Harvey Lewis Truswell finished his Art and Design course at Norwich City College, and armed with a camera, vision and determination has managed to work his way to the top of the creative industry! Having worked with some of the biggest names in the music scene including Rudimental, Chase & Status and Drake, Harvey gives us an insight into setting up a business, his career to date and influences…
Hi Harvey, it says on your Twitter page that you’re a ‘creative entrepreneur’. Please explain in your own words what this means?
I like to think of it as a more flexible and fun take on the standard entrepreneur. Personally, I feel that this term describes my aims to creatively establish business within the music industry, using fashion labels, artists, partner companies and media platforms to help myself and those around me excel in this industry and in our own goals.
As an entrepreneur, what are your main goals?
My main goal is to establish myself and create working relationships with major artists and companies in the
music industry, and to be well known for my creative vision and positive outlook. I hope this will lead on to eventually expanding into the movie industry to begin working towards my next creative goal.
Can you tell us a bit about your own self-titled media company?
I set up my business within the music industry due to my love of music itself. I’ve worked with many different artists with the aim of combining their ideas with my own vision to produce music videos, creative photography and brand designs, as well as working closely alongside media companies such as SBTV.
You’ve worked with some huge names in the music industry including Rudimental, Major Lazer and Chase and Status to name a few. So how did you manage to get known by such huge names?
In total honesty, I believe your attitude towards life determines all, helping others and passionately moving toward my goals allowed me to develop the friendships I’ve gained with artists. I am very fortunate and grateful to be able to be within the music industry, doing what I love with artists that also hold the same passion as me.
Out of all the massive names you’ve worked alongside, who have you most enjoyed collaborating with?
One of my favourite artists to work with was actually one of the first – Ghostface Killah from Wu Tang Clan. We formed a strong bond of mutual respect, due to our similar morals and views in life. I remember sitting talking after a show in a sushi bar a couple years ago chatting about life, and in his iconic voice he said to me “It’s your life man, you gotta live it, always remember that everything is a blessing…” Almost a year later, himself and Raekwon’s Manager then got me access to work with Drake at Wireless festival, this really was a defining point for me and my career.
A large part of what you do seems to be music/video related… Would you say you use music/videography to help express yourself?
Expression is what drives me, being able to actively express my creativity and vision whilst combining it with that of the artist is a huge part of my current work and is something I am incredibly lucky to be able to do.
Which is your personal favourite video that you’ve worked on in the past?
One of my favourites is one of the simplest I have done, it’s called ‘Inspiration’ and it’s on my YouTube channel, when I made this video I felt I really had to prove something to myself, so that I had the courage to keep on going. I spent so much time trying to inspire other people that I forgot to inspire myself. As simple as it is, this video holds a strong place in me as it gave me the will to never give up.
