Serotonin Sunday – Lee Curtiss
I saw Lee perform solo for the first time this past Sunday at the top of the Standard in LA for another epic Culprit LA party and I lost my mind. I mean, don’t get me wrong I knew what I was getting into as I had seen him before with Visionquest, and I’ve been following him for a while now but geeze what more do you want, the dudes a fucking animal on the decks. Over the last two years Lee Curtiss has made a name for himself creating primal, exquisitely deep and emotional dance tracks that pulse with life, sex, and humor, incorporating countless influences and genres but beholden to none. With his broad shoulders, even wider grin and keen sense of humour, Lee may give off the straight-shooting air of a Midwestern woodsman, but he’s got the ear, plain and simple. Lee Curtiss is an eccentric, an original, an innovator, a ten-year veteran of the electronic-music scene. His love of his craft shines through in his tracks’ every bump and shudder. From last year’s Visionquest remix of Kiki’s ‘Good Voodoo’, sighted by many as the underground smash of the year, to his ‘Black Door EP’ on Spectral (Mixmag’s techno ‘Tune of the Month’, October 09), Lee has an innate ability to create instantly memorable lead riffs that will stand the test of time.
Lee grew up in Western Michigan and eventually moved to Detroit, living the guitars-to-turntables, concerts-to-underground-parties arc shared by so many other children of the electronic music revolution. The similarities end there though. Lee displayed an immediate knack and passion for dance music that translated his love of Prince, Quincy Jones, and good old underground disco into a production and DJ style noted for its sensuality and effortlessness. Recently back in Detroit after an extended stay in Berlin (where he swapped ideas and lived with his close friends and partners-in-crime Seth Troxler, Ryan Crosson and Shaun Reeves), Lee continues to produce vital releases and remixes on labels including Spectral Sound, Get Physical, Dumb-Unit, Wolf+Lamb, Esperanza, and Mothership, and play DJ gigs the world over. Honestly, I’m itching at the chance to see this dude perform again, where ever it may be.
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