Interview with Quentin Harris as featured in Faith Fanzine

The interview

'Lets Be Young' was a big fave amongst the Faith crew this year (probably because a fair few of 'em are getting on a bit & indeed would like to be young.....again) anyway the man behind the music was of course Quentin Harris who has been making pretty big waves both production & DJ wise here in the UK & the other side of the pond. He kindly took some time out of dancing/producing/Djing to talk to the Deepsoul3 boys.

DS3:

You originally Hail from Detroit, what sort of influence do you think the Motorcity has had on your music & how do you find the scene there & in NYC differs?

Quentin Harris:

The music in Detroit had a big impact in what I do, music that I heard & gravitated towards was more funky stuff like Prince, techno & electronic stuff things that are really stripped down, simple songs that get the point across fast & quickly. I think that is why people are like 'Quentin you don't give the DJ's time to mix the record in before you start hearing the vocal' and that's cause I feel you should get to the point of the song, I mean why have all that filler?

The difference in scene, well let me start with Detroit it has always been very small, and because its small & everyone pretty much knows everybody its always been pushing forward. If you go to Detroit because it's been in such disrepair for a while they are now rebuilding & revitalising the city you will totally get Techno & the whole thing about the future. The only way I can really describe it, is that Detroit is Dirty, to me its more dirty than New York and when I say that there are certain records that I didn't hear until coming to New York (talking about Classics) Detroit classics are totally different to New York Classics, for instance when I heard Salsoul records I was like whats that? Cause we were more into the stripped down funky records like George Clinton/Parliament/Funkadelic that was very popular & Al Hudson, whereas the whole disco thing wasn't that prevalent,  

DS3: 

You still go under the production guise of epod & this was the same name you used in your hip hop days, what does it stand for & did you ever consider changing it when you started producing house?

Quentin Harris:

I guess I'm at the point now I can tell people what that means! The name came about cause I was always known for being very unconventional, & in slang terms in Detroit people would say someone who is unconventional in Backwards, so I just took the name as people said I used to make 'dope' tracks so I took it, reversed it & called myself epod.

I had a really big issue when I started doing house music as I didn't know if I should use that name when I was making it, but then I thought a lot of people hide behind pseudonyms & I for one wanted to be a person that could make all different styles of music & be appreciated for it, so that's why I've started using my real name, although my father actually named me after a vampire on a television show!

DS3:

In recent times you've been a frequent visitor to UK shores, How do you find the crowds at parties in the UK compare to those back home in NYC?

Quentin Harris:

Can I be really honest, it really varies with different parties, there have been some parties I've been to that have been really good like the one @ Ministry for example, but there have been some where I felt like I am fighting with the crowd, to a point where I was coming from lots of different angles trying to get people to dance & in the end I thought, OK I'm playing for myself now as no one wanted to get on the floor, I mean after 13 records it was like you don't wanna dance whats your problem?! So you know I love it in the UK cause there is so much stuff to do & there are so many places to go & its like a whole other level, its cool to see people walking round with records, its like people want to be DJ's & you don't see that in New York!  

DS3:

The great success of lets be young has seen you become very widely known, it even charted on Pete Tong's essential selection on Radio One!! Do you feel any pressure having to follow it up?

Quentin Harris:

No I don't fee any pressure, I just want to continue to make quality work, I know everyone isn't going to like everything I do, some people didn't like 'Lets be Young' I mean who knew me from 'Travelling' & 'Cloud nine' didn't get that record, but what I try to bring to the table musically is whats in my head & trying to bridge that gap between lots of musical styles.

DS3:

For me your productions have a very distinct sound you manage to Jack but still keep the soul, how do you start a production & is there a specific template/formula you work to?

Quentin Harris:

I don't really work from a template, if I'm working with a vocal doing a reproduction, I really like to feed off the vocal & hear what the person is singing about & try to get in that mood to see what they are feeling, like the Jill Scott - Not like Crazy, I really wanted her to sound like she was going out of her mind, I didn't want to take the track, listen to the original   & take the same chords & make them uptempo or the same with the vocal, cause my theory is why bother? I try to do things different, change things & play around with stuff, I try to approach the song as if I dance to it or if I was on the floor listening to it.

