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Granted, a somewhat intense punk rock kid from Vegas into philosophy and Pynchon isn't the most likely candidate to
becomea club DJ, no less one of the leading American talents in the global electronic music underground, but that is the story
ofFrancis Harris. Over 10 years ago, Francis quite accidentally "discovered" dance music and has approached the craft of
DJing,composing and producing it with uncommon focus and dedication ever since. In the studio or the booth, Francis is
known tobe steadfast, thoughtful and purposeful; an uncompromising artist who takes his art seriously, even i ...read more
Granted, a somewhat intense punk rock kid from Vegas into philosophy and Pynchon isn't the most likely candidate to
becomea club DJ, no less one of the leading American talents in the global electronic music underground, but that is the story
ofFrancis Harris. Over 10 years ago, Francis quite accidentally "discovered" dance music and has approached the craft of
DJing,composing and producing it with uncommon focus and dedication ever since. In the studio or the booth, Francis is
known tobe steadfast, thoughtful and purposeful; an uncompromising artist who takes his art seriously, even is it is "just"
dance music.Over his career, that attitude and a fair bit of talent has earned Francis sustained critical notice and a loyal
worldwidefollowing. The scene's aficionados have long favored the dark yet moving, introspective excursions Francis delivers
as"Adultnapper" for respected dance music labels like Poker Flat, Mule Electronic, Simple and his own boutique imprint,
RansomNote. When teamed with Mr. C of The Shamen as Sycophant Slags, a mischievous streak behind the foreboding
Adultnapperpersona emerges, evidenced in a string of punchy dance anthems the duo have recorded for Get Physical and
Poker Flat,including the 2009 hit single and video "Keep Off."Firmly established now with 50+ dancefloor-oriented EPs to his
credit, including recent high-profile collaborations withM.A.N.D.Y., Francis is no less inspired to continually challenge
convention and expand the boundaries of his creativity. 2010proved a pivotal year in this regard, as Francis embarked on the
recording of his first full length album. Titled "Leland," intribute to his father, the album is a poi- gnant requiem featuring
piano, guitar, cello, trumpet and vocals by Danish singer Gry.Although loosely based on house rhythms, "Leland" reaches
beyond the club and in realizing this ambitious project, Francisforged new creative partnerships and rekindled a long dormant
interest in songwriting, live instrumentation and performance,leading, in 2011, to the launch of Scissor and
Thread.Conceptually, S&T is an open-ended platform for "indie" artist development and album length releases, electronic
orotherwise. A slew of talented and wide-ranging new artists are scheduled to debut on S&T in 2012, but for starters the
labelhas focused on remixes from Francis' album by luminaries Matthew Herbert and NSI., as well as material by Jordan Lieb
akablack light smoke, with whom Francis has collaborated on the production of "Leland," an as yet to be released full length
soloalbum by former Beirut member Jason Poranski, and a series of EPs for Hafendisko, No. 19 and recently Poker Flat, who
closed2011 with the hit single and video, "Idiot Fair." Under a new alias, lightbluemover, Francis and Jordan launched an epic
twoman, all hardware live set, Francis' first ever, that forms the centerpiece of a series of S&T showcases that began with
DCand Miami at Art Basel, and is continuing with blkmarket membership on New Year's Eve in NYC, BPM Festival and a
January14th turn at Fabric's room one.Still another new project due from the label early in 2012 is Frank & Tony presents...
the brainchild of Francis and S&T co-owner, Parisian DJ/producer, Anthony Collins. With F&T, the pair will explore the sexier
side of house music, focusing on deep,slow and melodic tracks that feature various vocalists from the S&T roster. Without so
much as one release, F&T havealready garnered attention by DJing together under the moniker in NYC, Paris, Atlanta and
soon in San Francisco.Beyond his commercial music endeavors, Mr. Harris continues to score soundtracks for noted installa-
tion artist MatthewWeinstein. His composition for "Chariots of the Gods," featuring the last recording of the late Natasha
Richardson, debuted togreat reviews at NYC's Sonnabend Gallery in Sept. '09. His second Weinstein commission, "The
Childhood of Berthold Brecht,"this time with actress Blair Brown on vocal debuted Sept. 2011, drawing praise from the New
York Times. « hide |
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