BRITISH DANCE MUSIC PIONEER DJ HARVEY DISCUSSES THE BRIGHT FUTURE OF THE GENRE AS WELL AS A NEW COLLECTION OF KNITWEAR BY HOWLIN’.
Despite his name’s synonymousness with dance music, it’s nigh impossible to restrict DJ Harvey to a single medium. Thanks to an illustrious music career spanning well over three decades, he’s held in legendary regard by his peers. His reputation is one earned on the sweat-soaked dance floors of London’s Ministry of Sound throughout the ’90s, through seasonal residencies in the highs of Ibiza’s beloved summers, and an amalgamation of global music festivals from Dekmantel to Meredith. There’s no version of dance music history—particularly in the UK—void of DJ Harvey’s influence, which has permeated several generations of ravers. Equipped with an arsenal of sounds with which he’s evolved in tandem, his mastery behind the decks has been proven with absolute certainty.
Tirelessly committed to dance music, he’s made massive contributions to club culture across continents, while undertaking creative endeavors that have seen him expand his artistry. From London to Ibiza to New York and beyond, DJ Harvey has crafted a club-shaking blend of disco, punk, and house as eclectic and tasteful as his style-led ventures, which have aligned his eponymous General Store with streetwear titans like Stüssy, WACKO MARIA, and now, Howlin’. Boasting a name as zany as its cocreator, the collaborative “PUNX NOT DAD” capsule plays to the same tune as DJ Harvey’s CDJs; it tugs on Howlin’s Antwerp roots to offer a marriage of international cultures, leans into subcultural references that have given history color, and bleeds a tuned-up palette perfect for statement-making style.
The collection emulates DJ Harvey’s music curation expertise to deliver a concise lineup of premium, hand-sprayed mohair and alpaca-blend cardigans, graphic tees, and a studded wool rendition of his infamous gimp mask.At its core, Harvey’s General Store x Howlin’ is DJ Harvey—a love letter to quality, music, and style. Building a stylized, wearable tapestry of DJ Harvey’s career as one of dance music’s most exhilarating, era-defining talents is no easy feat; its achievement requires uncompromising quality, offered by Howlin’s over-a-decade-strong commitment to unyielding hand-finished craftsmanship, presented in beautiful knitwear, but most importantly, it requires an artist’s finesse.
Understanding where the two find symbiosis comes second nature to DJ Harvey, who has connected the dots of music and fashion’s intimate relationship throughout his career, building a rich tapestry of ideas and experiences.
There’s been a strong convergence of fashion and dance music in recent years, with adidas’s partnerships with Circoloco and Amnesia in Ibiza being a couple of examples. Do you feel that the crossover between the two has shifted the global perception of dance music in any way? I’d say that music and fashion are integral. They go hand in hand and always have done. Sometimes, it appears to be two fading lights that need a little help from each other, and sometimes, I’d describe it as a double-edged sword. It can be good and bad depending on what, but the more, the merrier. If it’s a creative, artistic project that makes something nice, all look for the better. As a creative, what is your relationship with fashion? I would describe myself as a dedicated follower of fashion, although I believe fashion doesn’t exist anymore. There’s only style. By the time something is fashionable, stylish people aren’t wearing it anymore. Usually, what would be fashion per se has reached the high street, and everybody’s wearing it because they think they’re supposed to be wearing it.
By the time it’s reached that point, the people who create those looks have moved well beyond that, but style goes a long way. Has your music career informed any of your creative choices in fashion? I’d say it goes hand in hand. Most artists need something to wear, and most artists need something to listen to. As a young person, I moved through youth tribes. When I was a kid, it was punks and rockers, mods and skinheads, and stuff like that, all of which had a tribal uniform rooted in music. Once some of that stuff came into the mainstream, most of those youth movements influenced style in general. It’s interesting how things move, shift, and are watered down, reinvented, and reinterpreted. In many respects, that’s where we are now with style and have been with music for a long time.
