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“To make it in 2024, you must be original! Get back to song writing! And make something that will last more than 5 days. Otherwise we are just painting by numbers and that’s boring.”
In the beginning, Jack had a groove. And thanks to heavyweight house heroes like Harry Romero, that groove is now back. “My love of house came from the culture,” explains Jersey’s finest from his studio headquarters in The Butchashop. Harry, in case you missed the musical memo, is a house music legend with classic club cuts like ‘Tania’, ‘Night @ The Black’ and ‘I Go Back’ with Robert Owens under his belt, but really that’s just the tip of the iceberg as his current catalogue will attest. Harry’s 2021 saw releases and remixes on labels from Crosstown Rebels to Hot Creations and Classic Recordings, and 2022 and 2023 saw him release on Defected for the first time since the mighty ‘Revolution’. 2024, meanwhile, will see him follow up his ’23 summer smash ‘Fool For Love’ with a second release on Chris Lake’s Black Book imprint. He’s also signed a multi-single deal with Defected.
See, from then to now, Harry represents one thing: and that’s pure quality. His inspirations growing up tell the same story. From the mid to late 80s he listened to Tony Humphreys on the radio and followed Todd, Masters At Work and Fingers Inc. So, with the full backing of Defected and Classic, it’s now Harry’s time to shine all over again. He’s released the Kölsch/Pete Tong approved (not to mention the Beatport-trouncing, Afro-House number one) ‘Afro Horn’ on Crosstown Rebels, as well as remixes of ‘Tania’ from Honey Dijon and remixes of his own for Jack Back and CeCe Rogers and Danny Tenaglia. Friends for (club) life, his Danny Tenaglia association with ‘Don’t Turn Your Back’ on Hot Creations was a major success: he also found time to chat to Honey Dijon to discuss their incredible respective careers in house and released on Cecille with ‘Mood Vision’, a singular and super-distinctive house instrumental that was supported by Honey Dijon and Luciano alike and was another Beatport success. With the epic and spiritual sequel to ‘Afro Horn’, ‘It’s You’ having now dropped as well as ‘It Hurts’ on Crosstown, the more eagle-eyed among you will have noticed his name on Honey Dijon’s new artist album. In short, he has become the go-to remixer for house remixes once again and there’s plenty more ahead.
So what’s his ethos now? Simple! To wave his own flag and in 2023 he scored another major hit with ‘Fool For Love’ which was a bona fide smash on radio and and on streaming platforms and featured vocals from UK songstress Leo Wood: the track was called ‘Fool For Love.’ They even found time to perform the song together in Barcelona. It was a moment.
“I know what I’m capable of in the studio and behind the decks. Harry 2.0, this is my renaissance! “ He’s had a career that now runs across two decades but also recognizes that “this is a rebirth, not a remix.” It’s also about reaching a new generation with a catalogue that speaks for itself. “’Tania’ is still being played by Loco Dice and Luciano. It’s not easy to do something with ‘Tania’, he notes. “Obviously, what Honey Dijon handed in was unbelievable. She knows the original from Danny Tenaglia playing it in the city and she made it harder and tougher while also being something standing on its own.” Make no mistake, 2021 and 2022 may be a crazy world but we’ve now come out of the dark and Harry’s has steered his way through with skill and dexterity. Releasing the House Masters comp with Defected, then, was the cherry on the proverbial cake. With a slew of releases to come on Defected and DFTD this year, not to mention the follow-up to ‘Fool For Love’ on Black Book – which we can reveal is called ‘Play Some Rave For Me’, the colour of the future couldn’t look less painting by numbers for Harry: and thank goodness for that.