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Lee Burridge
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Burridge at a performance at Pacha, NYC
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| Background information | |
| Born | November 1968 (age 55) Eype, Dorset, England |
| Genres | Deep house Electronic Dance Music Minimal Breakbeat |
| Occupation(s) | Disc jockey record producer Label Owner |
| Instrument(s) | Turntables |
| Years active | 1984–present |
| Labels | All DAY I DREAM TRYBESOF GET WEIRD |
Lee Burridge (born November 1968) is a British DJ and producer[1] who helped launch the underground club scene in Hong Kong during the early 1990s. He currently plays at nightclubs across the world. He is recognized for his storytelling musical style in his DJ sets, characterized by his energy and enthusiasm. Burridge was a member of England's Tyrant Soundsystem[2] (along with DJs Craig Richards and Sasha) and has mixed albums for labels such as Balance, Fabric, Global Underground and Hooj Choons.
Lee Burridge's DJ career began in the tourist village of Eype in the county of Dorset on 26 December 1983. He played for the first time at The New Inn, a bar owned and run by his parents. Shortly thereafter, with the help of his father, Burridge started his own mobile DJ operation, "Cutz" and spent the next few years traveling the surrounding countryside villages and towns, playing weddings, birthday parties, and even the occasional funeral. Working as a mobile DJ led to a seasonal opportunity at a local holiday resort. Soon after that, Burridge began performing every weekend at the local town's nightclub, where he played mostly chart music while also MCing.[3][4]
Burridge's first big break came when he landed a residency at an award-winning club called The Palace in Somerset. He played weekly and was introduced to the art of mixing records by one of the club's other resident DJs, Wayne Rideout. It was also at The Palace during the summer of 1987 that a group of visitors turned Burridge on to London's emerging acid house sound, a defining moment in his career.
In early 1991, Burridge was spotted and headhunted by a club owner from overseas who offered him a job abroad in the then British colony of Hong Kong.
On his 22nd birthday, Burridge moved to Hong Kong starting his full-time DJ career for the first time at a club called Joe Bananas. He became known for his role as a party DJ, often engaging in unconventional behavior, such as hanging upside down from the sprinkler system above the booth.[5] His sets typically featured top 40 music, catering to a more commercial audience.[4] After 4:00 am, though the crowd changed and drew local bar employees. Burridge played more underground house music, which led to him forging a friendship with two managers of another local bar named The Beach Hut. All had attended some of the UK's early rave parties and decided to bring their experiences to Hong Kong. Initially aimed at the Western crowd the tiny venue hosted the first electronic music event in 1992 which thereafter led to a thriving dance music scene. The first event drew approximately 100 people, but by the second event a month later 500 people turned up attempting to get into the bar causing a roadblock outside that the police had to disperse.[4]
The scene grew rapidly as other promoters popped up, but it was the mainstay nightly venues that cemented this period of Hong Kong's dance music history as unique and exciting. After finishing work at 5:00 am in Joe Banana's Burridge discovered an empty basement bar directly across the street. Burridge created and held two different club residencies in the Wan Chai District between 1992–1997 which were The Big Apple and Neptunes. Burridge would be found playing in The Big Apple into the mid morning or later. These parties helped establish Burridge's early DJ career and gaining attention from visiting artists and promoters.[6]
One of Burridge's biggest achievements in Hong Kong was the establishment of Neptune's.[7] Burridge and his friends at the time had left for Hadrin in Thailand during Christmas of 1996 where they stayed for several weeks. Also during his Hong Kong stint, Burridge discovered Haad Rin, Thailand, and was a key player in bringing electronic music and DJing to the island.[4] Arriving in February 1992 after hearing about the location from a group of travelers who passed through Hong Kong, Burridge's performances helped grow the full moon parties from drum circles around open fires on the beach. Burridge would continue to visit the island regularly until 1999, staying for three months at a time to play full moon as well as weekly parties held at the Backyard venue alongside local DJ A and another Haad Rin mainstay, Backyard Dave who was also institutional in bringing dance music to the island.
In his final few years in Hong Kong, he often invited visiting DJs to play at the Big Apple and Neptune's. It was after one of these weekends that he began his friendship with UK DJs Sasha and Craig Richards, who ended up inviting him to form the Tyrant Sound System upon his return to the UK.[3]
DJ mixes/compilations:
1998: Deeper Shades of Hooj: Volume Two (Hooj Choons)
1999: Metropolis (Tide)
2000: Tyrant with Craig Richards (Distinct'ive Breaks Records)
2001: Global Underground: Nubreed 005 (Boxed)
2002: No Shoes, No Cake with Craig Richards (Fabric, London)
2003: 24:7 (Boxed)
2005: This Is Everybody! On Tour (Ultra Records)
2007: Balance 012 (EQ Recordings)
Releases:
2001: Lost & Found EP (Fire)
2006: Treat 'Em Mean, Keep 'Em Keen (Almost Anonymous)
2007: Do You Smoke Pot? (Almost Anonymous)
2007: Raw Dog (Almost Anonymous)
2010: Wongel (Cecille)
2011: Here's Johnny (Leftroom)
2011: Groove me (Pooled music)
2012: Lost in a moment (Innervisions)
2012: Tubby (Get Weird)
2012: Gemini Spell (All Day I Dream)
2012: Fur Die Liebe (All Day I Dream)
2013: Holding on (All Day I Dream)
2016: Stand up right (Get Weird)
2016: Lingala EP (All Day I Dream)
2017: Loopyness EP (All Day I Dream)
2017: Absent without thoughts (All Day I Dream)
2017: K Bug EP (Get Weird)
2018: Elongi EP (All Day I Dream)
2019: Melt (All Day I Dream)[8]
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