In the past, you’ve collaborated with Stüssy and WACKO MARIA. How have those relationships in style come about? It usually starts with a met-at-a-party-type situation, like, “Oh yeah, he’s cool, we like good music, and we like nice clothes. Let’s go have dinner. Oh man, can I get one of those? Can you make me a mix? Hey, let’s do something.” It’s very organic, grassroots, friendly stuff that starts with a little relationship. If we get on and share a vision, it happens. What about Howlin’, specifically? I met the guys at Pikes in Ibiza a few summers ago while doing my residency. They sent me a couple of pieces; really cool stuff. They asked if I wanted to collab, so I’m thinking, what’s my angle on knitwear? I’ve always liked the punk, kind of granddad style, but sort of hip, too. Now it’s fun to wear granddad style because I’m actually granddad age. We worked with what Howlin’ had in their catalog. I threw my artistic angle on it, and they made it happen in a fantastic way because they’re very professional, fantastic guys. Ultimately, we created a great quality product with a cool, punk aesthetic. The proof has been in the pudding; the reaction has been amazing.
In some respects, it’s weird; what’s the DJ doing making a cardigan? But if you put the whole process into reverse, it makes perfect sense. It’s a fun thing to do. When I’m making music or any artistic project, if it makes me smile or feel warm and gooey inside, I hope it’ll do the same for others. A lot of brands have put their spin on ’90s tour merch in recent years. As an artist, do you feel that merch still has its place in music? When I’m promoting a party, I’ll try and have some merchandise to go along with it. Perhaps a tee, a pin, a CD, or something, because I think people like to have those things. If I go to see Barbra Streisand at the Bowl, I’ll buy a T-shirt, because it’s a nice thing to have. Now, it’s 15 years old, it’s great and it still makes me smile. Do you think people will get that same feeling from the Howlin’ collaboration? The sweaters are warm and on a chilly evening, they’ll work. At the same time, you can feel good about yourself that you’re part of the scene, you’re supporting DJ Harvey, you look cool, and if it has an association with a lifestyle you aspire to, then all the better.
You’ve enjoyed a long, ongoing career in dance music. What’s keeping the culture alive? The most important element is people investing time, money, energy, and love into building new venues dedicated to dance music. Currently, I’m working with Potato Head in Bali to complete a purpose-built ground-up nightclub called Klymax Discotech. It’s a beautiful thing. Are music venues like Ministry of Sound, which played a huge part in your earlier career, still as important to dance music culture? In many respects, yes, because they’re still around, they’re a foundation of the scene’s establishment, and they still put on great nights with great DJs. If they weren’t doing their job, people wouldn’t go. There are a lot of alternatives, so if these places didn’t provide a good service, they wouldn’t be in business. It’s easy to moan, especially if you’re English, but in general, the scene and dance music are very healthy. More dance music is being produced than ever because you can literally make music on your computer and put it on the internet. Hopefully, somebody likes it, and a DJ plays it.
There’s definitely been a technological shift in how the game is played, but the endgame—dancing around in a room with good music and flashing lights with your friends, having the time of your life, as far as I’m concerned, is the same. With increased accessibility to creative tools, there’s more music and fashion than ever. Are we running the risk of oversaturation? The more, the merrier. It gives people more choices, and you don’t have to engage in it. Which artists or DJs are shaping the future of dance music? Absolutely no idea. I’m sure somewhere, there’s a scene that’s peaking right now that we know nothing about. We won’t even like it because we don’t understand it. It’ll be young people doing something we have no idea about, and we’ll hate every bit of it because we’re old, and it’ll be amazing. Maybe there’s a little commune in the desert that smashed their computers ten years ago and developed something so wonderful. By the time we find out about it, it’ll be over, and we’ll have to buy a commercialized, homogenized, hormone-infested version of it.
Looking at where we’re at now, how do you think dance music has evolved over the past few decades? Dance music has been around in its present shape for 50 years. Those rhythms, the things that make you tap your foot, it doesn’t change. It’s been doing the same forever. There might be a technological shift; instead of hitting a log with a stick, now you press a button, but you still want the same boom, boom, boom. The cutting edge is outside of what we’re talking about. We don’t know what it is.
Interview originally published by SSENSEInterview: Sam ColePhotography: Kevin AmatoDate: January 10, 2024
