylies' X album; 'In My Arms' and 'Heart Beat Rock'.

He is recently credited as being the producer in a remixed version of The Mitchell Brothers song "Michael Jackson". Harris is also currently working with British pop-star Sophie Ellis-Bextor, co-writing some new songs for her upcoming fourth studio album.

On April 3, 2008, it was revealed that the only existing copy of his upcoming album work was lost when his laptop was lost during the Heathrow baggage crisis. [6]

[edit] Tunez

[edit] Albums

[edit] Early releases

  • 2002: "Da Bongos"/"Brighter Days" (Released under pseudonym Stouffer)[7]
  • 2004: "Let Me Know"
  • "Acceptable in the 80s" (10" double A side with This Is The Industry, limited to 500 copies) December 11, 2006
  • "Vegas" (10" double A side with Merrymaking At My Place, limited to 1000 copies) January 29, 2007
  • "Rock Band" (released by Xylophone Jones Recordings) February 6, 2007

[edit] Singles

[edit] Productions

[edit] Remixes

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Calvin Harris Biography. starpulse.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-10.
  2. ^ Liam Ronan. "Acceptable In The Noughties - Calvin Harris". gigwise.com. March 26, 2007. Retrieved June 12, 2007.
  3. ^ a b "Web wonder Calvin wins over Kylie". BBC. February 19, 2007. Retrieved March 12, 2007.
  4. ^ "Calvin To Support Groove Armada On UK Tour". calvinharris.tv. Retrieved June 12, 2007.
  5. ^ ""Acceptable in the 80s" World Charts. acharts.us. Retrieved June 12, 2007.
  6. ^ BBC NEWS | Scotland | South of Scotland | DJ loses album in baggage backlog
  7. ^ Stouffer - Da Bongos / Brighter Days. Discogs (2007). Retrieved on 2007-10-05.

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Calvin Harris
Studio albums
Singles
"Da Bongos" / "Brighter Days" (released as Stouffer) | "Let Me Know" | "Vegas" | "Acceptable in the 80s" | "The Girls" | "Merrymaking at My Place" | "Colours" | "Dance Wiv Me"
Acts Worked With