DS3:

What players on the scene are doing it for you right now?

Quentin Harris:

Wow, there are just too many to name!

DS3:

You work a lot with Tyrone Francis how did you guys meet & what different elements do you feel both of you bring to the table when producing?

Quentin Harris:

Me & Mr Francis met at Satellite records where we both used to work, we almost got into a physical altercation & that as the 1 st time we met, after that we became good friends, working with Tyrone, musically I'm like the crazy one & he is the calm one, so there is that balance to my chaoticness. You can definitely here a record we have together as opposed to have done on my own.    

DS3:

You are one of the few DJ's I've seen in recent times that brings mad energy to your sets & it all looks very natural, do you feel there are any common denominators between producing & DJing?

Quentin Harris:

Me being on a dance floor here in New York & Detroit as a dancer, I bring that into my productions & as a producer I bring that into my DJing which is all tact into my dancing. To me it's all about the party its not about me playing all the new unreleased stuff its about the party, its about making people dance & making people have an emotion on that floor.

DS3:

What do you have planned for the future (any projects in the pipeline you want to talk about?)

Quentin Harris:

I have an album I'm working on, & I'm trying to develop new artists & get in to Sound tracking as I feel I need to utilise my talents cause I can write music so I can score, cause I just eat, sleep, breathe, everything music.

DS3:

You're quite a musician, turning your hand on the keyboard, trumpet and baritone. What positive affects would you say this has upon your production?

Quentin Harris:

It's a double edged sword sometimes, the positive is that because I play these instruments & have played in bands I have a feel of what instruments should stand out & which should be heard at what times. I approach a lot of my records as a big jam session. I was in the studio with someone & they were really surprised at what I could do.

DS3:

You are also one of the Shelter Crew releasing tracks on restricted access, how do you find Timmy R, as here in the UK he's sometimes perceived as being a bit moody/arrogant?

Quentin Harris:

Well, I will say this about Mr Regisford I wouldn't say that he's moody, Timmy is a Virgo & Virgos are shy, & I think the arrogance comes from the shyness, people would say when he would shop at a store sometimes 'he comes in here & doesn't speak to anybody' but he doesn't want to speak in case he says something stupid. I talk to Timmy very regularly & see him over 3 times a week, he can be abrasive, but he's a big guy & that can be intimidating also, he's also not very talkative so sometimes people take that as arrogance. But when you've gone through the industry the way he has gone through it & worked with the people he's worked with, on a magnitude level he's pretty much seen it all. He was telling me yesterday about a new record I've done & he was like 'this is the gayest record you've ever done' & I was shocked, but he explained it was like a record from the garage before the black people showed up, cause he was going there from day one, which I never knew & that's one of the good things, he is one of those people you find something new about every day.

DS3:

If you didn't work in this scene what do you think you would be doing?

Quentin Harris:

I think I would probably be giving some 5 year old kid piano lessons.

DS3:

Sum up Quentin Harris in 3 words?

Quentin Harris:

I can do it in two, Ordered Chaos.

DS3:

Are you a fan of Paris is burning & if so what does it mean to you?

Quentin Harris:

Before I moved to New York I really knew nothing of that until I came here & was shown it, as soon as I saw it I was blown away by it all, I cant really describe what it means to me, as in that particular period, that documentary was ground breaking, you didn't see that in the public eye. It was like being a member of something, or belonging somewhere where other people just wouldn't understand I mean there are still parts of it I don't understand! The balls still exist, but its not like it was before, it's very different now.

DS3:

What do you think would win in a fight a crocodile or a bear, please explain why?

Quentin Harris:

I think a bear would win because it's fucking bigger

DS3:

What are your favorite flavor crisps?

Quentin Harris:

In London keep it simple, plain.

DS3:

Where is the best place to get a burger in NYC?

Quentin Harris:

(Consults David & other people in his apartment) Jackson Hole

DS3:

What do you find more amusing comedy cats or comedy dogs? Explain why.

Quentin Harris:

I find dogs more amusing I can't stand cats

<< back