DJ Hervé Q&A
London DJ and producer Hervé, aka Joshua Harvey, first came to the dance world’s attention in 2007 following a string of releases with Dubsided recordings. He has since established his own label, Cheap Thrills, discovering electronic talents Fake Blood and Jack Beats along the way.
‘Jack Beats and Fake Blood are pretty well known,’ says Hervé. ‘Our new signing Franzy Scanner, he just remixed Zombies to amazing effect for me. It’s very interesting. He makes weird music somewhere between house, techno and broken beat orchestral. We call it “Haunted House” for a laugh.’
Hervé’s new album, Ghetto Bass 2, mixes 34 tracks over two CDs and is released this month, while a second project, The Count & Sinden, is in the pipeline and goes on sale through Domino Records in the summer.
Where do you live and why?
‘Harlesden. I wanted to buy a house with a garden.’
How would you describe your sound?
‘Enjoyable and hip-shaking. It’s music to dance to.’
Tell us about your record label, Cheap Thrills, and some of the talent you have signed to it…
‘Reset! are a very cool bunch of guys from Milan. There’s four of them, they are a great collective. They are starting their album soon and we have some mighty tunes in the pipeline for summer. One particular tune I helped them finish could be big. Keep your ears peeled! They have just remixed Blaze It, one of my Hervé exclusives that I did for Ghetto Bass 2. Mine is a kind of a nu-jungle thing, and they have twisted it up into a fireball 4/4 power. It’s a hip-shaker for sure.
‘Mighty Mouse are some disco cosmonaughts. They are managed by the same team as Aeroplane so you can get an idea of where they are coming from. Go check out their remix of The Glamours’ cover of Robot Rock. It’s great to listen to.
‘Detboi is releasing his nine-track EP on Cheap Thrills at the end of May and we are just starting to promote two big tracks from it. It’s kinda weird because one is an uplifting African chanting dub-step tune called Voices in Heaven and the second is a really great jacking disco tune. We don’t do things the easy way! The rest of the album is really great disco, house, UK funk, techno and ragga music. This will be his second release on the label and I also chose him to be on my collaboration project Machines Don’t Care Volume 1.’
What can we expect from Ghetto Bass 2?
‘The same kind of template as the first one but with new styles and sounds plus five exclusive Hervé tracks. It’s bigger and better, and a lot more loveable than most mix CDs and its 2 discs!’
Who inspires you creatively?
‘My family, girlfriend, friends past and present.’
What do you love and loathe most about London?
‘I love the restaurants and the amazing multicultural aspect of London. I loathe the cost of properties. It’s so tough for people to get a home, even rent is crazy!’
What would your ideal night out in London involve?
‘My family, my girlfriend, my friends, good wine, great food and a lot of Rolling Stones!’
London’s best club?
‘I really enjoy playing at The Coronet. The soundsystem is flipping awesome. The last time I was there and switched to dubstep towards the end of my set the bass just made it feel like the whole place had turned to jelly. Brilliant. It was like a rock gig. I have a great video of me dropping my summer Hervé single Together and the whole place went ape shit. Really fantastic.’
Who do you think is the most exciting DJ in the world right now?
‘Errm, not sure to be honest. I’m more into the music than the person playing it. There are a lot of DJs with big egos and little talent that kinda put you off the whole DJ thing. Some of these people walk around like they cured cancer, its truly pathetic.’
Any summer festival plans for 2010?
‘Yeah, gettin on the trains of Europe! I think Global Gathering UK wise and loads more. I’m not sure exactly all of them…I need to speak to my agent to find out.’
What projects do you have in the pipeline?
‘The Count & Sinden album plus singles and the Hervé album plus singles. Listen out for my new tune Together. Plus Voodoo Chilli and Speakerjunk singles and new tracks with Fatboy Slim. I’ve been working with Tom Staar on some bits recently too, I think he’s good. Loadsa great stuff on the label!’
Ghetto Bass 2 is released on May 17, 2010
www.myspace.com/hervespace
You may also like
About Post Author
So Summer is well and truly over…well almost.
Alot of these DJ’s that Herve so rightly calls out as “There are a lot of DJs with big egos and little talent that kinda put you off the whole DJ thing. Some of these people walk around like they cured cancer, its truly pathetic.” Have been playing his “Summer Single” “Together” all summer…. but us true fans who were there supporting Josh before the hype still cant buy it. Whats goin on with the release?