JUSTIN
HARRIS

Picture the late '80s UK underground: warehouses, fields and sweatbox clubs, where Justin Harris came up alongside DiY Sound System, Mr C, Eddie Richards, Colin Dale and Nigel Casey (House of 909). From those early days to a now 35 year run as a DJ, producer, artist and the head of Music For Freaks, it's fair to say Justin has left a real mark on UK house and the wider global scene.

By 1995, Justin had swapped Bournemouth for London. At a dark East London warehouse party he quite literally tripped over Luke Solomon, and within days they were locked in a studio session that sparked the birth of Freaks. What started as a collision became a 20 year-plus partnership: 4 albums, 100+ EPs, live shows, and a remix trail touching Matthew Herbert, Derrick Carter, Tiefschwarz, Soft Cell and Damon Albarn. Their album Psych on Rebirth earned a DJ Mag top-album nod, while releases also landed on the labels that matter: Hot Creations, Edible, Crosstown Rebels, Visionquest, Leftroom, Perlon, Playhouse, Circus Company and more.

In the late '90s, Freaks also built a bridge between London and Chicago, pulling a whole community of misfits under one banner: Music For Freaks, a cornerstone of early 2000s UK house, carrying productions and remixes from Kenny Hawkes, Derrick Carter, Honey Dijon, Recloose, Soul Capsule, Iz & Diz, Rob Mello and beyond.

Today, spearheaded by Justin, the label keeps that spirit alive, with DJ Mag and Mixmag hailing the 2015 relaunch as a proper moment, and releases from Ricardo Villalobos, Tuff City Kids, Luciano, Soul Clap, Dan Ghenacia, Demuir, Jozif, Dave Aju, Matt Tolfrey, Javi Bora, Anna Wall, L_cio, Tessuto, and Alex Arnout (Black Logic) to name a few.

Alongside Freaks, Justin's solo work has delivered a steady stream of EPs for labels including Apollo Records, Classic Recordings, I'm A House Gangster, Viva, Natural Rhythm, Paper Recordings, Sculpture, Pack Up And Dance and Eclectic Avenue Records. His sound is groove-first: tight drums, warm basslines, odd little turns of melody and texture, and always with that playful swing and a clear thread back to Chicago. He continues to be a prolific contributor to house music, with a non-stop flow of releases, productions and remixes on Music For Freaks and other prestige labels such as Rek'd (Rekid's awesome sister label), Gabu, Atjazz and many more forthcoming.

Three decades deep, he's played thousands of parties worldwide, from Fabric (UK) to Panorama Bar (Berlin), Robert Johnson (Frankfurt), Watergate (Berlin), Rex (Paris), Fuse (Brussels) and Back To Basics (Leeds), plus festivals like Shindig, Wild Wood and The Glade. He's toured the US, Australia, South East Asia and Eastern Europe and picked up a rare badge of honour along the way: recording Pete Tong's BBC Radio 1 After Hours Mix.

Since moving to Ibiza in 2015, Justin has run MFF from the island, DJing at Pacha, Space, Café del Mar and Zoo Project, and this year holds the much sought-after post as one of Pikes' resident DJs, playing all areas of the iconic venue, from lush poolside sets right up to smashing it in Freddie's (the main room). He also plays regularly for Ibiza Sonica Radio and was part of the line-up at Sonica's 20th anniversary project at the new Bora Bora. But the heartbeat has been the Music For Freaks residency parties at Pikes Ibiza, igniting Freddie's and beyond since May 2016, with the extended MFF family rolling through year after year. Over the past two years the island love has got even louder as MFF linked with Flash and DiY Sound System for a season-closing Pikes smash-up.