Jodie Harsh x The Cloud

There is no doubt that the eyes of the world will be on London this year for various events, but sharing that limelight is the creativty and excitment of what the cities most visionary people have to offer. For the past ten years, nightlife has featured heavily in that excitment though whilst publications are now discussing the rise, fall and future of east London, Jodie Harsh (DJ and creator of This Is...Circus) is bringing something fresh to Soho, central London this Friday. I chatted to with Jodie this weekend for  a catch up and to see that this exciting night is all about. 

Hi Jodie, as I type this you are currently No 1 in Spain and Top 10 around Europe with your track with (former Spice Girl) Melanie C; how was the journey to this achievement? 

I had a really great time putting this EP together - it's been loads of fun. The journey was quite long because we first wrote lyrics to the demos just over a year ago, then there was a big gap in the middle because Melanie put her album out and went on tour. It meant that I could go back and revisit the tracks before they were released. They sounded quite different - Set You Free especially, as it didn't have the dubstep or those big dancey chords. I got back into the studio, played the demo and thought, 'Oh my god, we either totally change this track or scrap it'. People seem to like this song the most so I'm glad how it all panned out.

No one can deny the influence of your night Circus within the past 5 years; but tell me about the new night Cloud. 

This Is...Circus is the big daddy - it's six years old now, and becoming a touring brand and will appear at festivals, such as Lovebox on 17th June. CLOUD is the little baby brother - it's back to the weekly roots, with a refined music policy of deep house, the emphasis on dressing up and having a wild time. The door will be quite tight as it's not a huge space in Moonlighting - Nik Thakkar, the nephew of Karl (as in Karl Is My Unkle - the popculture blog) is our casting director and he'll be picking the best looks to get in. We're bringing it back to the studio 54 days. London really needs something buzzy like this - I've been desperate to fill the niche for ages and finally now I have time to do it. I think CLOUD is going to become quite legendary, quite quickly....

Not forgetting your local London roots; you also edited gay scene mag QX magazine this week - will the pages of Esquite be next? 

I've always wanted to edit a magazine, and the guys at QX approached me and asked if I'd take a guest spot for the week. I've read QX on a weekly basis for a decade as it's the London gay club guide, so it was totally relevant to what I do. It was a pretty mad few days because I researched and wrote pretty much two-thirds of the magazine, as well as released the EP and found a venue for CLOUD. I think it may have been my busiest week ever, actually - I barely slept. It was a great experience. My degree was in journalism so I finally put that to use. 

How is this different from Room Service - essentially the hottest night in London? 

Room Service is a totally separate brand. It's a gay party and quite boy-heavy. There's the odd tranny knocking about there too. It's quite a mental little club night, we really pack them into this little space in Soho. I have loads of fun with the boys down there ona Thursday.

Cloud is going to be as close to a religious experience as a guy can get; which fashion icons would be at your (Last) Supper? 

Obviously Madonna, I seem to mention her in every interview I do. Perhaps Donatella and Karl - they seem like fun. And my mates who design, too - Basso and Brooke, Matthew Williamson, Jeremy Scott, Ashley Isham, Charlie Le Mindu, Kim Jones. The Fash-Pack. 

All this stunning art work and photo's are by Tim Bret-Day. Cloud is this Friday 25th May from 10pm, with Kris Di Angelis, Jaime Ritchie and Cathal on the decks, Daniel Lismore, Henry Conway and Kingsley Jordan-Wells hosting and of course, Jodie Harsh as Divine Leader. For more info, follow @thisiscircus or find details on Facebook.