When you're aware of David Harrow's long rich and varied career, it seems a bit odd that he is'nt better known. According to Harrow that's how its meant to be.

"It's a law of nature that you keep your head down and don't attract unnecessary attention. My own philosophies I try to keep to myself. I'm not preaching. I'm just trying to push music forwards". Accordingly Harrow refuses to stick to one musical genre and believes that music is music and needn't be classified. Probably something to do with Harrow's art training'.

When Harrow's musical career began in the late 70's that meant an interest in punk and anything a little bit different. He played drums and bass in a variety of dodgy bands and then when his granny died and left him £100 he bought a WASP synthesiser. When the 1980's arrived Harrow found he was hooked on keyboards and electronics and that's when things started to happen.

His first recordings were created in Berlin in 1981/1982 when he was working with a woman called Anne Clark. The sound they created was soon termed new beat or industrial and along with DAF they kickstarted the european electronic dance scene. When Harrow visits Germany today, he is still hailed as "The Godfather of Techno".

Harrow's confrontational art background led to a loose partnership with the legendary Psychic TV and cult figure Genesis P.Orridge. It was all experience, but dwelling so much on the dark and unpleasant side of life all got a bit too oppressive for Harrow.

During his period with Psychic TV, Harrow was also a member of Jah Wobbles Invaders of the Heart, through whom he met and started working with Adrian Sherwood's On-u-sound and Dub Syndicate. "One evening Wobble took me down to hang out with Adrian and five years later I was still hanging around. The whole of my careers been like that. Its all been casual and unforced; that's how good stuff happens" And it has been superb stuff. As one of On-u-sounds main contributors Harrow found himself writing for and playing with African headcharge, Lee Perry and Gary Clail to name just a few. Not bad really, for someone who hasn't forced anything. "I count myself as very fortunate. I've worked with and learnt from three of the greats; Genesis P Orridge, Jah Wobble and Adrian Sherwood. I don't think you could have any better tutors and I'm happy if I've managed to retain one tenth of what they've taught me."

They must have taught him something because by the early 1990's Harrow began to find he was getting musical ideas that didn't really fit with the On-U-Sound stylee. That's when a solo venture TECHNOVA first came into being. The initial material was being created while touring in Japan with Gary Clail when Harrow found himself putting tracks together on trains or wherever he got the chance. The music was to encompass Harrows belief that music shouldn't sit neatly into pigeonholes. Ambience was layered with techno squelches and beats, ethnic rhythms and dub mayhem.

In 1993, as Technova was taking shape, Harrow first met Andrew Weatherall who at that time was putting together a special Pagan-Christmas bash at the Sabresonic club. Harrow had friends in performance art and he put together his own sort of theatrical event. The show consisted of Harrow playing "Tantra", a 25 minute long Technova track with a group of naked, tattoed and pierced freaks dancing and cavorting around him with chainsaws and bottles of fake blood. Weatherall was so impressed that he offered to release the track. Harrow accepted and since then a handful of Technova singles and to Lp's "Tantric Steps" and Transcience have been released on the Audio Emissions label.

Out of their mutual respect it was perhaps inevitable that Harrow and Weatherall would begin working together. By late 1995 they were doing a few remixes and soon found themselves moulding the highly regarded and ultra minimal 'Levels EP under the Bloodsugar pseudonym. No doubt there is more to come.

However not to be tied down, Harrow has his fingers in a few more pies. In 1995 the James Hardway moniker was born out of his love of experimental jazz (John Coltrane, Miles Davis, etc) and a newly acquired interest in the complex sounds and the rhythms of jungle and drum 'n' bass. With his portable studio in hand, Harrow took a trip to New Yorks finest jazz clubs and when the right vibes were achieved came the "Cool Jazz Motherfucker" EP, a superb hybrid of experimental jazz and jungle.

The portable studio is central to Harrows methodology. "My goal is to make magic and you just can't do that just plodding along into the same grey studio everyday. An individual piece of music requires a certain environment or a specific state of mind, not the same old office"

recently Harrow has recorded as "the Charismatics" and played live with Dreadzone. as well as producing for a variety of bands around the world including German Techno punks ATR, New Zealand's Salmonella dub and Australian record industry winners Caligula. Oh yeah, and he's the man resposible for writing Billie Ray Martins "Your Lovin Arms"."That was written in about two and a half hours one afternoon. Some people make careers out of that sort of thing, but I can't take that seriously. Its just a good earner once in a while".

Harrow has been accused of spreading himself too thinly. Widely yes but thinly no. The fact that he's prolific in so many different areas surely only proves his talent. "Unless you're in Pulp or Oasis I don't think you can afford to stick with one band anymore. Anyway it's not in my nature. I like to do lots of different things and I like to work with lots of different people. I just do what I do; I'm not doing anything different now to when I started out fifteen years ago. Things seem to have come round to my way of thinking, all I've done is stick to my guns.