the hook up: with jodie harsh

CM: Where are you while I’m interviewing you right now?

JH: I’m currently in Berlin in a hotel room getting ready to open up for Troye Sivan on tour tonight. It’s literally back to back cities on different days. It gets to the point where you’re like, hold on ‘which city were we in yesterday?’, and I never really travelled much as a kid but now I’m at the point where I’m sat in a hotel room and it takes me 10 seconds to remember which city I’m in! But that’s showbiz baby, I love it.

CM: What have been some other pinch me moments like this in your career? Because I feel like since the pandemic, it's really taking off for you.

JH: Since the pandemic, my music has grown a lot bigger. The track My House came out towards the end of the lockdowns and that helped me up the next step of the ladder. I feel like my career has been a slow burn career, I've been working really hard at it for a really long time. And I just feel like I go in little steps and I actually think that for me, it suited me quite well. Many people that I really admire have had the same kind of career, as opposed to an enormous explosion and boom - number one. I guess I've always put a bit of an obstacle in terms of getting what I do respected because I do it in drag. You know, it's a bit harder for the mainstream public to understand, because it's unusual. So My House coming out in the pandemic and that getting played on mainstream radio and all those other things that tune brought me, opened doors that I always wanted to open. But in terms of highlights, there really are so many. I mean, hearing my song on the radio for the first time, to taking over from Annie Mac on Radio 1 for a week after she left, to playing in a living room for Madonna, to having some of my favourite DJ and producers play my tunes. Yeah. There really are so many.

CM: The slow burn and that step by step. Do you think that that kind of approach makes you value your career so much more because you've really had to work for it? 

JH: 100,000%. You have to put in your 10,000 hours. And I think otherwise you can dissipate quite quickly. And I feel, as I said, the people that I really admire, really have been out there really kind of doing the slog, for a long time. And I think that gets you respect, you know, so many people I admire say, wow, I really respect you. And that is a really nice thing to hear. But I'm glad I didn't have a ginormous hit and then disappear. I like my career and I definitely have goals that I'm nowhere near reaching, but that's the journey, isn't it. I'm happy in my career as well. And I think they say happiness is a journey, not a destination. As long I'm making work that I love, deejaying to crowds I enjoy, in places that I want to be playing, at festivals & stages I want to be on, and being able to bring my music to people, that’s a privilege and what a luxury position to be in.

CM:  Are there ever any moments that you look back on that you feel like are another lifetime, ones that really put your life now into perspective? 

JH:  Yeah. When I started my club night Room Service in 2010, I started it purely because I had zero money, as in, looking down the back of the sofa in case I dropped any pound coins. Clubland was in a slump and I set that party up because really I didn’t have any gigs and I didn't have any money. So I think I've got that hustle built in me, you know, I'm not from money, I'm not from a particularly creative upbringing or anything like that. So it's really just me. I was just like, right, well, I've got to pay the rent. What can I do? I think that you really grow as a person - as a business person and as a creative - in those moments.

CM:  But those moments take resilience, right? Because it's very easy in those moments to just go, do you know what? I'm just going to opt for a life of security. So it takes a very special drive. What's behind that drive for you? 

JH: The need to be creative and social. The desire to have fun. And have the desire for every day to be different. I have an intense level of boredom if I do the same thing all the time. I'm over things very quickly. Therefore, I have to keep everything moving. Keep everything different. I hate routine. I'm very impatient. I’m naming my flaws here! I'm also a fan of pop culture, music artists, I love Andy Warhol, I’m an admirer and a fan of people. I love to see pop culture. I love to see what Beyoncé is up to, what Charli XCX is up to, what Madonna is up to, these really intensely creative people. So I stay tuned and engaged in how these people make their work and then share their work and get their work out there. I think it's just so interesting. That drives me.

CM: Do you get much time for yourself these days? And if so, what does that look like? 

JH: I do, and it looks like a gym class. Working out really helps me. I like to distract my mind. And I like to keep my body moving. I like days where I'm just at home and I like, clean the wardrobe or watch films. I love to read, I really like talking to myself. I think that's just as important as being sociable and seeing friends to catch up. Humans are sociable but I think humans also sometimes need some time to just sit for hours in shorts and a t- shirt and watch The Real Housewives. 

CM: You mentioned gym class. Has this always been a part of your life? What's your relationship been like to fitness or your body.

JHi: I didn't used to be into fitness. And then I got to my 30s and realised I had to focus on fitness. I've got such a sweet tooth and annoyingly, when I overindulge in sugar you can really see it on me and I like to keep trim, I just feel better. But I also like the finer things in life. So I'm also not super strict with myself, but I try to be very balanced. Balance is very key to me. That sounds like such a cliche, but you know, I eat healthy, but then I will have a slice of chocolate cake because you literally live once, I'm not trying to have a horrible life. So I don't really restrict myself. I just try to have less stuff that's bad for me. I don't drink, I don't smoke, I don't do drugs. Yeah, I drink a lot of coffee, which is a vice and is probably not that good for me, but it's better than drugs, it’s not two grams! I force myself to do fitness. And I never leave a workout feeling regret. I sometimes find it hard to get up and get to a class or a gym. But when I've done it, I'm like, yeah, that feels really good. So I like that feeling. But fitness is not naturally a go-to for me.

