Get 2 Know A DJ - Calvin Harris

This weekend I journeyed with my group of friends (otherwise known as the Tufts Electronic Music Syndicate) to see a Calvin Harris DJ Set at Pacha nightclub in NYC. Although the Scottish singer-songwriter announced a couple months back that his live vocal performance was gone for good, I knew that he would deliver nothing but a spectacular DJ set. Needless to say I was not mistaken. Although he wasn’t singing them himself, Harris made sure to pump his set full of his own production from his earliest synthpop singles to his contemporary electro house smashers.
His stage presence may not have had the wild mania of Rusko or the chilled out swag of Pretty Lights, but he exuded confidence in everything and his set was nearly flawless. He included a wide variety of other tracks apart from his own, including classics like Darude’s Sandstorm to unreleased singles such as Save The World by SHM, and even threw in a little dubstep to confuse all the house fiends. Calvin Harris has sat at the top of the UK charts for years and his latest ventures into vocal-less production show no sign of unseating him from the throne. His sound is always fresh yet timeless. I’m Not Alone still feels like it just hit radio waves and is going to be next summer’s EDM concert anthem.
For those of you who are classic Calvin die-hards, don’t be put off by his “DJ Set” versus his live performance. He still brings a vibrant energy and demonstrates mastery behind the CDJ decks. Calvin Harris is an icon and as any great artist should, he’s trying out new musical pursuits to keep himself interested as well as make new and creative music for all his fans.


