About
Stephen Laurence Harvey aka "the renaissance man" is a multi dimensional creative force who's devoted his life to the arts.
A Platinum & Gold award winning songwriter & record producer. A multi instrumentalist and vocalist with an illustrious track record in the music industry.
Originally born and raised in Aberdeen, Scotland, Stephen has also resided and worked in London / New York / Hollywood & Malibu, California / Jakarta & Bali, Indonesia and Singapore. He is currently traveling worldwide working on a variety of projects.
Photo by : Cherya Murja
DIARY OF A RENAISSANCE MAN : SLH has a long list of high level credits worldwide in the arts spanning several decades. It was around 1999 when people started referring to him as "the renaissance man" a nickname that stuck and has in more recent times morphed into RENMAN for short.
Drummer
Keyboardist
Percussionist
Vocalist
Studio Engineer
Songwriter
Music Producer
Mix Engineer
Arranger
Photographer
Director of Photography
Director / Producer
Editor
Artisan of Furniture
Fashion Designer
Chef
Early Years
Having grown up in Scotland I was lucky enough to spend my childhood playing in forests, climbing mountains, and around the rivers and ocean. I have always felt most at peace in nature and it's become an essential part of my existence to get out into what I term "the nature zone" for my peace of mind. The Deserts, Mountains, Lakes, Forests, Ocean and uninhabited spaces of the earth have in my experience much to teach us about ourselves.
Hiking & Shooting in the Malibu (Santa Monica) mountains
DRUMS
My creative journey all began with the love of music and desire to play the drums. I taught myself how to play using my ears and eyes to study what was going on. I eventually would use this approach to teach myself everything else I did creatively. Drums and Rhythm are at the root source of my creativity.
Soulkeepers
My brothers, musical family left to right Roman Johnson / Tony Patler / Jimi Macon / Bobby Watson -
“Left to right : Roman Johnson, Tony Patler, Jimi Macon, Bobby Watson - My musical family ... spent many years making music in the studio and on the road ,,, precious times - These brothers cool cats and bad ass cats!”
Playing drums one these sessions with Keite Young & Ledisi ...and the Soulkeepers section in LA, Cali USA - I played on 100's of records as a session player in London & LA over the years and when I was not in the studio I'd often be out touring live as drummer / musical director with one of the acts I'd produced.
Foodie
No secret that I love food and love cooking, it's another form of expression to me and a great way to socialise and connect with people - "breaking bread" as we say back in Europe.
The Artisan
For years any spare time I had, I'd be found in my wood shop hammering, chopping and carving away building an assortment of functional art pieces. When I lived in Malibu I designed and built every piece of furniture in my home. It became an art gallery of my work for 10 years. Maybe one day when I'm not so busy with music & film - I'll get back into building stuff again. I do miss it
The Copper Table
I made this piece everyone called "The Copper Table" out of wood / copper and glass. The copper was hand hammered then shaped and welded around a wooden form. 3 layers of tempered glass were set as the middle feature. The sandwiched layer of glass was shattered to give the effect of a crystal when lit from below.
THE COPPER TABLE / MALIBU
The Cali King - It took a long time to make this piece, a lot of hand crafted Mortise and Tenon joinery, the 6x6 inch posts had hand carved wells for candles - But it was built so solid you could park a car on top of it . From this bed two of my children were conceived so it has somewhat of a "magical presence" and it gives more meaning the piece
My oldest son Christopher's bedroom - Both the bed & the mirror were pieces I designed and built by hand. I was using a lot of recycled materials and woods around this period and heavily into RUSTIC design. It fit with the Southern Californian beach vibe in Malibu - The house over looked Broad Beach, Malibu - A magical corner of the world.
This Santa Fe style sofa frame design I made by hand and it was one of the first pieces I made. 20 years on it's as solid as the day I finished building it, perhaps stronger as wood cures throughout time. The cabinet in the background I also made and had glass shelves that lights would shine through at night from below - I also hand made the ebony wood floors throughout the 4000 square foot house - A lot of work that took my buddy Allen and I many few weeks to finish.
“The Recording Studios - A place I spent years of my life in like a scientist in his lab - I would eventually go on to design and build several studios in Los Angeles for myself and other Record producer friends and associates. ”
Malibu studio suite
Beta Studios
I designed & built BETA studios in Hollywood for the BETA records label. After it was built I christened the room and recorded a Temptations album there.
FASHION DESIGN
SLH FASHION
For 10 years SLH designed Exotic unisex bags / Jewelry and Mens Apparel from bases in both Asia & the USA.
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