CM:  You don't drink, you don't smoke, you don't do drugs. Do you think you'd be able to have the career that you have, or keep up with the career that you have if you did? 

JH: No, I don't think I would. I stopped a long time ago and I did my time. I really put my time into like the hard partying and I feel like I did it all, as much as I needed to. I don't judge anyone who does, because that pays my rent! But I abstain, and it makes me feel better, and I definitely feel like I can achieve more because I'm not feeling horrible the next day.

CM: So fitness doesn't come naturally to you… Looking back, do you wish that you had incorporated fitness and general mental wellbeing earlier in your life? 

JH: I do for sure. Mental wellbeing I've always tried to stay on top of. When I was like 23 I started doing therapy which I'm not doing at the moment, but I think everyone should at certain stages because it's literally like going to the gym for your brain. I'm a big fan of therapy. So mental fitness is something that I've always been engaged with, but physical fitness I haven't. I wonder whether it was because I hated it at school. I would forget my football stuff on purpose so I'd have to play basketball with the girls. And I had all the ego so I'd get sent to detention rather than going to basketball, that kind of thing. So I was not engaged in fitness at school, and I do wonder whether I still have that mentality ingrained in me. And being a quiet person as well, I don't know whether I found it a bit intimidating? Now, though, with all these different things that are going on in fitness, friendly and fun stuff, such as what you're doing with gayns. It sort of feels like a different landscape with fitness. There's a place for everyone. I think the fun in fitness is important. Not for everyone, but for me it's important, I like doing classes where there’s banging music. It's just an extra thing that will get me to work out. 

CM: Circling back to your career, you came from Room Service but before you even had your own nights, you were in queer nightlife, right? So I just want to understand how queer nightlife has shifted during your career or time in London? 

JH: There used to be five things to go to every night. The early days, which I'm writing about in my book at the moment, there would be like five things you can go to on a Thursday, and they'd all be really big and there'd be just so much going on. There was a lot more choice. But whether for financial reasons, drugs or app culture, venues started shutting. You'd have to go to a club to meet someone and make eye contact with someone, God forbid. And now, apps have taken away that need for intimacy. I'm not saying it's a bad thing because we've all been on the yellow pages to get someone over, right? But it has certainly shrunken the club scene. Which is a shame because I think nightlife can be so formative and it can really teach you about what you like, what your tastes are, what music you like, what you know, who you like, what you want to wear. It can really shape you in a way that people online can't necessarily through a screen. And I think that the real, real life experience, there's nothing like it.

CM: You mentioned drugs really coming to the forefront. And I've seen that you have something at Feel It called sober reps or something. What are they?

JH: We have a Sober Angel. So it's making sure that if anyone is sober, they have a touch point. And then we also have a welfare team at Feel It, they're not security and no one's getting a telling off, but they are genuinely there to look out for you. So if anyone was to overdose, there's someone to look after you. I think we have to be realistic, that's what happens in clubs and trying to control our crowd and people’s welfare is the most important thing to us.

CM: I think it's nice that people who don't drink or take drugs but still want to participate in that lifestyle can sort of meet a sober angel that is on the same wavelength as you. 

JH: Large numbers of people don't take drugs and still go out and have a great time. More and more people are not drinking anymore and especially young people as well. I don't  know what the stats are, but that's like a big percentage of people that just don't drink anymore.

CM: Okay. Quickly. What was the inspo for the new single Joy? 

JH: Having a great time with friends. I wanted it to evoke a feeling of happiness. 

CM: Love. And, you mentioned earlier that you have a book that's being published. What's it about? 

JH: Yeah, it's called “You had to Be There”. It's my story woven through 12 different dance floors over the years. It's a love letter to London club culture. And it's also my story. It's a sociological and cultural map of London in the noughties, when I was running around every single night to five different things. 

CM: Can't wait to read that. And finally, there may be someone who is reading this right now who is really inspired by your career. What is the sort of nugget of wisdom you would give to somebody that is Jodie Harsh ten years ago? 

JH: It does take a lot of work. People make things look a lot easier. The way that people present work or projects or businesses or whatever, they make it look easier than the reality behind the scenes. So you must be prepared to work really hard for a really long time, and often for little reward for quite a while. Sometimes you'll strike it lucky and you'll hit really quickly. But, I believe you have to put in the 10,000 hours to become an expert in something. The reality of a successful career is that it comes with a hell of a lot of graft. You're going to get a lot of nos and you're going to get more nos than yeses. I've had more doors remain closed than I have opened for me. You just don't share those. You don't need to share those because that's private. You have to develop a thick skin. And also asking for help! That could be in the form of a community of people around you, whether it's friends or colleagues or a mentor. People that believe in you and really support you. And people that you can run to without becoming annoying. Who you surround yourself with is very, very important… 

You can pr-order Jodie’s book ‘You Had To Be There’ here - https://linktr.ee/yhtbt