“i make music …. i buy music …. i play music …. i steal music …. i eat music …. and sometimes music feeds me” – Gavin Hardkiss
Gavin Hardkiss aka Hawke is a DJ/producer/songwriter who likes pony rides, trips to the moon, castenettes, pirouettes, baby sharks and birds of prey.
Gavin started producing music when he moved to San Francisco to start the eponymous record label Hardkiss Music in 1991. Building the Hardkiss label in the early ’90s, he helped foster a new psychedelic dance sound with releases of his own creation as well as releases from Rabbit-in-the-Moon, God Within, Little Wing, T Tauri and Symbiosis.
Throughout the ’90s, he traveled relentlessly around the Americas and Europe with his cohorts Robbie and Scott Hardkiss, DJing a hybrid soundtrack of music people had never heard before. A pioneer of the early US rave scene and an innovative producer, he continued releasing singles and remixes on international labels such as Sony Music, Six Degrees, London/FFRR, Astralwerks, Global Underground and Hooj Choons.
He also shared A&R duties for the Sunburn label which harnessed a second wave of talented San Francisco inspired artists such as Rebel Crew, Charlotte the Baroness, Drunken Monkey, Lovesky and The Infinite Posse.
Gavin has continued a successful international DJ career, jetting out weekends to entertain funky hedonists with his provocative beats and gamma rays. He has traveled the world presenting a hybrid sound of house, tribal techno funk and electronic precipitation.
After recording the first Hawke single “3 Nudes In A Purple Garden,” featured on the classic Hardkiss album DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR, Gavin started to focus on producing albums that strayed from the well beaten paths of genre-centric dance music. At this time, Hawke began to characterize the many collaborations and original sound clashes that he would develope.
The Hawke album NAMAQUADISCO was released on Sunburn Recordings in 1998 and HEATSTROKE was released on Six Degrees Records in 2000.
In 2004, Hawke presented a third original album entitled LOVE WON ANOTHER. Described by the Orlando Weekly as “thick with the stoned-out, everything’s-cool-man optimism.”
Love Won Another spawned two remix album and several music videos.
In October 2009, the newest Hawke album titled “+++” was released.
Over the past decade, he has remixed the likes of Youssou N’Dour, Led Zepellin, Elton John and Michael Franti, performed alongside Snoop Dogg and The Buena Vista Social Club and released recordings in Spain, France, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States. In 2010, the song “Mundo Via Afrika” was featured on the official Sony World Cup album “Hello Africa,” alongside the best of contemporary African musicians.
Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Gavin Hardkiss now makes his home across the Golden Gate Bridge near the city by the Bay.
I have always enjoyed your music and creativity, and look forward to future releases. Thanks for hours of acoustical enjoyment!
Gavin hi there – in 2002 or so (when groovetech was still alive) you had a 3-4hr set video – that was tops. it started with you behind the decks and as the hours rolled on – lights went dim, more people showed up and started grooving – it was good to watch AND to listen to
will that ever get online again? would love to get back into that. keep up the good work man.
from brisbane, australia.
not sure what happened to groovetech and all its content but it bit the dust a few years back ….. i’m sure there are heaps of good sets that went with it and for that matter a bunch of bad ones too.
I copped a whole bunch of old broadcasts from Groovetch and the Beta Loung back then. The one Groovetech file I have is a 28 MB .RM file from No-28-2000. I don’t even know how to play that format anymore!
Do you guys remember a party in Ft Lauderdale at Synder park. You guys gave out tapes. 1 from each of you guys. I have the Robbie live at Pure Space. I cant find yours or the other one. That was an awesome party!!!
I remember that …. ha ha ha
There’s not been a more important figure in the pure fenceless art of electronic music, and I say that knowing full well the weight of the world a statement like that carries, and fear absolutely zero recoil or sense of exaggeration from it. The album ‘Delusions of Grandeur’ changed my life, period. That said, Gavin’s new work and the ability to carefully, yet not pretentiously, defy being catergorized into any shallow genre or subgenre of electronic music other than ‘audio art via soundscapes’ is thee single North Star which keeps the light lit in my lantern in becoming ever evolving as a electronic musician, as well as opening up every single soul around me to new dimensions of the true horizonlessness of electronica. Tear up and burn your outlines. Break down your 4 walled world of ‘this is this’ and ‘that is that’. Download this man’s music and DJ sets…draw from his inspirations..seek out the paths of the music he selects. These are the doors to the other side.
Saul Marinoni
5 October 2010
I can’t wait to see you in San Fran in November, good sir. Your music is such an inspiration and a catalyst for disconnecting and restructuring my thought patterns on electronic music, beyond anything I’ve ever heard. Would be a true honor to meet you. I hope you and yours are well.
thanx for the kind words and complements … i ofter see myself as a modern artist fitting more in the categories of cubist, surrealist or situationalist than into the confines of genre centric electronic music …. i work with moods and ideas …. i am appreciative that you recognize this … c u soon +++
Do you still keep your masters intact?
I had this: Bumblehaun (Hawke’s Kiss Mix)
But unfortunately the best track of the 12″ was never released on CD or as a digital release.
So… : }
Can I?
In FLAC or AIFF?
Best regards,
Guill
* I pay for it.
i’m sure i can find an unmastered wav somewhere … send an email to gavin@lovewonanother.com ++
Remember the set you had at the Sweetwater in Mill Valley?? Thank you so much and playing out that day!
must have been really good cause i don’t remember
Hey Gav !
Just found this site and there is some reallly cool stuff here..
Glad to hear you are still forging the musical path and making those machines speak..
Hope you and the family are great and look forward to seeing you in the UK in 2012 !!!
Hunter
thanks hunter!!! will be in the UK next June and will need suggestions for some good gigs …. let me know what you know …. blast off 2012 +++
Hey Gavin,
I would love to send you some digital promos from my label Intelligent Audio.
Please let me know an email where I could send them to. Sorry to post as a comment – was looking for your email but can’t find it…
Its a mix of deep tech house, nujazz, funk, chill out etc.
Best wishes Clare x
Clare Thwaites
Owner, Intelligent Audio
http://intelligentaudio.net/
http://soundcloud.com/intelligentaudio
GGGavinnnnnn……! as I am moving my hard CD’s into my itunes library, I came across your “weekend”. just HAD to say hey yet again. noticed my now home town orlando weekly had some good things to add to your fan base. good to hear, good to see, good to remember all good things in our life!
congrats on keeping it strong!
amy
circa LA 1991
the elevator series
Man I’m so glad to see your still kicking the funk my brother. To refresh your memory on who I am I’m with The Bayou Brothers that are HUGE fans of everything Hardkiss and years ago you bestowed us a very high honor of “almost” becoming a part of your Digital Sunburn outing that never took flight. Holla at a brother sometime and fell free to catch some free downloads of our music at our soundcloud page and don’t forget to check us out at Facebook.com/thebayoubros
Much love and respect my brotha!
Phenix
The Bayou Bros
what up bro? good to hear from you. so glad to hear you’re still rocking it too +++
Gavin,My son like you has been making music for some time in the London area combining studio work and DJ’ing and is looking for a break through in this business,any ideas for him,here is a link to some of his material.
Thought I might drop you a line as you are an expert in this business and may be able to provide some contacts…… cheers Nigel Warner
I settled in the Philadelphia area and saw you had lived here at sometime in your life prior to moving to the West Coast so I can certainly get him out this way if you are interested.
http://www.discogs.com/artist/Luke+Warner
Nigel … tough business +++ my suggestion is be the best you can be for as long as you can and find another way to earn a living +++ doing it for the passion is enough reward in itself