Lee Mortimer Interview

Written by Tristan Hanks

Lee Mortimer AKA 'The Sawtooth Sucka' is a fantastic DJ hailing from Liverpool. He is fast becoming one of the most talked about DJ's with his fresh take on fidget house. He has played at clubs all over the world and at one time was a resident DJ at Ministry Of Sound. This bearded scouser also makes tunes and his productions have featured on comps by Derrick Carter and Claude Von Stroke. When not remixing songs by the likes of Franz Ferdinand and Arman Van Helden, he runs Wearhouse music which releases some of the most cutting edge house music around at the moment. We managed to track down this very busy man to ask him a few questions:

WHAT IS THE BEST GIG YOU HAVE EVER DONE?
That's a tough one. I think it's playing for Filth at the Mint club in Leeds. I played alongside Jesse Rose and Style of Eye last year and the atmosphere was unbelievable all night from about 10:30pm! Playing at Space in Ibiza was also wicked though.

WHERE IS THE FURTHEST AWAY YOU HAVE PLAYED?
That's got to be Australia. I did 6 dates over there in May.

HOW MANY HATS DO YOU OWN?
Probably about 6. Mainly Beenie hats but I busted out the Panama hat in Ibiza last week.

DO YOU DESCRIBE THE MUSIC YOU PLAY AS FIDGET HOUSE OR DO YOU NOT LIKE THAT LABEL?
I don't dislike that label at all. I think it's a great way to describe some of the music I make and play. In reality though I don't restrict myself to playing just Fidget house. Anything sleazy, electronic and above all else, BIG(!) will make it into my sets!

YOU RUN THE WEARHOUSE MUSIC LABEL, WHAT RELEASES HAVE YOU GOT LINED UP FOR THE YEAR?
I've just put out "Beyond The Dancefloor" by Zodiac Cartel plus I've started up a new series called 'Fresh Attire' which focuses on new artists and fresh tracks that have been finished in the studio really recently. This has got tracks and remixes by Wil Bailey, HiJack and myself on it. After that is another volume of 'Fresh Attire' then a track that I've done with Foamo called "It's Going Down" which is a kind of house / dubstep mash-up that's been smashing it everywhere I've been playing it! Also lined up are tracks by ajapai, a wicked Japanese artist I discovered, Trevor Loveys and Aspin & Dipace.

WHAT IS YOUR GUILTY PLEASURE?
I f*cking loved 'Britain's Got Talent'! I tried to get tickets for the final.

WHAT IS THE BEST RECORD YOU HAVE HEARD THIS WEEK?
I got sent a demo by a German producer called Mimo. It's wicked. I might sign it!

WHO DO YOU ADMIRE IN MUSICAL TERMS?
Anyone who's making music they love. Pop artists are the lowest form.

DESERT ISLAND DISC TIME - PICK 5 TUNES YOU COULD LISTEN TO OVER AND OVER AGAIN?
Prince 'Raspberry Beret'
The Beatles 'I Am The Walrus'
Michael Jackson 'Billie Jean'
Vampire Weekend's album (yes I know it's not one track but it's only 35 minutes long)
Azymuth 'Jazz Carnival'

IS THERE ANY MUSIC YOU HATE?
R&B... absolute toilet.

CAN YOU MAKE A CAREER OUT OF DJING THESE DAYS - IF SO HOW?
Just DJing? That'd be difficult. You'd have to be doing something pretty special. Most people get bookings off the back of their productions now. You can have one big track and have loads of people want to book you as you'll get a lot of clubbers through the door. I do still feel you've got to be a good DJ in order for promoters to want to book you again though. If you're shit then don't be prepared to be asked back!

DO YOU STILL GO CLUBBING AS A PUNTER - IF SO WHERE DO YOU GO?
I get my clubbing fix when I'm DJing. I like to get there early and like to stay after I've played. Night clubs are brilliant! I tend to just chill out if I'm booked at the weekend. I've still not been to Matter in London so I definitely want to go there.

TELL US AN UNUSUAL FACT ABOUT ANYTHING?
Oasis are named after a swimming baths in Swindon.

BIGGEST DJING DISASTER?
I was playing in Belgium about 3 years ago outside and the decks were on a rickety table. Naturally someone fell into them and the whole thing toppled over. It was quite funny really. There was no harm done and we picked them up again and kept on going!

ARE YOU PLAYING ANY FESTIVALS THIS YEAR?
Yeah I'm doing Glastonbury, Bestival, Creamfields, Glade and Truck Fest near Abingdon. So one or two! I'll be there in my tent with everyone else.

www.myspace.com/leemortimer
 
Listen to Lee Mortimer’s remix of Rockerman by Foamo on YouTube below.