Harvey McKay

During the mid-2010s, Harvey McKay emerged as one of techno’s most commercially successful figures, issuing multiple high-charting singles while based in his native Glasgow. As a teenager throughout the 1990s he maintained a busy DJ schedule, absorbing inspiration from the duo Slam, who later granted him guest spots at their Soma-backed events and ultimately welcomed him to the roster in 2008 with the stark releases “Output” and “69.” Earlier material had already appeared via Ali Wells’s Perc Trax imprint as well as Mark Gwinnett and Saytek’s Cubism label. The following year brought a high-profile SXSW slot and the arrival of his first full-length effort, Machine Make Noise. Apart from isolated side projects—“Welshly Arms” on Dutch imprint Manual in 2010 and “McGurk Effect” on 8-Sided Dice in 2011—McKay concentrated almost exclusively on Soma output, supporting each record with repeated live dates across the UK.

Although ties to Soma grew more sporadic after 2014, his international trajectory accelerated sharply in the years immediately preceding that shift. Appearances in the United States, Spain, and France dotted the 2013 calendar, alongside fresh material on Saved, Suara, and Cocoon. The pivotal moment arrived that November when Drumcode founder Adam Beyer issued McKay’s debut single for the label, “Lost.” Sales momentum peaked throughout 2014 as the follow-up album The Illusion of Control performed strongly, complemented by further outings on Bedrock and Intec Digital and an appearance at Awakenings Festival. Subsequent bookings at Dutch events—Nachtbrigade Winterparade, Outdoor Stereo, and Wonderland in 2015, plus Wildeburg the year after—sustained his visibility within the scene.

In 2017 McKay launched the collaborative project Alias alongside his brother Ryan; the pair’s hypnotic debut EP, Visions, surfaced on Drumcode and was later rebranded Alias GB. A second Alias single, “NRG,” followed in 2018, the same year McKay embarked on an unusually extensive travel schedule that included a set at Shanghai’s Arkham, a Drumcode showcase in Los Angeles, and the inaugural Drumcode festival in Amsterdam. Early 2019 saw the third Alias release, “Force,” coincide with the start of a sustained solo campaign on Reinier Zonneveld’s Filth on Acid and the London-based Kneaded Pains, both of which hosted his productions for the next two years. The dark, atmospheric track “Forest” marked his first appearance on Gregor Tresher’s Break New Soil in early 2022.