teshno

another interview from a series with detroit’s current champs.

how did you get into all this?

“all of this”…. i like that, you make it sound like you’re asking how i ended running cocaine for the mafia on some documentary on the history channel. but seriously, i’ve been making music since i was a teenager, so once i started listening to dance music and djing, i think the progression into making the music was inevitable, and once i started producing full on, i realized quickly that i wanted to make djing and producing my full time job. the rest just kinda filled in from there.

how would you describe your music, both sets and productions?

i think that both are highly situational, depending on where i’m playing, or when in the studio, what mood i’m in. i’d say that both my sets and tracks are sexual, funky, deep, constantly moving and a bit unpredictable. i pride myself on always staying fresh with new ideas when producing and djing, i like playing a broad range of music. sometimes i’ll play 80′s pop, disco, house and techno in 1 set. i feel it’s always all about waiting for the right moment and building up to dropping the right tracks at the right time. djing and producing are 2 of my favorite things to do and i try to share that feeling with everyone when i play or make music.

what’s good/bad about being from detroit?

the best thing about being from detroit, was meeting ryan crosson, seth troxler, shaun reeves, matthew dear, ryan elliot and john johr. without these guys, i wouldn’t be…well, anywhere. but other than the obvious reason stated above, i’d say living in detroit gave me a rich background of electronic music. it’s one of the only places in the states that always made sure that electronic music was represented at all of the city’s festivals and events. also at the time i moved there, zip, ricardo and many of the other perlon greats were playing regularly in detroit, add to that being able to see carl craig, moodyman, magda and derek plaslaiko quite often and one can see how i got an education in dance music. the bad part about being from detroit follows nicely with the last sentence. those days are over… most of the clubs and parties in detroit have either shut down, changed their programming to commercial music or just plain vanished and most of those artists moved or don’t play in detroit anymore. there will always be an underground scene in detroit but i’ve had to bare witness to a sharp decline in good parties and great music over the last couple of years. the movement festival, however, is still the time where the city shines for me, a chance for all my friends from all over the world to come enjoy detroit the way i remember it being back in the day.

what influence does the city have on you and the music?

i grew up on the west side of michigan and moved to detroit in early 2000. i used to travel to chicago quite regularly when i was younger and fell in love with house music, i then moved to detroit and started getting more into the techno side of things. i think that pretty much sums it up. i love chicago house, i love detroit house and i love techno. detroit has infused soul into my music and deep sense of appreciation and respect for dance music.

why do you make the house and techno you do instead of, say, d&b? what draws you to it?

house and disco are the funk and soul of dance music, the stuff that makes booties shake and people get freaky. techno music is the kind of music that can make a party last for 2 days in a dark room with nothing but a dj and loud speakers. house is more fun, techno is more mental. i don’t think they could exist without one another and i keep that in mind when producing and even moreso when djing. i can appreciate elements of other styles of electronic music, but usually find the rest of the track annoying, cheesy and simple. i quite honestly don’t understand and openly hate trance music, i seriosly can’t understand how people can willingly listen to it and would love if someone could explain it to me.

what influences/inspires you musically?

to be honest, lately i’ve been drawing more inspiration from 80′s and 90′s music like inxs, hall and oates and the cure again. it’s amazing how things come full circle, the music that inspired me when i was growing up has started to influence my music all over again. the other main influence is my friends and the places i’ve been.

after a decade doing this, why do you think your getting more press nowadays?

i don’t know, you would have to answer that one for me….did i suddenly become more interesting? maybe it’s my hair, i’ve been growing it out for a while. seriously though, i’d say it’s probably because i’ve been surrounding with good people, friends who make good music and run good labels.

what makes you, you?

my ability to laugh at myself and my friends, even when it’s not funny.

what role does w+l, seth, and other members of that family play in your life – how does it affect the music?

seth, shaun, ryan and i are basically each other’s support groups. we stop each other from going crazy and when necessary, help each other go crazy. like i said, if it weren’t for those boys, i don’t know where i’d be…. probably curing cancer or something.

zev, gadi and the wolf and lamb label have become a home base and a family for me. we’re all such close friends and share the same passion for music and pushing boundaries that working together has been pretty effortless. they have courage and vision in the way they run their record label and have been pushing me since they met me. the boys and i, (seth, ryan and shaun) have done the same back for them, keeping them updated on what we think is hot and helping with some of the a+r. it’s really a family affair and i’ve had some of the best times of my life playing for them and helping out and seeing the label turn into what it is today.

the other boys from detroit, spectral sound, matthew dear, ryan elliot and sam valenti also played an integral part in my career. i met all three of them early on when i moved to detroit. matt and ryan have constantly been pushing me and taught me a lot about taking it to the next level and being a professional. in fact, it was matt that spurred me into moving to detroit in the 1st place.

in an ideal world, what is something i should definitely say about you in a piece about the current detroit scene?

in an ideal world?? if it’s an ideal world we’re hypothetically speaking about, you’d say, “lee and all of his friend’s music changed the world, fixed the economy, fed the homeless, stopped the war and cured aids”. but the real world qoute would end up sounding more like, “he died trying”.

i read seth once farted on you and shit came out. did you get him back?

i’ll put it this way, seth did fart and shit did come out…. had any of that shit ended up anywhere near me, i would have made him eat it. end of story.

what are you working on at the moment?

i just finished my full ep for spectral sound along with a track for the “death is nothing to fear” compilation that will be out in october that i’m extremely proud of and am working on another ep for get physical right now and also something for the beatstreet label in berlin . i’ve also been working in the studio with some good friends on some other projects that i think are coming together nicely. 2010 will be a busy year for me.