Calvin Harris says hardware limitations helped shape his minimalist music production style

Calvin Harris recently sat down for an interview with BBC Sounds, delving into the roots of his remarkable music production journey. The three-time Grammy Award winner’s journey came from primitive technology by today’s standards. His journey began unexpectedly when his brother left for college, leaving behind his trusty Amiga 500 Plus desktop computer. Little did anyone know that this computer would be the start of one of the most prolific careers in electronic music history.

Harris stated, “I used to play a lot of computer games on it, and then my brother got this very sort of primitive – it was called a tracker program – so you’d have four channels running vertically, and you could input samples on those vertical channels. Then you’d hit the spacebar, and it would start playing. And as the line crossed these little inputs, it would [make drum sounds].“

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During the interview, Calvin Harris offered his perspective on the creative process, the idea that constraints and limitations can enhance creativity. Modern-day music producers have more options. Nowadays, learning how to create music is easier and more affordable than ever. However, Harris warns that having too many choices can hinder artistic development. “You can do anything now. And all the programs are so advanced. You can literally go from doing nothing to doing an orchestral piece with 200 tracks, but I think it’s a good idea to impose your own restrictions sometimes and work to that.”

The constraints of his brother’s Amiga 500 Plus and its limited capabilities forced him to think outside the box and find innovative ways to achieve the sounds he envisioned. “It taught me to be very selective about what I put in my own tunes, simply because I only have five channels. So everything that was there had to be there for a reason. Now it’s limitless, isn’t it – you can have thousands [of channels].” Harris stated. Calvin Harris’s journey can serve as inspiration for modern-day artists in an age where music production software has become highly complex. By embracing limitations, artists can cultivate their creativity.

Image Credit: Calvin Harris (Press) / Provided by Wynn Nightlife

Information in researching this article was sourced via BBC Sounds website.