Visionquest man Lee Curtiss is more than versed in the world of contempoary house music. Part of the globe trotting quartet and an exciting, unique DJ, Mr Curtiss has made a name for himself as a figure for consistent quality and most of all, grooving house cuts. For Pulse Podcast episode 110, Lee chats to us about the US, sources of inspiration and juggling the running of the mighty Visionquest label ith a hectic tour diary. Recorded live from Sunset Boat Cruise in San Franciso - a vinyl only set, recorded in one take and free from tricks and studio sheen - Lee takes us on an upfront selection of gems from his record bag. Get stuck in and further discover this integral name's creative endeavours...
[Read on for download]
Thanks for joining us Lee - first of all, talk to us about your forthcoming releases and any others that you have slated for release... I am currently working on a Lee Curtiss and friends EP for Visionquest. It’s been slow going working around other people’s schedules, but I think the end result will be worth the effort. I’m also working with Kenny Glasgow from Art Department, Soul Clap, Wolf and Lamb, The Martinez Brothers, Simon Baker and a few others. There’s some interesting music coming from these collaborations and it will probably end up on 2 EPs and 1 CD. I’ll also be doing a bit of remix work in the next 3 months.
What's the special ingredient of this Pulse Podcast mix? It’s mixed live on turntables at the Sunset Boat Cruise in San Francisco on Halloween. There’s been no studio editing or tricks used on this one. The party is on a gigantic party barge that cruises around the San Francisco bay. Everyone goes all out with their costumes and the vibe of party is pretty special. I was dressed as Hunter S Thompson and my agent was Dr. Gonzo. I think a lot of good energy came through in the set, the crowd and I were really feeling it.
Tiefschwarz, dOP, Solomun and yourself have all mixed for the Watergate compilation series, which firmly solidified your relationship with the club. Tell us about your affiliation with the club? I’ve been playing at Watergate for a lot of years now. It’s like home base in Berlin for me. The staff are really nice people and really open musically. I usually play a sunrise set on the Water floor and I’m known for taking it in new directions.
The US gets a lot of mixed press these days, thanks to explosions of hybrid scenes and ‘big league’ DJs such as SHM and David Guetta maintaining a prominent fixture in the public eye. In your personal opinion, how do you see the future for dance music in America? Dance music has changed a lot in the 15 years I’ve been involved in it. It seemed that there was always dance music like Fatboy Slim and Daft Punk making it’s way to the radio in America but it certainly wasn’t as prominent as it is now. It seems like most music on the radio in the US has some element of dance music in it. Even if it’s not my cup of tea, I don’t see it being bad for dance music as a whole. The more people drawn into it, the more people will start to diversify their taste and dig for more underground sounds. I like the trickle of pop sensibility that some of the new house music has. I like hearing more musicianship and music theory being applied. There are some really exciting new artists out there and a lot of veterans making some great music, I think it deserves the recognition. The ‘big league’ DJs are becoming today’s pop stars, I’m not sure if I could put them in the class with Michael Jackson, The Rolling Stones or Prince, but the market is hungry for them and they’re giving the people what they want.
Hailing from Detroit, via Berlin and now living in Chicago with gigs all over the world – where do you draw inspiration for your music? Inspiration comes and goes but there are plenty of places to draw it from. The people, places and experiences I encounter while living on the road are a good start. The crazy situations, long nights and weird mornings are all fuel for me once I’ve returned home to Chicago, can relax for a few days and get settled back into normal life. Chicago has been a good inspiration for me. The city is so beautiful, the food is amazing and the people are so nice. There’s a beach and lake that’s great in the summertime and so much to do for entertainment. It’s nice to get your mind off of music for a while when you’re bombarded with it on a weekly basis, Chicago helps me clear my head so when I’m ready, I can sit down and crank out music.
How tough is it to juggle your DJing career with the running of the Visionquest label? Do you ever sleep? I tend to get a lot of my sleeping done while I’m home in Chicago during the week and when I stay with my girlfriend in London. Sleep definitely can be at a premium when trying to juggle responsibilities, traveling and making music. It is extremely difficult to remain productive. Luckily, I have a good management team, great agents and really amazing label managers that help me along. It’s impossible to do everything yourself, sometimes the people around you are more important than the work you do yourself.
Out of all the heroes in dance music, who have you not yet worked or played with that you'd love to, if given the opportunity? I don’t have a hero per say in dance music. I respect a lot of DJs and producers but most of the people I would consider ‘hero’ status work in rock/ pop music. People like Rick Rueben, Butch Vig, Prince and Quincy Jones are people I look up to the most. People that changed music on a global scale and are true legends. Having said that, the opportunity to work with any of the men on that list is probably never going to arise. I love working with my friends the most and have a great time while doing it. I think as I make more friends in the business I’ll do more collaborations. It always seems to come naturally when finding people to work with.
The house template appears to be widening every week, taking in styles and inspiration from many different genres in music. How are you looking to expand or build on your sound from here on? I plan on always adding more analogue gear, more real instruments and effects. I love picking up a bass guitar and writing a riff rather than moving midi notes around on a screen. I’m a musician and love to play and sing. I think I’ll be incorporating more and more of that this year and beyond, along with writing some more song based music.
After a decade in the game, you must have seen and had opinions on a lot of the changes in our scene... how do you think dance music as a whole will panout in 2013? Any major developments that you see happening? This genre is an ever changing, ever growing experiment in music and culture. I see dance music reaching further and further into the mainstream, more people going to clubs and festivals and more attention being paid to electronic music artists. It’s been wonderful to see my friends reach new levels of success and see our style of music reach more people than we originally thought it would.
Finally, is there anything, or anyone in particular that gets your vote for 2013? What/who should we keep an eye on? Keep an eye out for the long awaited album from our Montreal duo Footprintz. Beautiful music from 2 very talented kids, and also be ready for the Visionquest 13 series of parties worldwide. We’re going to raise the bar for production and crowd interaction. As for myself, I’ll be working diligently in the studio on several projects, both as Lee Curtiss and Visionquest in 2013.
Listen to Pulse.110 - Lee Curtiss here.