David Harrow (James Hardway)

David Harrow (aka James Hardway)

Drum 'n' bass fusionary David Harrow (birth name) these days aka James Hardway works most often with cool jazz textures, though he is largely immune to the purist poses of many jungle producers. Harrow has worked with an impressive cast of British producers, from Genesis P-Orridge to Adrian Sherwood and Jah Wobble to Andrew Weatherall. During the early '80s he lived in Germany and acted in films before getting into the Berlin music scene. Harrow also appeared with Jah Wobble on the continent, but relocated to London by 1986, where he was swept up by the acid-house phenomenon.

During the late '80s and early '90s Harrow teamed-up with Adrian Sherwood's On-U Sound System, working on studio projects by the likes of African Head Charge, the Barmy Army, the Strange Parcels, Gary Clail, Dub Syndicate and Little Annie. As a pivotal keyboardsman and programmer he also took to the road with On-U Sound's 1990-91 "Pay It All Back" live show, some performances from which now grace several albums for posterity. Around this time Harrow and Sherwood provided a remix of Depeche Mode's "Enjoy The Silence", while Harrow also managed to find the time to get involved with the burgeoning electronic community, working as a producer with Psychic TV and many others.

After ranging into jungle/drum'n'bass during 1995, he debuted his James Hardway guise with an impressive 1996 LP, "Deeper, Wider, Smoother, Shit". Hardway displayed a talent for writing songs also, with a credit for Billie Ray Martin's 1996 club hit "Your Loving Arms". After the release of his second, 1997's "Welcome To The Neon Lounge", Hardway earned an American contract through Shadow. For the recording of 2001's "Moors + Christians", he assembled a virtual studio band by gathering recordings together from a journey to Cuba and Jamaica. Hardway's recordings as Technova have also appeared on Andrew Weatherall's Emissions Audio Output records.