Lady D Interviews Quentin Harris

by Lady D | Published November 2005 | Features Archives

Detroit native Quentin Harris may not be on your radar yet, but his blip is getting bigger and louder with each passing minute.

From your favorite bootlegs to major label remixes for Motown, Epic, Geffen and Def Jam to his inclusion as a mixer on The Southport Weekender CD along with Dimitri from Paris and the legendary Jazzie B, Harris is exploding across the map. Through the successful marriage of house and tech elements on his colossal hit of the last year, "Let's Be Young," Harris finds himself with a banging European tour schedule as well as a nomination for a House Music Award for Innovative Producer of the Year. And it might be a little irksome that such an in-the-know person as you doesn't know much about this 15-year veteran DJ, but that's all about to change.

QUENTIN HARRIS: My first memories of house were going to Club Heavens in Detroit, Michigan.

LADY D: What was happening at Club Heavens? Who was playing and emotionally where did it take you?

QUENTIN HARRIS: Heavens in Detroit was the place to be for house as far as I know it. The DJ was the late great Ken Collier. He played with such an energy you couldn't help but to be drawn into the party.

LADY D: Last month I charted your song "Let's Be Young." I haven't gotten a response to a song like that in a while. It never fails to get people to the booth to ask, "What is that?" Tell me about how and why you were able to make that song.

QUENTIN HARRIS: Well, I just was very angry at the time that I made that song for various reasons, but the main one was that at the last minute my partner booked our hotel for WMC the right dates but the wrong month so while he was busy trying to find a hotel I took out my anger on that song.

LADY D: Who and what influence your music?

QUENTIN HARRIS: My main influence in music is my dad, he taught me a lot about music when I was growing up. As far as my musical influences, they are Prince and George Clinton.

LADY D: Glenn Underground once told me he always starts with his Rhodes when producing. What do you work with in the studio?

QUENTIN HARRIS: I always start with the drums - that's from my hip-hop background. To me the drums are very important in my production.

LADY D: After you work on the drums, what's your process like? Can you tell us about the pieces in your studio that you use to create your sound?

QUENTIN HARRIS: Well, without giving too much away, if I'm working with a vocal I like to start right off with the vocal after setting up some kind of drum pattern. I still like a lot of hardware but as a computer-based platform I use Logic.

LADY D: If I could get someone back in the studio, I would want to work with Ashford and Simpson. What past and/or present artists do you most want to work with?

QUENTIN HARRIS: Past would be Quincy Jones & Prince, present would be Babyface.

LADY D: In the industry, you usually have to wear two hats to be successful - part artist, part businessman. Do you agree and if so, how do you wear both hats?

QUENTIN HARRIS: I wear more hats than most people know about. I do hip-hop, house, R&B and I do those "Big Room Dance records" and I try to keep my business side in order. I have been in the biz for a long time and the majors [labels] have burned me, so I had to learn to be on top of my business or I was going to sink real fast.

LADY D: How many years have you been in the biz exactly?

QUENTIN HARRIS: Well I have been in the music industry professionally since 1990 but I was a studio musician and a programmer.

LADY D: Are you a DJ turned producer or a producer turned DJ?

QUENTIN HARRIS: I am in this order: a musician, producer, DJ. But I am not a producer turned DJ. I have always DJ'd since I was 13 years old.

LADY D: Where's your favorite place to play and why?

QUENTIN HARRIS: My favorite place to play is anywhere the vibe and people are into the music - that is what does it for me.

LADY D: You recently collaborated with one of Chicago's best-known house artists, Byron Stingily. Tell us how that came about and what it was like?

QUENTIN HARRIS: Timmy Regisford introduced me to Byron we met and talked about me getting some tracks for him to write to. I gave him the tracks and he wrote to about 4 of them. He did the vocals in Chicago and sent them to me and I finished them in New York.

LADY D: Tell me about any upcoming projects or releases you have coming?

QUENTIN HARRIS: Well I have an album in which the first single will be Byron Stingily, "Hate Won't Change Me".

LADY D: You put this in your Top 10, and then wrote "the real Mix". What does that mean?

QUENTIN HARRIS: As far as "The Real Mix", let's just put [it] this way: I have 5 different mixes of the song and I know that a lot of DJs have it and I nor Byron gave it to them. But the one that everyone has is not the final mix. It sounds nothing like what people are trading on the Internet and that is all I'm going to say about that.

LADY D: Nuff said Quentin. Nuff said.

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