Calvin Harris... Is Playing At My House

Last time Gigwise met Calvin Harris, his future as the new creator of disco was uncertain. On the eve of the release of his debut single, the nation was still trying to make their minds up whether ‘Acceptable In The 80s’ was a good solid slice of novelty pop or the start of something interesting. And as for Harris, was he an reinventor of electro-pop or merely a flash in the pan? We’re still not sure, but let us fast-forward six months where Harris is marking his third single ‘Merrymaking At My Place’ with a record-breaking feat.

Inspired by his ode to the lowly house party, there is set to be a plethora of Calvin Harris influenced gatherings happening in a bid to mark as many house parties as possible going on simultaneously around the country. Being the nice guy he is, Harris will be playing an acoustic set at one of them and compensating the lucky host with a fat wad of cash for their trouble. Not bad, hey.

Today Harris has a new motto: Lets all be friends! We agree it’s the best rule of the house party. After all, breakages aren’t fun. With the bad press house parties have generated of late, Harris’s new project aims to salvage their reputation by injecting some positive vibes into the events taking place on August 18. To generate more excitement into the proceedings, Harris’s band of ‘merrymakers’ will be allowed to register, discuss and swap ideas for events happening from Brighton to Dumfries. So what are the essentials of a good house party? “Crisps. Prawn cocktail,” Harris laughs. “Doritos as well… err… good people. Not too rowdy, relaxed with maybe a meal involved. More of a chill out with a buffet maybe.” Three people that he’d certainly want to be there would be Vanessa Feltz, Jeremy Kyle and Andre 3000, who he lists as ideal guests for the ‘good conversation’. Random, but that’s Harris - a silly mixture of retro naff and neon cool.

”Surprisingly, not much has changed,” admits Harris when prompted about his fast rise to fame. “More people know who I am, but there’s not much more work… which is bizarre. But, I still do the same things, still eat sandwiches, still go to the toilet.” Even if you do need a VIP pass to get to it. From the beginning of 2007, the 23-year-old producer has found himself on line-ups everywhere. He supported Faithless on their vast UK tour a few months back and when Paul Oakenfold was forced to cancel his headline slot at Liverpool’s Cream, it was Harris who had stepped in to save the day. Having once told us that he'd accept any festival slots offered to him, he’s not done too badly. He's played to a packed John Peel Tent at Glastonbury, appealed to the crossover kids at T in the Park and topped the bill on Freevolution’s Innovation stage in Newcastle, as well as practically headlining rave-fest Global Gathering.