When Harrison Manley-Shaw began his career back in 2013, he never anticipated his music would launch him to the neon-lit, sporty gay niche he finds himself in today.
The U.K. music producer known as Harrison received a huge boost in streaming numbers and popularity following the success of the Canadian queer hockey series Heated Rivalry.
His remix of t.A.T.u’s “All the Things She Said,” that featured prominently in a pivotal moment for the show’s main characters, has accumulated more than 38 million streams on Spotify.
Harrison’s upcoming projects include a remix and re-recording of “Untouched” with The Veronicas and a remix of a song with Duran Duran and Nile Rodgers, which have yet to be released.
Harrison will be traveling to Canada at the end of the month for the Heated Tour, with a stop in Ottawa at Sky Lounge on April 3.
The Charlatan spoke with Harrison ahead of his Canadian tour to talk about his musical inspirations and what’s next for him as an artist.
The Charlatan (TC): How would you describe your music?
Harrison Manley-Shaw (HM): Probably a deep house meets tech house kind of style. It’s very progressive. I know there’s a lot of niche dance styles – electronic dance music in itself obviously is one huge umbrella. My niche is a techie, deep house.
TC: What pushed you to start releasing music?
HM: I released a song, and David Guetta picked it up. At the time, he was arguably the biggest DJ in the world. He picked up my record, “Ain’t a Party Without Me” and that got me into dance music.
I spent many, many years collaborating with other DJs like Hardwell and Steve Aoki.
Between 2019 to 2024, I was just releasing music as a solo Harrison project, because I was kind of sick of being a featured artist on everybody else’s record. I’m glad I did that now.
TC: A few of your songs are reimaginings or remixes of songs from other artists. How do you go about choosing songs to put your own spin on?
HM: Sometimes I try to update songs that I don’t hear in clubs. So for instance, when I did “All The Things She Said” I had never heard that in a nightclub. It was so rocky, so I wanted to make it available for people to play at the club.
TC: Where does your love of club and dance music come from?
HM: When I was 16, I took a plane to Amsterdam and I went to an all-night club. There was a DJ called DJ Chuckie. I went into a room and saw thousands of people there, and was like, “I really, really want to be part of this.”
I saw him standing there with all the lights and the lasers, and I was just so jealous. That’s kind of where it all started, and then the rest of the 15 years was chasing that exact moment.
TC: What has been the most surprising moment of your career so far?
HM: Heated Rivalry has.
I never knew a series could be so big, you know? I always saw stuff on TV, you know they’re big, but you’re never on the receiving end.
I’m feeling the heat from around the world, and I can only imagine what Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams feel, right? That must be next level.
The song’s famous, obviously from t.A.T.u as well, but this club version is living its own kind of life. I think this is the most surprising thing: The energy you feel from it, the messages and how many people are happy.
There was a message I got from a woman who has a 7-year-old son with autism who’s never spoken a word in his life. Apparently, the first words he ever said is singing to that song I made.
That’s my favorite story out of everything that happened, especially as a parent myself.
TC: You’re about to embark on a Canadian tour. What made you pick Canada?
HM: It made sense to start where the show started. I felt like it would be rude if I went somewhere else. It truly is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing, and Canada felt like the exact place it needed to start.
TC: What are you most excited to see in Canada?
HM: I want to see how cold it is. Everyone’s always talking about it. It’s like 9 C and then -17 C in the same week. I want to see what that fluctuation feels like.
I know it’s kind of crazy, but I love snow and I love skiing, so I want to see the weather.
TC: What can we expect from you in the future?
HM: It’ll probably be The Veronicas first. There will be an orchestral version of “All The Things She Said,” but I’m trying to change the lyrics to “all the things you said,” so I could be inclusive.
I’ve also just recorded a new remix with Duran Duran and Nile Rodgers, but I probably can’t even talk about what the name of the track is. But that in itself, working with Duran Duran, it’s pretty incredible, right?
This stuff would have never happened pre-Heated Rivalry.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Featured image provided by Harrison Manley-Shaw
This article, and all of the Charlatan’s work, is brought to you by an independent student newspaper dedicated to informing, uplifting and entertaining the Carleton University community. We are a levy-funded organization which plays a role in the broader, vibrant student culture on campus. By reading this article, you are supporting our efforts.
