Josh Harris

A producer, engineer, remixer, songwriter and keyboardist, Josh Harris has an extremely deep set of musical tools, which have served him well for over a decade in the music business. This year finds Josh spending more time than ever before on his own personal projects. Originally from St. Louis, Josh began taking classical piano lessons at the age of 7, and quickly developed a full-blown passion for music by age 12. Alongside his traditional musical training during high school, Josh began to spend time writing songs and learning home studio recording. Armed with only a 4-track cassette recorder, sequencer and a few keyboards, he wrote songs, recorded with his bands, and learned the very basics of music production. After graduating high school, he attended Lawrence University, where he studied Music Theory/Composition. Following college, Josh moved to Chicago, where he spent a few years figuring out his musical direction. When I graduated college, I thought writing music for commercials was the right fit for me. But after a serendipitous conversation with Grammy-Award Winner Bruce Hornsby, Josh realized that song and album production was where his heart lived. Bruce was very direct with me, and after listening to some of my songs, he asked me why I wanted to work on music for commercials? He told me that he knew a handful of guys who never followed their true interests in music. He had friends who were composing music for TV, but really wanted to be out on the road, or in the studio doing their own artist projects. I will always be indebted to him for that conversation. He was the one who suggested that I think about spending time in Nashville, which really sent me on the right path.

After spending almost 4 years in Chicago, Josh moved to Nashville, and immersed himself in studying songwriting and production. As his skills improved, it became apparent that Nashville wasn't the right fit long term, and a move to New York or Los Angeles was imminent. While living in Nashville, Josh happened to read an article on a remixer named Doug Beck, who had just finished remixing The Fixx's classic song, One Thing Leads to Another. Josh emailed Doug, figuring that nothing would come of the email, and surprisingly, Doug responded, leading to an eventual meeting in New York later that year, and a friendship that is alive and well today. What was so amazing about that trip to New York was the pace of doing business. Within two days of getting off the plane, I had met a crew of guys that really liked me, and embraced my skill set. There was an outlet for me there that Nashville didn't have at the time. All I had to do was move there and pound the pavement.

Within a month of moving to New York City in spring of 2001, Josh was introduced to Mike Rizzo, and the first remix they worked on together was one of the most played songs on WKTU during the summer of 2001. It was "Never Had a Dream Come True" by S-Club 7. To date, Josh has worked on over 300 remixes, with most of them for major label artists like Seal, Madonna, The Killers and KoRn.

In 2008, Josh had the good fortune to tour with Seal as his musical director and keyboardist for a handful of private shows. In 2012, Josh assisted James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem) in mixing the full-length concert DVD of the band's final show from Madison Square Garden. Josh continues to write and produce for major label artists, independent artists, and his own projects: Bastinado, Lindbergh Palace and Kosca. He also teaches courses for the popular on-line education company, Lynda.com, and serves as a private instructor and mentor for up and coming producers, engineers and artists.

Josh Harris releases on Amathus Music: