Calvin Harris cancels remaining U.S. tour dates, unleashes summer dance anthem early with 'I'm Not Alone'
Calvin Harris, the Scottish singer-producer who is known for his quirky, catchy and wry singles such as "Acceptable in the 80s," has canceled his remaining U.S. and Canadian tour dates due to a "viral and chest infection that hasn't shown any sign of improving," according to his management. The 25-year-old managed to play only the very beginning of the teaser tour, and will not make upcoming DJ dates in Chicago, Toronto or Miami, where he had planned to play a high-profile gig tonight at the annual Winter Music Conference confab (not that any of the clubs he was set to play at have updated their websites to reflect that fact, or anything). The still-sick musician recently called it a "disastrous U.S. tour attempt" on his Twitter account.
The bad luck will make it harder for Harris to pick up new U.S. fans, which is too bad; the up-and-coming producer has cooked up what may well end up being the summer anthem for dance music aficionados with his latest offering, the surprisingly club-friendly and seriously good "I'm Not Alone."
Along with the release of a new video, "I'm Not Alone" has been gaining momentum worldwide since Pete Tong started playing the pop-tinged track earlier this year on his BBC radio show. Harris' first single off his forthcoming sophomore set for Sony/BMG boasts a melancholy minor-key rock intro and recalls "Technique"-era New Order, the Pet Shop Boys and maybe even some recent Underworld, yet its main hook is straight out of a trance fan's dream. Accordingly, top trance spinners such as Tiësto are raving about "Alone," which may end up becoming the rare track that both pop fans and house heads adore. Expect other influential DJs to also jump on the tune now that Deadmau5 has done a remix (and even some not-so-influential types from Miami to Madrid to follow suit this spring after the official digital release in early April).
His 2007 full-length, "I Created Disco," received mixed reviews in 2007. But if the rest of Harris' forthcoming disc is anything as good as "I'm Not Alone," critics may have to take the budding beatmaker a bit more seriously.
-- Charlie Amter
