ROMERO, HARRY - MIND GAMES EP

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 humble 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 will see him release on Defected for the first time since the mighty ‘Revolution’: and just wait until you hear who he has on vocals! (She’s house music royalty and that sums it up.) 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 Terry, Masters At Work and Fingers Inc. So, with the full backing of Simon Dunmore and Luke Solomun at Defected and Classic, it’s now Harry’s time to shine. He 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 remixed alongside Mendo and the mighty Carl Cox. 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, we can also now reveal that he’s working on Honey Dijon’s new 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. “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’re coming out of the dark and Harry’s steered his way through with skill and dexterity. Harry had the privilege of being raised in a musical family. His mother soaked the air with the Latin rhythms of merengue and cumbia, while his father, a former opera tenor, practiced his scales and listened to Beethoven. These early influences drive Harry to constantly look to expand musically... and he has. Run-DMC, along with the Latin-freestyle movement in the 80s, inspired Choo-Choo (the train conductor's cap he's worn since childhood may have something to do with the nickname). Choo-Choo jump-started his career as a DJ with a high-voltage performance at a New Jersey dance club. From there, he was taken under the wing of Millennium Music, a management company and production team. Harry worked with their label, Gossip Records (distributed by Strictly Rhythm), creating demos and gathering some useful industry-related knowledge. His first record, Soulfuric "Urban Turban" was clearly ahead of its time, weaving Arabic scatting with house grooves. Strictly Rhythm grabbed the record for release in 1995, and asked him to release a follow-up Soulfuric record, called "Sea Of Passion" which captured more Latin elements. Both records were licensed extensively, catapulting Harry's name and music out into the world. A number of releases followed for labels like Emotive, Sex Mania, Power Music, and Gossip Records. One of Harry's major breaks resulted from C&C Music Factory's Robert Clivilles' interest in one of Harry's creations named "Il Futuro", a house track with an Italian vocal from "World" EP.Robert asked Harry to write, produce, and arrange a song, "Saturday Night" for his 1996 LP "Robi-Rob's Club World". As expected, lots of work followed for Harry. Collaborations with his labelmates and others have been extremely important for Harry as he continues to develop his name and his body of work. Constipated Monkeys, Harry's acclaimed partnership with Jose Nunez, has produced several percussive, funky tracks including "Cro-Magnon" and "Erectus" (Subliminal Records). The success of these tracks has launched the team into another wave of production - their 12" "Sunshine" was released this summer. In addition, Constipated Monkeys' worldwide reputation as producers and DJs has earned them residencies at both The Ministry of Sound in London and Pacha in Ibiza, Spain. To top off Harry's stream of new solo releases, a much-anticipated follow-up track with the stunning vocalist Inaya Day will succeed last year's tremendous Subliminal release "Just Can't Get Enough". Harry describes this record as "chalk-full of 80s rock n' roll and Latin roots." He is an impressive young man with an honest and zealous dedication to improving and honing his talents. He recognizes Dave Darlington, an engineer he has worked closely with, for inspiring him to sharpen his technical skills, and he credits the many great musicians and vocalists he's worked with for reminding him that it's all about the music. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.