Artist Of The Week #120 - Harve
This week’s Artist of The Week is emerging LGBTQ+ artist Harve - they have just released their debut EP - ‘Held By The Moon’. With what started as a laptop of demos, has bloomed into a beautiful piece of electronic fueled r’n’b and explores deeply into what it is to be a queer person. Harve took a moment to talk to us in more depth about the release.
So, the debut EP is out now - how does it feel?
It feels really good to put this out into the world. These songs span quite a few years of my life, so writing them was a hugely intimate process with myself, and sharing them with everyone feels like letting them go in the best kind of way.
It is called ‘Held By The Moon, is there a specific meaning behind those words?
I have a real affinity with all things night time; it always feels like the time that my emotions really become alive. I guess I was imagining the Moon as leader figure for all us loner types and finding solace in that.
The EP sees you working with Kwes Darko, who has worked with some amazing names like Flohio, Sampa the Great and more. How did that partnership come about?
So I actually slid into Kwes’ DM’s essentially demanding he listen to my rather….raw demos. But he listened straight away and we immediately locked in a session. He heard everything I wanted my music to become and he helped me elevate it, and I’ve learnt so much from him. He really enabled me to find my sound.
The EP started as a laptop of demos, how did you process them from that stage to the final release?
Well, I think even my demos very much had a sense of the direction I was going in, maybe even before I really noticed it. But as I handed them over to Kwes, and watched how he began to transform them, and that in turn really changed my writing process. I’d seen how many possibilities, how many directions my songs could have. Over a few years we just refined and refined the tunes to where they are now.
The lyrics within the EP are really interesting, as they dissect what it is like to be a queer person. Can you explain in more depth what this means to you?
Queer people have a completely unique experience with love; that’s not to say we are a monolith. There are countless experiences within our community, but we have so many common threads; we’re constantly underrepresented, our own stories are co-opted by others, and we’ve just lived in a world that doesn’t love us.
I wanted this EP to be an authentic voice to give my own experience, that hopefully others can relate to. It was only really through writing this project I began to accept my own sexuality and my own relationship with my gender and I hope that it can provide some comfort to people.
There is a rise in LGBTQ+ and queer artists within the music industry, do you feel it is getting the correct attention that it should be? Or should there be more?
I think there’s certainly a rise in general, but you know, we forget how deeply diverse our community is, and we are not by any means seeing an accurate representation just yet.
I think we’ve still got to do the work to ensure we don’t just see “palatable” versions of queerness within the industry. Who is it really for if it’s just fits the straight-cis gaze? You feel me?
But I’ve got to say, the LGBTQ+ artists I’ve been discovering lately are next level, and I love to see my siblings constantly lifting the bar.
Is there a favorite lyric of yours from the EP? If so, which one and why?
Someone set a bed that I can go to
Clean sheets don’t smell like you
I like to close my eyes sometimes
Like to breathe with the window down
These lyrics are from ‘Streetlight’ and they just remind me of having these moments of peace where you don’t feel so broken despite everything that you’re going through. You’re having all these scary thoughts, but you just allow yourself to have them. Focus on those little things that give you peace.
Now the EP is out there, what next?
I’ve been working on some really cool new music that will hopefully be with you later this year. I’m also planning my live show currently, so hoping to bring that to life as soon as possible.