Calvin Harris: ‘I want to have a good time’ – Music News

Calvin Harris Tells Apple Music About His Musical Chemistry with Dua Lipa…
When I want to work with someone it’s because I think they have a unique voice or something that sort of speaks to me and I think, “Oh, I could do something with this or something really good could come out of it” and she’s one of those people. And it’s a mixture between that and just someone that I get on with, that I know I’m going to have a nice time in the studio with.…I want to have a good time, I don’t want to have any stressful, awkward experiences with people and I want to work with people that give me joy and pleasure in the hope that I can give that back to them as well and we can just have a great time, you know? It’s sort of all based around that and yeah, the voice is spectacular and I’ve got a mic that I like to use on her and I’ve got a little setting that I like to use on her. And I think the vocal for ‘One Kiss’ is the best for me that she’s ever sounded. So I wanted to just like, I wanted to just recreate that, but right for this record.

Calvin Harris Tells Apple Music About Getting Young Thug on “Potion”…
I mean, there was only one person I wanted on this. And we chased him for a while. It’s the voice… but it’s the delivery as well and how does he think of these things and these flows and the way that he kind of weaves around the beat in a way that I could never, ever even imagine. And you know when you’re writing a song or you’re coming up with a hook or whatever, that’s one thing and you can imagine someone singing that. But sending him a beat or being in the studio with him when he’s recording and hearing the process and where he ends up at is just like, how? Like the brain is somewhere else, like his mind is that of a genius. It’s amazing to witness it and I’m so, so grateful to be able to work with him.

Calvin Harris Tells Apple Music About Losing His “F**k You Juice” For a Couple Years & Being Energised By A “Primal Diet”…
You know, I lost the f*** you juice for a couple years. I did lose it. I don’t know how I got it back, I think it was when I started eating bone marrow again and liver. And it just all came rushing back as soon as I had those bones and got those amazing fats in my body. And then I felt energised enough through my primal diet.

Calvin Harris Tells Apple Music About His Upcoming Album ‘Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 2’…
I wanted to just make this again and really go for it and know that I can get these amazing artists on this music that no one else is going to give them. And you know, just f***ing do it, man. Honestly it is a record that I still can’t believe that it exists. I’m not just saying that. And it’s the next single, there’s something that I do not know how I pulled it off, or how we pulled it off. Not only has it got someone that, someone in a song where they shouldn’t be in this song, but they sound perfect for it. And then it’s got another person that’s an absolute legend and then another person whos an absolute legend. And it’s just like, “Wow, this doesn’t feel real.”

Calvin Harris Tells Apple Music How His Upcoming Album ‘Funk Wav Bounces Vol.2’ Is Different To 2017’s ‘Funk Wav Bounces Vol 1’…
There were a few things I wanted to do differently on this one, because I felt like the first one, the idea was there, but I didn’t fully carry it all the way through. I was making beats and I was just making beats. I was like, I’m going to make beats that are like this and then I’m going to try and get some artists on it. And that’s how I tend to do things with dance music. So I approached it in the same way and I was like, I’ll just make beats, except they’ll sound like this, but they’ll still clearly be electronic beats. Whereas with this one I was like, well I want to have more, I want to have live drums and I want to have guitars and stuff. I wanted the original essence and I want the layers and the grit and the dirt and I don’t want everything to be mixed perfectly. I want things to be too loud and I want things to be like, you know, I want things to be like Sly And The Family Stone when it’s just mixed on the fly and it’s like, oh, he’s going to do a solo now and you’ll turn him up and he’s too loud but it just sounds, I want that.

Calvin Harris Tells Apple Music About Courting Collaborators…
It’s completely like no pressure. Like, I’ll give you a platform if you’re an artist to go and do this and have a laugh. I can promise you it’ll sound good. Might not be a hit, but you’ll have a good time. You’ll make a good record. And you might just end up on a tune with someone that you would never dream of, you know? So it’s kind of like the offer to them is that, and if I can convey that, then usually people are up for it. If they like making music and they like good songs, usually.

Calvin Harris Tells Apple Music About Preferring a Dirtier, Grittier EDM Sound…
I spent most of my career making EDM, which is the most sort of technologically precise form of music, especially 10 years ago. And back then, I was struggling to keep up with those lads. Like those Dutch fellas who are scientists. And I was making the tunes, I was making songs, so I got away with it. But technically I was never quite there and I always preferred the like, dirty, gritty stuff that maybe wouldn’t sound as good in an arena or on a big stage but I’d feel like no, it’s a better song and the sounds are better to me and it just sort of sounds good to me. So with this stuff, I don’t need to mind so much about the mixing. I just want to feel in my chest. In a good way, do you know what I mean?

Calvin Harris Tells Apple Music About His Mindset Heading Into His Upcoming Live Shows…
Again, my new attitude is let’s have a laugh. Do you know what I mean? So I’m having a laugh, making music. I’m going to have a great laugh doing the shows. I’m only doing things that are going to give me ultimate joy and pleasure. That’s what I’m going for. And I’m not playing any of the Funk stuff, obviously. Because you know, I’ve earned the right to do that. I’m going to bang out my songs, some other people’s songs, and have a great time. But it’s got nothing to do with this album, nothing to do with this album.

Calvin Harris Tells Apple Music Charlie Puth Is Featured on His Upcoming Album…
When I worked with him, he came into the studio and we’d never even met actually. And he come in and he said, “How many chords do you know?” I was like, “Probably like 10, maybe more more if you move the root note.” And he’s like, “Okay, well I know all the chords, so one of my problems is I know too many chords. So I’ll play them all and you pick your favourite chords” and I’m like, “Great.” And you know, my studio in LA has so many synths in it. He was going around all of them and playing them. And he ended up at one, which was the PPG Wave 2 which is slightly out of tune all the time. But you know, he’s brilliant and he is just one of the many guests on my forthcoming album.