As filmmakers, photographers, creative directors, and musical artist managers and label A&Rs, Dan, Johnny, and Spencer have known and worked with one another on and off for years. This trio has influenced over 2 billion Spotify streams (Spencer), worked with musicians including The 1975 and Leon Bridges (Dan), and won 2 UK Music Video Awards (Johnny) — while also finding time to shop at our Calvert Avenue location, of course!
We recently caught up with these stellar musical men to find out about their style preferences and what they've got going on right now...
Spencer Kelley
Solms Jacket |
Fishtail Trousers |
Talbot Roll Neck |
Spencer Kelley is a A&R and artist manager born in Vermont and based in London, via NYC and LA. In 2014 Kelley founded Color Study as an artist management company. Sony Music acquired Color Study in 2021, the roster having amassed over two billion streams and praise from media such as The Guardian and Paper Magazine to artists Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish. Kelley is currently working behind the scenes to launch a new independent management and label brand in 2023.
Hi Spencer. Can you introduce yourself please and tell us what you do?
Thanks for having us here! I’m an artist manager and label A&R. From a very young age, I’ve always wanted to have some sort of career in music and feel fortunate that I was able to recognize that relying on my own musical abilities was certainly not going to get me there! By choosing the path of management, I’ve been able to work closely with some truly talented musicians, support their visions, and help grow their art into sustainable careers.
You manage a lot of artists, so we won’t ask you to pick a favourite…but what do you listen to when getting dressed for a big event? And what artist should we know about right now?
I caught the band Parcels at two different festivals this summer and both times they stole the entire show, despite some much bigger acts being on the bill. They would probably be my go-to ahead of going out at the moment.
I also recently started working with Vancouver Sleep Clinic who I’m super excited about. He just put up an ambient cover of Harry Styles “As It Was” that’s going viral on Instagram Reels right now. A bunch of massive football accounts like Champions League and FIFA started posting it over some melodramatic player highlights and now it’s up to something like 120M views.
How do you know Johnny and Dan?
Johnny and I met on set at a festival in Amsterdam back in 2018. Dan I also met on set at a similar time in London. Since then, they’ve become my great friends and go-to trusted creatives who have worked across multiple projects for our artists. One of my favorite things about music is getting to watch the audio and visual worlds combine. Visual creatives often become some of my closest people as well. It’s a similar journey to music, at the crossroads of art and commerce, but with enough space between the industries that every conversation doesn’t feel like a networking event.
We know you’ve been a top OS customer for ages. What item(s) are in your wardrobe from past seasons that you still have on rotate? Which one do you plan to mix with this season’s new collection?
My all-time favorite piece from Oliver Spencer is the Artist Jacket in Kildale Indigo from Spring/Summer 2019. One of the many reasons I come back to the brand each season is the fabric consistency over the years. For example, each spring I can expect to find several indigo pieces that might resemble previous seasons, but always have a new element or approach. In this case - with the Artist Jacket - it was the asymmetry of the buttons. This keeps my wardrobe interesting to me, but also consistent so I don’t have to ponder a complete shift in style year after year. The Grandpa Coat in Edson Multi is another must have in London. It’s a long, plaid, water-repellent coat - very practical here - that to some might resemble Burberry, but doesn’t scream “look at what brand I’m wearing.”
Every September I bring out my ever-growing collection of wool Oliver Spencer roll-necks, which look great on their own or paired with a jacket. They also always have thumbholes. It’s the little things… I keep these out all winter until the Indigo rears its head for the spring.
Daniel Alexander Harris
Linfield Bomber Jacket |
Brighstone Hoodie |
Heavy T-Shirt |
Dan is a portrait photographer, film director and art director who has worked on campaigns for YouTube, Dr Martens, Netflix, Pinterest, Playstation, and Airbnb. If that wasn't enough, he has also worked with musical artists such as Wolf Alice, The 1975, Bombay Bicycle Club, Mumford & Sons, Leon Bridges, and Sam Smith.
Hi Daniel. Can you introduce yourself please and tell us what you do?
I am a portrait photographer, film director, art director, and dad to two wonderful kids so there's a healthy balance of all of those things in my day-to-day. I grew my photography through working with some of the biggest bands and artists and have slowly evolved my work towards commercial and lifestyle brands.
Do each of the creative worlds you work in inspire the same kind of passion from you, or is there a particular lane you like to work in that feels like “home?”
I definitely started as a photographer before diversifying into other creative fields. If I were only allowed to do one thing for the rest of time, it would be taking photographs. That said, ideas and concepts live broadly and clients are demanding that creatives can do more and more on each project so I've gotten very used to transposing my photographic thinking and style into my moving image work.
How would you describe your personal style?
My personal style is fairly utilitarian, boxy and oversize. Everything I own has to allow me to shoot and pull shapes without ripping seams or anything unhelpful when you're just trying to get the shot! I love big shoot jackets (and am far more of a winter person, generally).
Johnny Marchetta
Buffalo Jacket |
Arisaig Sweatshirt |
Fishtail Trousers Fairview Black |
Johnny is a music and commercial video director based in Manchester. He is 1/2 of the directing duo Franklin & Marchetta (2x nominated “UK Music Video Awards” (UKMA) nominees) who are represented by Low Key Films and OB Management. With his Wife, Johnny also runs a production company called Bee Happy Media, working with Sony, Universal Music and Warner Brothers. He proudly wore Oliver Spencer to his wedding a week ago in Ostini, Italy.
Hi Johnny. Can you introduce yourself please and tell us what you do?
I’m Johnny Marchetta, I’m a film director working in commercials and music and very soon to be directing a feature film with my co-director and good friend Bjorn Franklin. Very exciting news to come!
What is it about the worlds of film, creative direction, and music that make you so passionate? How did you get into what you do?
My childhood was filled with music; playing, listening, but also letting my imagination run riot whilst obsessing over some of the album artwork in my dad's vinyl collection. Music makes up so much of your emotion and feeling in film and I guess that was a big part of what I loved about it. From being in a band in my early 20s to starting a live music session channel on YouTube in which we would shoot and record all the content for, music has been an integral part of my life. It's a happy accident that it led me down the route of artists, labels and management, helping me build a network and portfolio of content which continued to grow until I got signed as a director.
How would you describe your personal style?
I would probably describe my style as a 70s Americana hippy mash up. I generally love shirts/jumpers with an oversized fit and always got to give massive love for a hat! Very rare my head makes an appearance without one these days!!