Lee Coombs is a man who needs little introduction, a constant name and face on the dance music landscape since the mid-1990s he has played a major part in charting the ever changing course of electronic music. Now he gives us an insight into his sound of 2009 with this his latest opus in the form of third artist album ‘Light and Dark’.
Coombs musical history can’t easily be scribed in a few lines; his journey as a DJ stretches back to the late 80s and the early days of acid house, his recording career encompasses his work for classic imprint Finger Lickin Records as well as Adrift and Lot49, not to mention of course his own Thrust Recordings which he ran for nearly a decade. He has put his name to mix compilations for the likes of Paul Oakenfold’s Perfecto and remixed the likes of Moby, New Order, Lamb and Planet Funk. Coombs has travelled the world in the pursuit of his passion for music and has never the lost the enthusiasm for making great records and tearing up dancefloors.
‘Light and Dark’ is in Coombs own words “a true tech funk album”, an amalgam of sounds and influences from dance music’s often disparate scenes. Alongside acts like Meat Katie, Dylan Rhymes and Elite Force, Coombs has pioneered this open minded attitude and helped forge the sound of ‘tech funk’, a fusion of techno, breaks, house and electro. On this long player Coombs takes the tech funk spirit and develops it to the n’th degree, it is a true melting pot of influences, from the opening bars of the Diva driven Control with the wonderful Katherine Ellis to the final refrain of the heavily Echo & the Bunnymen inspired ‘Blues I’m Singing’. Collaborations with the highly talented and spiritually inspired Seasunz rub shoulders with the massive Uberzone joint production ‘Right Now’ whilst the siren drenched sounds of ‘Detox’ and the squelching warehouse intensity of ‘Moog Acid’ all add up to make this a pretty special album indeed.
This is not an album for those who want an LP that stays in a single static vein from beginning to end. Rather this is an album that is a true celebration of electronic music and everything that it has to offer, Coombs has been bold enough to dip his musical wand into a variety of styles (see the Leftfield-esque ‘I’m a Machine’ or the superb ‘Italo Disco’) and has pulled off each record with aplomb. His immense experience and ability as a producer have allowed him to take 11 very different aural shards and draw them in an incredibly accomplished final piece that makes for truly great listening.
There will always be a place for Lee Coombs in the dance music landscape and this, his latest offering shows once again why he is held in such high regard.
