iTunes Festival 2014: Calvin Harris at Roundhouse

NME has announced that Calvin Harris is the first British solo artist to pass a million streams on Spotify. Being one of the highest paid DJs in the world and having more top-ten UK Singles Chart songs than Michael Jackson, it is clear how immensely popular this Scot is. Standing behind the deck in Roundhouse on Sunday evening for iTunes Festival, he blasts out hit after hit over the packed dance floor.

As often when it comes to this form of live electronic dance, one can question what Harris is actually doing up on that stage. The debate about live DJs has been going on for years, and you may come off as a bit old school and small-minded for questioning anything about this form of musicianship. But have we really come to any conclusion? What is Harris doing tonight that he did not do in front of a one-piece-wearing crowd yesterday at another party venue? How did he spin his decks differently this night to connect with just this crowd? The answer will not be reached in this review if years of debate have not yet reached a conclusion, but it still feels so relevant for this set. When the whole volume, not only the vocals, is turned down when the DJ wants the crowd to sing along comes off as rather blunt, and makes you wonder if there actually are subtracks. The never-ending pyrotechnics, confetti and lightshow also confirm the need for punching power to be added to the music.

Rolling out hit after hit after hit with songs like Bounce and We Found Love, the intensity of the set is constant, and so it’s quite hard to maintain concentration throughout. It’s undeniably fun to dance to all those songs that subconsciously became the soundtrack to our lives, the latest years through car radios and shop stereos. Even if you went into Roundhouse not knowing who Calvin Harris was, you would undoubtedly have known at least one of his monster hits.

Johanna Eliasson

For further information about Calvin Harris and future events visit here.

Watch the video for Blame here: