After Dhani Harrison released his debut EP EP001 as Thenewno2, a collaborative project with Oliver Hecks, the duo released one more EP and three albums together. Along with their 2008 debut You Are Here and thefearofmissingout in 2012, the 2013 release Beautiful Creatures, also marked Harrison’s first film score for the Richard LaGravenese film of the same name.
Videos by American Songwriter
Throughout most of his career, Harrison has composed music for television and film, and was also involved in the development of The Beatles: Rock Band video game in 2009. In 2018, he scored Matangi/Maya/M.I.A., the Sundance Award-winning documentary chronicling the success of rapper and producer M.I.A.
He has also scored the 2017 documentary on artist Shepard Fairey, Obey Giant, along with the HBO docuseries The Case Against Adnan Syed, and the Showtime sitcom White Famous, among others.
[RELATED: Dhani Harrison’s “Damn That Frequency,” Featuring Blur’s Graham Coxon]
Along with Thenewno2 and his other solo projects, Harrison’s collaborations have also spanned work with Prince, Annie Lennox, Pearl Jam, Perry Farrell, Wu-Tang Clan, UNKLE, John McLaughlin, and Regina Spektor, among others. Harrison also worked on the 2010 album As I Call You Down with his band Fistful of Mercy, featuring Ben Harper and Joseph Arthur and released his debut solo album, In Parallel, in 2017.
“It was kind of a journey,” said Harrison of his first solo album. “With some records you start in one place and then you end up in another place, but you haven’t gone that far? Well, this record, more than any other record I’ve ever done in my life, took me way further down in the process of being myself. It was a very busy couple of years, as it has been for the world, and I learned a lot about myself.” He added, “I’ve got a clear vision of where I’m going in my life and in the place after, whatever that life is called. I want to get to the biscuits!”
Dhani, along with David Zonshine, also oversee Dark Horse Records, the label his father, George Harrison, founded in 1974. The label houses Harrison’s catalog, from his 1968 debut Wonderwall Music through his 12th and final album, Brainwashed in 2002, which was released a year after the former Beatle’s death in 2001 at 58. The latter album is also one that Dhani helped finish for his father with the help of Jim Keltner, and Jeff Lynne.
[RELATED: George Harrison’s Solo Music Catalog Moves to His Dark Horse Label]
Harrison has also contributed to two tributes to his father, including the live Concert for George, recorded in 2002 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England. He also produced the 2016 live album and concert DVD, A Night to Celebrate the Music of George Harrison, which was recorded from the George Fest tribute concert held at the Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles, California in 2014.
In 2022, Harrison also took home his first Grammy for remastering his father’s classic 1970 solo album, All Things Must Pass, in celebration of its 50th anniversary.
Seesawing between solo work and preserving his father’s legacy of music, here’s a look at twos songs Harrison wrote for other artists.
1. “Horse to the Water” Jools Holand and Sam Brown (2001)
Written by Dhani Harrison and George Harrison
Written by George Harrison and Dhani, “Horse to the Water” was originally performed by Jools Holland’s Rhythm and Blues Orchestra—also featuring the elder Harrison—for the band’s 2001 album Small World, Big Band. Recorded on October 2, 2001, “Horse to the Water” was also Harrison’s last recorded performance.
Holland later performed the song during the 2002 Concert for George, a tribute to Harrison, with Sam Brown on vocals.
You can take a horse to the water but you can’t make him drink
Oh no, oh no, oh no
A friend of mine in so much misery
Some people sail through life, he is struggling
I said, “Hey man, let’s go out and get some wisdom”
First he turned on me, then turned off his nervous system
You can take a horse to the water but you can’t make him drink
Oh no, oh no, oh no
You can have it all laid out in front of you but still won’t make it think
Oh no, oh no, oh no
Someone I love has got a problem
Some people thirst for truth, he would like a drink
I said, “Hey man, this could be risky”
He said everything’s okay, as he downed another bottle of whiskey
2. “Presence,” Mereki (2023)
Australian-British artist Mereki’s 2023 debut album Death of a Cloud, features a more ethereal track transfixed on the constraints of time, freedom, and remaining in the present. Mereki first started writing “Presence” after hearing the guitars reverberating guitars coming through the walls of a studio above her where Harrison and Blur’s Graham Coxon were recording. She wrote the first verse and shared it with Harrison, who helped her finish the song.
The singer described the process of making Death of a Cloud as, “like turning myself inside out, peering into the darkest corners of my soul and letting the light in.”
Presence
I am alive
I can be free
I don’t need you
To be me
Give me your hand
Let’s make a stand
I’m on the edge
Divinity
Presence Presence Presence
Reality is just as it’s meant to be
It’s heaven
Right here
Photo: Josh Giroux / Courtesy of Big Hassle PR
