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Ian Carey

1975 – 2021

American DJ and music producer

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About Ian Carey

Lived 1975 – 2021 (aged 45). Ian Carey was an American disc jockey, record producer, composer and musician.

Ian Joseph Harshman (September 13, 1975 – August 20, 2021), better known by his stage name Ian Carey, was an American house DJ, musician, and record producer based in Miami, Florida.

Biography Carey grew up in Hancock, Maryland, graduating from Hancock Middle-Senior High School in 1993. His father was a live sound engineer and ran a sound reinforcement company; he had engineered for such groups as Kool & The Gang and The Duke Ellington Orchestra.

Carey became involved with dance music while in college. He had already experimented with the graffiti-writing scene in Baltimore, where he met a number of hip-hop DJs, which led to him becoming involved in DJing. He was also introduced to house music while working at a record store. The success of Carey's first self-produced single "Rise" later influenced him to move to Europe to pursue a career in dance music production.

Carey performed as a disc jockey since 1993 and worked as a record producer since 1998. Working with Jason Papillon (see DJ Jason Brooks) as part of Soul Providers, their first single, "Rise", peaked within the top 60 of the charts in the United Kingdom.

Suffering from depression, and unhappy with the house music scene in America, Carey moved to the Netherlands from the US in 2003 and then on to Spain in 2006. In 2008, Ian Carey released the song "Get Shaky" (released as The Ian Carey Project), which featured the vocals of American singer-songwriter Kelly Barnes, who also co-wrote the song. "Get Shaky" peaked within the top ten of the charts in Australia, Belgium, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. In the former country, "Get Shaky" peaked at number two on the ARIA Singles Chart in January 2009, while in the latter country, "Get Shaky" became Carey's second charting song on the UK Singles Chart and first top ten hit on the listing, peaking at number nine in August 2009. The song achieved Double Platinum certification in Australia and Gold certification in New Zealand. The song also won the award for Best Dance Video at the MTV Australia Awards 2009. It also reached the top ten and was world champion Czech Republic's official goal song at the IIHF Ice Hockey World Cup in Germany. In 2011 Ian collaborated with Snoop Dogg and Bobby Anthony on his single "Last Night" which was also remixed by Afrojack.

Ian was based in Miami but spent much of the year touring internationally. On August 20, 2021, Carey died from unknown causes at the age of 45.

Discography As lead artist Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications AlbumAUS AUT BEL CAN FRA GER IRE NDL NZ SWI UK "The Mobtown Sound" 2002 — — — — — — — — — — — Non-album singles "It's Alright / Party Time" 2003 — — — — — — — — — — — "Non-Stop" 2004 — — — — — — — — — — — "Drop Da Vibe"(with DJ Jani featuring MC Gee) — — — — — — — — — — — "Prince Uptown" 2005 — — — — — — — — — — — "Give Up the Funk" — — — — — — — — — — — "The Power" — — — — — — — — — — 103 "Say What You Want"(with Mochico featuring Miss Bunty) — — — — — — — 96 — — — "Lose Control" 2006 — — — — — — — — — — — "Tonight"(with Mad Mark) 2007 — — — — — — — — — — — "Keep on Rising"(featuring Michelle Shellers) — — — — — — — 16 — — — "Love Won't Wait" — — — — — — — — — — — "Get Shaky" 2008 2 33 57 — — 46 9 54 7 59 9 AUS: 2× Platinum NZ: Gold UK: Gold "Redlight" — — — — — — — 28 — — — "SOS" 2009 — — — — — — — — — — — "Shot Caller" 61 — — — — — — — — — — "Let Loose"(featuring Mandy Ventrice) 2010 — — — — — — — — — — — "Hoodrat Stuff" — — — — — — — — — — — "Last Night"(featuring Snoop Dogg and Bobby Anthony) 2011 15 — — 24 — — — 77 — — — AUS: Platinum CAN: Gold "Amnesia"(with Rosette featuring Timbaland and Brasco) 2012 60 — 109 34 113 — — 72 — — — CAN: Gold "Lights Out"(with Mobin Master) — — — — — — — — — — — "Baddest Chick"(with Doron featuring Ray J and Kardinal Offishall) 2013 — — — — — — — — — — — "Keep on Rising"(with Fedde Le Grand) 2017 — — — — — — — — — — — "—" denotes a title that did not chart, or was not released in that territory.

Awards MTV Music Video Awards Australia 2009 Best Dance Video – "Get Shaky"

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Important facts

Birth century
Nationality
Also known as
Ian Harshman, Ian Joseph Harshman, Ian Carey Project, The Ian Carey Project

People in Ian Carey's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Ian Carey's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Ian Carey?

American DJ and music producer (1975–2021)

When was Ian Carey born?

Ian Carey was born on 13 September 1975 in Baltimore.

When did Ian Carey die?

Ian Carey died on 20 August 2021 in Miami.

What was Ian Carey's occupation?

Ian Carey was a disc jockey, record producer, composer and musician.

What nationality was Ian Carey?

Ian Carey was American.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Ian Carey

· Wikidata: Q717255

· DBpedia: Ian Carey

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Ian Carey. https://biography.guide/ian-carey/

MLA: "Ian Carey." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/ian-carey/.

Chicago: "Ian Carey." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/ian-carey/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

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