2008 according to…Lee Mortimer

2008 according to…Lee Mortimer

18 December, 2008 | 10.30AM

• Written by: Terry Church
• Filed under: Music News: 2008 roundup

Electro house in 2008 belonged to Lee Mortimer, the British DJ and producer who gave the genre a new lease of life with clever productions that threw the electro house template out of the window, and then ran it over with a huge rumbling steam roller.

“It’s been the best year of my life in terms of my career for sure,” said Lee, when he heard he had been chosen as Beatportal’s top electro house artist of 2008.

The last 12 months for Lee really started cooking when Dave ‘Switch Taylor’ called him. “He asked if I wanted to do an EP for Dubsided and that was big for me as Switch is the godfather of my style of music,” says Lee. “I still remember vividly taking that call. It was crazy him ringing me up out of the blue like that.”

The result of that phonecall was the ‘Latest Hits EP’, a four-tracker of pulsing bass-heavy electro that flirted with Dubsided’s fidget house sound.

The EP was released in November, but long before that Lee Mortimer’s profile was on the rise.

He was signed as a resident DJ for Ministry of Sound club in London in May, and in August he played on the BBC Radio 1 ‘Introducing’ stage at Creamfields festival in Liverpool.

“That was great for me as it’s such an honour to be recognised by someone like Radio 1 and it was also my first ever gig in my hometown of Liverpool so it was especially pleasing,” comments Lee, who also debuted at Ibiza’s famous Space club in the summer.

“I’ll always remember playing for the first time at Space. It was amazing as I had about 15 friends come over from England with me for a holiday. I’d love to go back so much in 2009,” he says.

Back in the UK, Lee Mortimer has also been helping to run Oxford’s famous Slide club night at Carling Academy, and helped introduce clubbers to another top 2008 electro house artist Crookers, as well as Boyz Noize and The Count & Sinden.

There was also a notable EP on CR2 - ‘Songs About Bass’, which saw Mortimer collaborate with an MC (Flipside) for the first time.

My success this year was due to everything else I’ve done in previous years; it’s very rare that an artist can literally come from nowhere and be a sensation straight away

Not content with causing ripples on other labels, Lee also threw his energy into his own Wearhouse Music and helped to break a whole new generation of electro house artists including HiJack, Andy George, Foamo and HeavyFeet.

“It’s great that it’s really becoming a recognisable label to people and that’s down to the quality music that I’ve been lucky enough to sign,” explains Mortimer.

Lee has certainly been a busy boy, and with standout remixes on Made To Play, Passenger and Dave Spoon’s new Televizion label how does he do it?

“Hard work essentially,” he replies. “Every day of my life I’m thinking about music and I’m in the studio five days a week. I’ve made a lot of tunes this year but it is by no means easy to do consistently.

“I like to think I come up with some new ideas in each track I make which hopefully sets me apart from other artists.”

It certainly did, but Lee Mortimer’s transition from aspiring producer to electro house leader was by no means an overnight turning of the tide. He didn’t just wake up one morning in 2008 and find his face plastered over magazine covers.

“My success this year was due to everything else I’ve done in previous years; it’s very rare that an artist can literally come from nowhere and be a sensation straight away,” he muses.

“I’ve been working away, making music and DJing for over half my life and every time you turn on your computer or mixing desk you learn new things that help you move forwards.”

He ends our interview on a brash, in-your-face note, much like how his music leaves you feeling on the dancefloor.

“I’m lucky enough to be able to devote all my time to music and without wanting to blow my own trumpet, I think I’m pretty darn good at it. Come and see me DJ and I’ll prove it do you!”

Lee Mortimer’s Top 3 Records of 2008

Kid Cudi ‘Day ‘N’ Nite (Crookers Remix)’ [Fool’s Gold]

Crookers really need no introduction and this remix epitomises not only what is great about fidget, hipster or electro – whatever you want to call it! This has been far and away the most popular tune I’ve played all year.

Literally everybody knows it and sings along and the best thing is it’s still credible and not cheesy in any way.

This remix maybe didn’t push the boundaries as much as Crookers’ other tracks like ‘Sveglia’ with its sinister organs, but you gotta love it all the same!

TJR ‘Sonic Chronic (Lee Mortimer Remix)’ [Made to Play]

It was a close call between this remix and my track ‘Depressed Mode’ by my alias Sawtooth Sucka for my most defining record of the year.

They’re similar in that they’re both influenced by classics and have been getting great reactions everywhere I play them.

Focusing on ‘Sonic Chronic’ though I was very excited to sign the original from TJR and knew I wanted to remix it.

The main things for me in the mix that are fresh are the call and response style bassline that hits you right in the stomach and also the hands-in-the-air buildup!

I guess the biggest compliment is that Jesse Rose played it (and also ‘Depressed Mode’) so much that he decided to sign them to his label Made To Play for a full vinyl release.

Hervé & Kissy Sell Out ‘Rikkalicious’ [Cheap Thrills]

The most recent of my defining tracks. Hervé has definitely been my producer of the year and it was hard to pick a favourite (his remix of Bloc Party’s ‘Mercury’ springs to mind).

Rikkalicious treads new ground in many ways but still sticks to tried and tested grooves and big sounds to find a perfect balance. Big respect to Kissy too for his undoubted genius input.

Go for the 12” mix for musical mastery and the club mix for no holds barred mayhem!

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• Lee Mortimer on Beatport