It can be safely assumed that Calvin Harris stepped up to the plate as dance music’s next superstar post Swedish House Mafia’s split, and the Scottish DJ/producer has only reached new heights with every passing year ever since. As he gets ready for the release of his fifth studio album Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1, we’re proud to announce Calvin Harris as our Artist Of The Month for June 2017.
Born into a family of a biochemist father and a homemaker mom along with two siblings, Adam Wiles (aka Calvin Harris) always had an interest in music. He would work at supermarkets and fish processing factories after school to save up some money and buy DJ gear. Having started recording demos in his bedroom in 99, Adam released his first ever songs in ‘Da Bongo‘ and ‘Brighter Days‘ under the name Stouffer in 2002. Not looking to rest on his latest releases, Harris continued making new music and uploading it on his MySpace page, which caught the attention of many a listeners, including Mark Gillespie (talent booker for Global Gathering festival), who signed him as the first act for his recently founded management firm.
Signing to EMI and Sony BMG in 2006, Calvin Harris released his debut studio album ‘I Created Disco‘ in 2007, which reached number eight on the UK Albums Chart and number 19 on the US Top Electronic Albums. Harris also co-wrote and produced two tracks on Kylie Minogue‘s album ‘X’ – ‘Heart Beat Rock‘ and ‘In My Arms‘, while also collaborating with Dizzee Rascal in 2008, producing as well as providing guest vocals on the track. Calvin Harris was also featured on the prestigious BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix in the same year with a two hour set.
2009 saw the Scot release his second studio album ‘Ready For The Weekend‘, which featured tracks such as ‘I’m Not Alone‘, ‘Flashback‘, ‘You Used To Hold Me‘ among many others. Harris released several remixes in 2010 for some of the biggest pop stars of the time, including names such as Shakira, Katy Perry, among others. 2011 was a big year for Calvin as he toured in support of Rihanna for the European Leg of her Loud Tour, which further culminated into two collaborations; the chart topping ‘We Found Love‘ and ‘Where Have You Been‘. The following year also saw the release of his third studio album ‘18 Months’, featuring the likes of Dillon Francis, Ellie Goulding, Mark Knight, Nicky Romero, Florence Welch, Ne-Yo and many more. The collaboration with Florence Welch, ‘Sweet Nothing‘, was nominated for Best Dance Recording at the 56th Grammy Awards, while the album received a nomination for Best Dance/Electronica Album, further raising Calvin Harris‘ profile as a certified hitmaker.
Having cemented his reputation as a global tastemaker, Calvin Harris collaborated with Alesso and Hurts for ‘Under Control‘in 2014, bound to appear on his fourth studio album ‘Motion‘, which was followed by his remix for The Killers‘ classic ‘When You Were Young‘. The two tracks were followed by ‘Summer‘, arguably one of Harris’ biggest songs till date, going on to become Spotify’s most streamed track of 2014. The year also saw his play Coachella’s mainstage, drawing in the second biggest crowd in the festival’s history, while also headlining other festivals including EDC, Lollapalooza, iHeart Radio Music Festival among many others. As Calvin Harris continued churning out hit after hit, the Scot was making some serious strides on the business end as Forbes listed him as the world’s highest paid DJ 3 years running, with his earnings in 2013 coming in at $43 million to 2015, which saw him rake up a whopping $66 million in a year.
A rather quite 2015 saw him release the seminal hit ‘How Deep Is Your Love‘, while also featuring on Dillon Francis‘ ‘What’s Your Name‘. 2016 saw him get back with former collaborator Rihanna for ‘This Is What You Came For‘, which he premiered during his headlining performance at Coachella that year. Most of 2016 for Harris was mired in controversy post his split with Taylor Swift, but that didn’t stop him from putting out new music. His next two singles included ‘Hype‘ with long time collaborator Dizzee Rascal, as well as ‘My Way‘, which saw him return on vocal duties after a span of 3 years. 2017 has already seen Calvin release three singles (‘Slide’, ‘Heatstroke’ and ‘Rollin’), completely different from what he has ever produced, taking on a more R&B and funk inspired sound with all of them. With the fifth studio album set to drop on the 30th June, with collaborations featuring Snoop Dogg, John Legend, Nicki Minaj, Travis Scott, Katy Perry and many more, the record is set to be one of the biggest in dance music this year.
Musical + lyrical positivity
Chords and melodies and shit
Fuckin vibes
2017
That's me
God bless 🙏— Calvin Harris (@CalvinHarris) May 18, 2017
Leave a Reply