Jodie Harsh’s diary must be thick. The icon of the international club scene turned dance chart mainstay has recently dropped the addictive, menacing club anthem “Shock”, following Feburary’s euphoric “Good Times”. She’s also completed a UK tour with Jessie Ware, and lent her remix prowess to Kylie Minogue, Years & Years, and latterly Charli xcx & Rina Sawayama’s “Beg For You”, since the year began.
Ostensibly, stepping further out of her comfort zone, podcast “Life of The Party” has seen her interviewing little-known names like Nile Rodgers, Annie Mac, and Tom Daley about their memories of club culture and experiences under the moonlight. However, the podcast is in fact, Harsh’s eventual utilisation of her university degree. “My degree was in journalism,” she says. “So I feel like I’m finally making good use of that. We’ve had some really amazing guests on and I get to really grill them about their lives via the dance floor.”
And of course, never far from her nightlife roots, Harsh has recently started curating queer club night “Feel It” at legendary London Bridge venue OMEARA, alongside similarly revered party collective Little Gay Brother. In the midst of summer too, her schedule is typically brimming with international festival dates, which has included Radio 1’s Big Weekend and support slots at Becky Hill and Danny Howard’s Ibiza shows.
We’re absolutely exhausted just writing that, but thankfully Jodie Harsh is not. She even found time to chat to us all about “Shock”, her podcast, club night, and what we can expect from her in the months ahead. Head below to read the interview now…
Hey Jodie, how are you doing? What have you been doing today?
Doing good! At the moment my weekends are packed with festival shows and a load of travel so trying to take it a little easier midweek. This morning I went to the studio and then had lunch with a friend, trying to achieve that work/life balance.
Congratulations on “Shock”, what a gorgeous, summer two-stepper. After a run of massive hits in the past couple of years, where does this come in the Jodie Harsh odyssey?
Ahh thank you, it’s a naughty little pumper, isn’t it? I’ve spent the last few months getting a lot of music ready and writing songs – we’re definitely going big. Uplifting, sweaty dance floor fun, lots of good vibes.
When was the last time you got a really big shock?
When I got my last monthly electricity bill. This country needs fixing!
We loved seeing you supporting Jessie Ware on tour! Touring with Jessie must have been a right laugh! What was the highlight?
I loved every second! It was a game of two halves because of covid – a load of the shows had to be rescheduled. Two sold-out nights at Brixton Academy were a real highlight. We really created a club atmosphere before the shows. My task was to get everyone really raving before she came out, not just a slow mellow warm up like when you go to some pop shows.
You’re a club DJ legend, but how are you finding playing a packed diary of summer live sets, now your own music is receiving more and more love?
I’m too young to be a legend, I think! Honestly, it’s amazing playing big festival shows and seeing a sea of people sing my lyrics back to me. I always try to get as much eye contact and connection with people in the crowd so we’re sharing a moment. I’m there to have a good time and feel something special as much as they are. I’ve developed this massive visual show for LED screens now too, it has a proper intro and everything. It’s got a bit of Las Vegas and a bit of my queer London underground roots mixed together, and I always really wanted to merge the visual with the audio side of what I do.
