Interview: Lee Coombs

Interview: Lee Coombs

31 October, 2008 | 1.51AM

• Written by: Caleb Rakes
• Filed under: Music News: lee coombs, lot49

Lee Coombs is a pioneer within the tech funk scene, and this year has seen the re-release remix edit of his classic track ‘Future Sound of Retro’.

Now residing in the U.S., Lee’s currently holed up in the studio working on his new artist album for Lot49, from which we caught up with him to ask a few questions.

How did you first cross paths with the Finger Lickin’ crew, and do you still keep in touch with them?

I first met The Finger Lickin boys back when I used to work for Intergroove record distribution in 1998.

I was making breaks records and putting them out myself and they asked me to record a single for them. It went from there, really.

I don’t record anything for them anymore as I am too busy recording for Lot49. We had some great success but we went down different roads musically so that is why we split.

‘Future Sound of Retro’ has become a timeless dance classic. Did you have any idea of the impact it would make on the dance community when you were producing it?

No idea whatsoever.

It’s just that same old thought process I have as I am writing music all the time. ‘Is this going to be a big tune?’ sometimes they are sometimes they aren’t.

I kind of had an idea that it would be popular when I finished it as it sounded way fatter than just about any other tunes I had at the time. But the best reaction for me was all the radio play and hearing it in everyone’s DJ sets back then.

What spurred on your move to the States and how do you feel the new surroundings have influenced your productions?

I had been touring quite heavily in the US from about 2001 and was just about to make the jump to live in San Francisco permanently in 2006 when I met my wife.

So I ended up living in Florida, where she’s from, as she has a business there.

It is not so much the new surroundings that have influenced me but being happy with my life, I think.

I have never made so much music as after I got married. It’s great, I’m very excited about the future musically.

Also my new studio that I have set up in Orlando has helped dramatically. Being self sufficient and being able to finish tracks to a high level is where its at for me.

‘Land of the Monkey Snake’ was supposedly influenced by the Burning Man festival. Can you provide us with more insight as to what impact this experience has had?

Burning Man is sensory overload!

Without a doubt, the craziest festival experience you will ever have.

I love it and have been for the past four years now in a row. I have lots of good friends in San Francisco that all go and heavily participate in artwork and theme camps, etc.

So really Land of the Monkey Snake is a homage to the whole thing.

Also my great friend Hudzo wears this costume at Burning Man which is a furry snake’s body with a monkey’s head and arms. It’s an image I can’t forget.

Over the years you’ve been producing and mixing a wide variety of differing music styles. What would you say is really influencing you at the moment, and in particular what artists do you think we should be looking out for?

Well, we have been pushing the tech-funk sound for a few years now.

I really think it is its own genre, labels like Lot49 and U&A are really finding their feet now and getting properly established.

Artists such as Dopamine, Zodiac Cartel, Hyperion are making amazing dance floor music.

It’s a very exciting time for our music. It seems the world has gone techno but I like to think that we can have influences from lots of different genres in our music.

It’s more about vibe than particular sounds. I still like to play breakbeat but generally it is the 4/4 sound which moves me the most.

The ‘tech-funk’ community, consisting of yourself, Elite Force, Meat Katie, as well as others, appear from the outside to be a tight-nit group of musicians. Is this the case?

I suppose it might seem like that, but it’s just because we have all known each other for so long and we have the same outlook on our music.

We are always on the lookout for new music and artists that we don’t know. Hyperion from Brisbane in Australia are quite new but they are making huge records, and that is all it takes to be part of something like this.

Everyone is welcome, we just want to get excited about new music.

How did the remix of Meat Beat Manifesto come about?

I have had this record since the first week it came out in the UK on a Euro import in 1990.

It is a huge classic anthem and I just had this idea that I could do a mix of it.

I sampled the various vocal parts and a loop of the break from the record and then remade the rest of it. It all happened really quickly as all the best ones do.

It’s not an official remix so I’m not selling it in anyway. It’s up on my website as a free download in fact. I hope I’ve done it some justice.

What can we expect from you in the near future?

Lots of very dirty big room tech funk remixes and releases.

I have a load of stuff waiting to come out. I am writing my new artist album for Lot49 records which I have nearly completed. Should be out early next year sometime.

Artist albums take so long, by the time you get to the end you aren’t sure about the first tracks because you wrote them so long ago. But I think I have a good selection written now.

I have just remixed UNKLE ‘Keys to the Kingdom’ which I am very excited about.

‘Control’ is my current single featuring Katherine Ellis and that seems to be making the right kind of waves at the moment.

This is also on Lot49, which is my home for my own productions.

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