With an extensive career behind the decks, Lee Burridge has created a path for other artists as well as his following of musical bliss and smiles.
Now, he returns to the production arena with a full LP in conjunction with Los Desert titled ‘Melt’. Below you will find our conversation with Lee where he discusses the new album, his label All Day I Dream, and other interesting topics.
Electronic Groove: Hi Lee. It’s great to have you back at EG. You recently released ‘Melt’ with Lost Desert. What made you decide to produce a new album?
Lee Burridge: Thanks for the invite. It’s actually our first album together. I’m sure you understand one part of the All Day I Dream ethos is the journey element to the experience. If you’re at my events the whole experience from open to close has continuity. A certain flow of energy. It’s lovely making mixes of other peoples music or playing sets with this in mind but Lost Desert and myself decided to create an album of our own music with that in mind. A journey of emotion, energy, and love of music.
EG: And why did you choose to work with Lost Desert?
Lee Burridge: Not only is he an endless well of creativity and deeply talented as a producer he’s also super sweet and lovely to spend time with. Oh, and he also makes great food for dinner when we work. Perfect!
EG: The album also packs some great collaborations. What can you tell us about the selection process?
Lee Burridge: We got to work with Simon (Vuarambon). He’s a lovely human being who’s quite quiet but a musical force to be reckoned with who I believe is going to show us great things. Of course, we worked with Junior Akwerty again. I mean, wow, what a raw, beautiful vocal talent that man is. We love him to death and the feeling in his voice just makes me want to cry sometimes. I’d like to also mention we worked with Hermanez who mastered the album with Lost Desert. He’s another one. So ridiculously talented.
EG: The ADID label has kept true to its “deep and dreamy” style. Do you sometimes feel like breaking the mold of a venture into something else?
Lee Burridge: That’s what my other labels are for (laughs). Obviously, it’s important to keep looking for new feelings within the music and attempting to push those boundaries but I set it up to be a home for this music. I want it to be the best it possibly can be supporting music with emotion. So, no. I don’t feel like putting out some banging techno or EDM quite yet (unless they make me cry of course).
“Lost Desert and I decided to create an album of our own music with that in mind. A journey of emotion, energy, and love of music”
EG: It’s easy to say that the ADID events have become a success. Was it easy to get to this point? What were some of the obstacles?
Lee Burridge: Certain things were a struggle and others not so much. It was always really important to me to maintain the core values of why I started it. I set an intention for the first year, to make people smile. Keeping the right balance so those that discovered it in the first three or four years via friends, then making the decision to grow the brand wasn’t easy. You can get lost when business leads creativity. Certain people who came on board had their own ideas and agenda and it was a battle sometimes to show them that staying to my original vision was the right path. Word of mouth has been key to maintaining the quality of the crowd and the balance of girls and men. Of course, nowadays we have more of an Instagram and Facebook presence but it’s done in a way that benefits rather than oversells.
I’m proud to say we still have more girls at our events than guys. It was also my intention from day one to create this for girls first and foremost. Of course, it’s for everyone but that’s always on my mind.
Getting the structures set around the USA and trying to maintain a similar high level in Europe where we don’t have the ability to easily build and transport bigger structures has been a real challenge at times. Building them at different venues too when you only have a tiny window of time at events like New York City and Golden Gate Park in San Francisco proves difficult too.
EG: Aside from the music. What are the key elements of becoming a successful brand like ADID?
Lee Burridge: Belief in what you want to do. Patience. Building a good team around it. Looking at the bigger picture rather than an event by event. Some you win. Some you lose. But, as long as the experience is always a quality one, you’re going to be able to keep heading in the right direction.
EG: We’ve been following you for quite some time. What do you think has kept you going for so long taking into account how the industry has changed? Have you had to reinvent yourself as an artist?
Lee Burridge: Stalkers! I keep exploring music and that’s what keeps me going. Music still completely blows my mind. I’ve never consciously reinvented myself as I’m still inspired by what I hear. When things change It’s easy to jump on that current bandwagon but without authenticity and understanding of what came before to create what is and what will be you’re not always going to play music honestly from your soul.
The industry is always going to keep changing. It’s a good thing. You just have to try to not get comfortable and complacent where you are and start saying things like, “it’s not like it used to be”.
EG: The world seems to be upside-down in many subjects. Guns, Brexit, Equal Rights, etc. Do you think artists should have a voice in certain political and social topics? Why?
Lee Burridge: Absolutely. Mainly because we have an audience. It’s a tough balance to strike though as music and our usual role in people’s lives is to create escapism. Somehow we need to separate the two if we can. Getting into heated debates on our socials doesn’t feel good for anyone as obviously there are always people looking to lash out (the artists included) as they are feeling upset or angry.
Perhaps artists would do better banding together to support certain ideas or causes and that might disperse the attention of each individual while still achieving making whatever point is trying to be made. I can say for myself I’m also not, at times, aware of every single fact in complex issues. It’s important to be educated before weighing in on contentious issues. It’s also important to listen to others. Sadly I’ve seen difficult divisive topics descend into pretty ugly online fights. So, yes, we should use our voices wisely if we want to bring people together with music.
“We should use our voice but use it wisely if we also want to bring people together with music”
EG: Going back to your productions, how do you balance studio time with family and touring? Can you give any tips to others who are venturing into Djing?
Lee Burridge: It’s definitely hard but it’s just about awareness and forward planning. Knowing your limits. Knowing how much time you should be away and making time for important things like seeing family. I’ve actually gotten super busy the past year and it got a little out of control so I have to really work on rebalancing again. Tip-wise, it’s easy to start chasing everything that comes your way but if you’re starting to play more and more just try to take one weekend off at home every month or two. That gives you a whole two weeks at home.
EG: What is art?
Lee Burridge: The freedom to honestly express what’s in your soul. Create it and allow others to enjoy and interpret the meaning behind it.
Stream and buy Lee Burridge & Lost Desert’s ‘Melt’ here.
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