from Skint
Midfield General is the DJ/Production alter-ego of Damian Harris and this April sees the release of his second album General Disarray, a mere 8 years after the release of his debut album, Generalisation in 2000.
In 2005, after 11 years running Brighton's infamous Skint Records, Damian realised that he was much happier in the studio then behind a desk and decided to leave his full time role at the company in order to concentrate on making music again. Seeking inspiration, and in a bid to rejuvenate his passion for music, which, by his own admission had been slowly ground down by the music business, Damian moved to Paris... partly because it rhymed, but mainly to finish his ridiculously delayed second album. So, with a laptop full of samples and a mini keyboard he set off on the afternoon London beat Paris in the bid for the 2012 Olympics to spend a year immersed in music-making and fun. The year previously Damian had been over to license a record from Ed Banger Records and he was kindly taken under their wing when he arrived. As part of the cultural exchange program he went out a lot, smoked fags and took looks lots of pictures. He taught them how to swear in English while they taught him how to chop up audio files properly.
The love-in extended to Damian remixing Krazy Baldheads' track Crazy Moth. He also took on the Executive Producer role for Justice’s single D.A.N.C.E. and in return Xavier De Rosnay helped produce Damian’s forthcoming single Disco Sirens, while label head Pedro Winter popped in for brief vocal appearance on the new album’s Self Referencing Intro...
that tells a tale of a young crippled boy over a melancholy soundtrack. Finished back in Brighton, the album is an exciting collage of Damian’s production skills, and a very original and varied set of vocal collaborations. After an early career appearance on Generalisation, Noel Fielding from the Mighty Boosh returns to tell one of his surreal adventures over a dirty funk track. Actor Ralph Brown features on the track Teddy Bear, which revisits the curious truck driving CB radio Country hit by Red SovineDisco Sirens, the first single from the album, features vocals from Vila of the Bumblebeez and production and mix help from Xavier De Rosnay from Justice and David Dewaele from Soulwax. Elsewhere Robots In Disguise, 70’s soul singer Pat Stalworth, and excitable Dutch football commentator Jack Van Gelder also appear. The album manages to contain leftfield pop, hip hop, cinematic epics, house, techno and soul, yet still sound like a cohesive and personal album, taking in Paris, Tokyo, Moscow, New York and Whitstable along the way....
“When I was making the album, it was very tempting to try and make tracks influenced by the new music and current sounds that I find so inspiring. Every time I’d get blown away by a new Justice, Sebastian or Switch track I’d have a go at making something like that. But usually to no great success! And it made me realise that I shouldn’t neglect the characteristics that are.. well, me. Their influences are in there but I would like to think I’ve kept my own identity.”
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01. Self Referencing Intro
02. Disco Sirens Feat. Vila
03. 137 Piano
04. Bass Mechanic Feat. M.C. Ade
05. Teddy Bear Feat. Ralph Brown
06. Loving Laughter Feat. Pat Stalworth
07. Love Thy Self Feat. Lucky Jim
08. Dennis And My Sister
09. Seed Distribution Feat. Noel Fielding
10. On The Road Feat. Robots In Disguise
11. Error
12. Self Referencing Outro
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