Zac Harris: the Newcastle tech house DJ who plays the long game
Funky grooves, soulful vocals and sets that run up to three hours, mixed live with no sync. Meet the Newcastle DJ and producer building his name one long night at a time.
By StageOS Editorial ·
Most tech house sets go straight for the drop. Zac Harris goes the other way. The Newcastle DJ and producer opens deep, holds back, and lets the night build, so that when the big moment finally lands it hits harder than anything played at 11pm.
The sound
His sound is funky, groove-led tech house, often carried by soulful vocals. Rolling basslines and percussion do the early work. The builds are patient. The peak comes late. Each set is a story with a beginning, a middle and an end, and that is why promoters reach for him when they need someone to open, hold or close a long night.
He mixes everything live with no sync, and his sets usually run two to three hours. In a scene full of one-hour peak-time slots, that makes him a different kind of booking: residencies, opening-to-close nights and sunset or terrace sessions.
Hear it for yourself
Start with his live session at Black Box Studios in Newcastle, recorded on a V10 mixer, CDJ-3000X decks and an RMX-Ignite. It grooves for a long stretch before the first big breakdown and saves its biggest drop for the final third. It is the clearest example of how he builds a set.
[youtube:5AAoRxmfMcI]
Then there is The Final Sunset of Summer, an outdoor session that took a rooftop terrace from golden hour into the night.
In the studio
In the studio he makes the same kind of music he plays: funky, vocal-led tech house built for a long journey. Raw Funk and Feel So Good are on his SoundCloud. He is also building a collection of unreleased tracks for his club sets, which he plays out before anyone else gets to hear them.
The story so far
- Winner of the Big Love Festival emerging talent competition.
- MixMaster UK finalist.
- Headlined Who's Jack in Newcastle.
- More than 75 sets, including summer residencies in Murcia and Ibiza.
- Takeovers on Ibiza Stardust Radio.
- Tracks shortlisted by Snatch! Records and Trick.
Book Zac Harris
His StageOS EPK has the live sets, the tracks, his photos and his booking details in one place. Promoters looking for a DJ who can carry a floor for three hours should start there.
See Zac Harris's EPK · Zac Harris on StageOS · SoundCloud
Are you a DJ with a sound worth hearing? Get your free EPK on StageOS and you could be our next feature.
