DJ Harvey

Who is DJ Harvey?

Dj Harvey, is a DJ born in Cambridge, England. Harvey is considered extremely influential in bringing over the disco/garage/house sound from America to the UK.

His musical career began as a teen when he was enlisted as a drummer for a Cambridge punk band Ersatz. The band formed an indie label, Leisure Sounds, releasing the single Smile in Shadow, which was broadcast on Radio 1’s John Peel Show.

Harvey’s progression into DJing came after a trip to New York where he was inspired by the emerging hip-hop movement. He felt that “cutting up” breaks was an extension of drumming and so purchased his first pair of Technics, brought them home and practised. A graffiti “bomber” and member of the gang which went on to take the name, TDK Harvey's crew gained notoriety as TONKA Hi Fi. It was as the DJ for the crew that he forged his reputation as an eclectic programmer of music, throwing outlandish, sometimes weekend-long, parties in their native Cambridge as well as Brighton, London and on the festival circuit. The Brighton parties continued for five years, from 1988 to 1993, drawing a large and loyal crowd, to The Zap Club, and, after the club closed at 2am, for hours, or even days more, on the beach, at Black Rock.