Scottish techno stalwart Harvey McKay has died

Scottish DJ and producer Harvey McKay has died, his former label Drumcode has confirmed.

In an instagram post shared yesterday (May 21), Drumcode paid tribute to the musician, writing: "Across his releases on Drumcode, Harvey brought a powerful and distinctive sound that left a lasting mark on the label and the wider techno scene."

"His music, energy and presence will not be forgotten," the post continues. "Our thoughts are with his family, friends and everyone close to him. Rest in peace, Harvey." No cause of death has been shared publicly at the time of writing.

The Glaswegian artist rose to prominence in the late '00s with his soulful, peak-time-destined take on techno. Alongside four releases on Adam Beyer's imprint, the last of which, 'Black Dolphin', landed in 2017, McKay also put out records on labels such as Cocoon, Suara, Soma Records, Perc Trax, Rekids and Hardgroove.

With a career spanning two decades, McKay performed across some of the biggest stages in dance music, including EDC Las Vegas, fabric, Space Miami, Creamfields and Ultra Music Festival. More recently, McKay performed across Scotland, and was due to play at East London's Star Lane Pizza Bar for Parallelism next month. 

Several industry figures have paid tribute to McKay following the news of his death, including Octopus Recordings, who wrote: "We’re deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Harvey McKay."

"He contributed many great releases to Octopus Recordings and was a real talent in the booth beside us. His music will live on and continue to elevate people on the dancefloor forever." 

Pig & Dan said McKay was "an incredible producer who was devoted to pushing the sonic envelope. We always very much looked up to his unique and outlook on music production and his cutting edge signature."

German techno duo Pan-Pot similarly paid tribute to the musician via Instagram, alongside Phillip Jung who also passed away this week, writing via Instagram: "Too many losses, too much bad news."

"In moments like these we are reminded how important music is: bringing people together, creating connection and offering something positive in challenging times." Timo Maas also shared a video tribute to McKay and Jung.

Megan Townsend is Mixmag's Deputy Editor, get in touch with her here.