32: Midland is reborn and jamming with Arthur Russell

Truly an artist who needs no introduction to the No Tags
universe, Midland is also one of the nicest people we know in
this bottomless viper pit called dance music.


Harry Agius has been a constant presence on the dancefloor since
we were first finding our feet as music writers, and we’ve
followed him every step of the way – from his early run of
steppy house records on Aus Music and Phonica, to ‘Final Credits’
mania in 2016, and his current incarnation as something of a
grande dame of gay club culture.


That role is one he’s grown into slowly but surely, as he
explains to us in this episode, and it blossoms into something
very special on his debut album Fragments Of Us. It’s far from
your typical wham-bam, nine-tracks-and-an-ambient-interlude dance
music long-player. Constructed around gay voices past and present
– including ‘80s artist and Aids activist David Wojnarowicz,
mould-breaking Black filmmaker Marlon Riggs, and Luke Howard of
London institution Horse Meat Disco – it’s a genuinely
personal record that’s also a kind of time capsule for future
generations.


We talked to Harry about growing into his identity as a gay DJ,
the many, many reasons to turn down a gig, and whether Arthur
Russell would have liked dubstep. Plus, he loves his films! We
get an excellent recommendation and confirmation, if it were
needed, that he’s #PartyGirlHive.


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