HARRY LOVE INTERVIEW

Harry Love has been a mainstay in the UK Hip Hop scene over the last 15 years first being noticed as a member of DJ crew Scratch Perverts and then as a producer behind classics such as Klashnekoff’s “Murda”, Jehst’s “Alcoholic Author” and many more. After a brief hiatus along with a studio refit by IKEA Harry is back in the lab and has recently put out “Bang On A Drum”  Vol.1 a drum sound pack from his sample libraries which you can buy here – https://gumroad.com/l/QHKND

What are your earliest memories of music?
Probably crawling around on top of my Dad’s musical instruments recording gear when I was a toddler. I think 1983 was the year my whole awareness of music began. I was obsessed with Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”, “Shout” by Tears For Fears and “Duck Rock” by Malcolm McLaren which was the first time I heard the use of samples & scratching

What was it like growing up in West London during the 80’s and 90’s with the political/social landscapes and it being such a good time for UK music?
It was a pretty surreal experience, from 1986 I grew up above my parents business called Portobello Cafe. Portobello in the 80s & 90s was an incredible cultural melting pot which the cafe was also very reflective of, customers included market traders, local natives, nutter, business owners, gangsters and famous people on their day off like Van Morrison, Rik Mayall, Kate Moss & Johnny Depp, Nick Cave, Aswad, Damon Albarn… All that played a massive part in the mix of things that made me the artist I am today

What first got you into DJing?
Well there was Carnival on my doorstep every year which was 24 hour until the early 90s, and DBC (Dread Broadcasting Corp) was about 3 doors along from my house which was run by Leroy aka Lepke and was a hugely important station. DBC basically had a sound system in the street outside their building with DJs rocking rubs and MCs toasting in the street and this was on a healthy size system that shook our house from morning tip night on a weekly basis.

The things that directly made me want to DJ were a little later. My friend Aron got a pair of belt drive turntables before anyone else I knew and he was getting into Hardcore as it was morphing into the earliest Jungle which we would listen to at night on pirate radio or on cassettes, this would have been like 1992 which is also when he played me “Scenario” by ATCQ, Gang Starr and the movie Juice came out which affected me in a way like no other film has. That film and hearing DJ Premier basically set the coordinates for all my future ambitions.

Who were your influences coming up?
My Dad would probably be #1. From age 3 I was obsessed with Michael Jackson then a bit later I got into Stevie Wonder, James Brown and anything which either had a breakbeat/groove.

You were a part of the legendary Scratch Perverts crew being their youngest member what did you most learn from the others?
Mr Thing more or less taught me 90% of what I know about digging & breaks. Although I was young & developing I pretty much came equipped with my own style so the main things I learned from the Scratch Perverts were how to handle being on the road constantly touring it also gave me professional experience and taught me my first lesson of skullduggery & a band break-up haha.

Was it a natural progression to go from DJing into production or did it happen unexpectedly?
Totally natural, as production and song writing was always my ambition. I learned to DJ purely out of interest, never thought of myself as a DJ until I was being paid to do it regularly by which time I started realising that once you become known as that it becomes a label which is seen as all you do, not to mention the genre you’re first associated with. By the time I had my first records out I was already established as a Hip Hop scratch DJ pretty well and felt conscious that I wanted to eventually be working with all kinds of musicians not just making underground Hip Hop on samplers & home studio setups. Recording & production has been my main ambition since a baby and turntables were the first instrument with which I became fluent & professionally able. In the last 10 years I have been regularly playing & recording live instruments and my music has evolved much closer to the kind of thing I aspired to make since a childhood.

What production equipment did you start out with and what are you now using in the lab?
First recording gear I started out with a Fisher Price cassette recorder that could record & had a microphone which I was given for my 2nd or 3rd birthday that went everywhere I went. I used to record things and loop them & I particularly remember looping the part of “Buffalo Girls” with the crazy “Rocket In The Pocket” beat – I cite that as my first memory of sampling & also the holy grail of my production influences (Trevor Horn I salute you!!!). There’s always been instruments & equipment in my house since then too so it’s impossible to say I use any one piece, I use ANYTHING I can get my hands on!

How would you describe the Harry Love sound?
I have no idea how to describe my own sound, especially since I’ve evolved drastically since the last time I was releasing things. Most of my more developed sound hasn’t really been heard yet!

What track from your catalogue are you most proud of and why?
“Showbitchness” & “Liquid Love” because they’re genuinely good songs as well as being productions that I’m still very proud of. The Gorillaz “Doncamatic” remix because I have wanted to work with Gorillaz since 2005 and also because the track came out as a very interesting fusion of our styles. I feel I made something quite different to the rest of my catalogue and what I’m known for, it ended up being extremely well received by fans of mine, Gorillaz & Daley’s. When you go through the comments on YouTube/Soundcloud it’s actually pretty overwhelming!

You were a major part of the last golden era of UK Hip Hop producing for the likes of Blak Twang, Jehst, Klashnekoff, Braintax, Task Force, Mystro and more. What do you think the main reason was for the sudden lack of support?
Firstly, because the progressive movements within Hip Hop have never been truly supported by the mainstream and have boosted materialist crap to eclipse the hearty stuff, that’s just commercial. Secondly because there were traumatic events going on behind the scenes which made it hard for us indie artists to continue to compete while the industry withdrew any little money there was for us to make and focussed all the industrial energy towards the grime scene. The public perceived this to be a division and sides were quickly formed.

Then there was the issue of most UK Hip Hop artists having very little education in the music industry as well as lots of sharks with their hands in our pockets. One was particularly devastating and that was the huge swindle that Braintax did by running off with all the money from Lowlife records and illegally selling the whole catalogue on the internet. At a time when sales were changing from physical records & CDs to digital downloads (legal or illegal) all sales had been impacted and our very limited sales incomes were basically destroyed for years. Not many artists were able to withstand that and continue to fund their own recording career and provide for their selves/families. We all remained quiet about what Lowlife was doing, while the general public assumed that we had all gone through a simultaneous loss of talent or something like that. That’s my account of the lack of support

For those unfamiliar what 5 albums/tunes best represent UK Hip Hop?
London Posse – Gangster Chronicle (reissue out now) / Blak Twang – Dettwork SouthEast (reissue coming soon)/ Sagas Of Klashnekoff / Jehst – Adventures in New Bohemia / Task Force – MFTC (all 5 volumes)

What new producers out there do you rate?
My younger brother Jetsun.

What is the biggest lesson you have learnt in your career so far?
Follow your own instincts & don’t bother listening to any advice from anywhere other than your conscience. You never know what anyone else’s agenda or understanding of the world is, get on with your mission.

You came back into the spotlight a year or so ago with the IKEA advert how did that happen and what’s the studio looking like right now?
Tidy!

What does the future hold for Harry Love?
Big things. If I told you guys you’d just think I’m crazy

What’s your definition of Grindin’?
Just spend a day or 2 with me and you will see 😉

Interview by Duggs