LAMP Weekly MIx #158 feat. Lee Wells

LAMP Weekly MIx #158 feat. Lee Wells

A familiar name and face in the Southern California DJ scene, Lee Wells can be found performing at a number of LA's nightlife institutions from prominent clubs like Sound, Create, Exchange, Avalon to late night adventures downtown and the west-side alike. Lee's clear love of music is evident in his performances catering to a multitude of crowds. His list of supporting sets is massive and too long to list here but it's safe to say that he can get any crowd warmed up in just the right way. Enjoy the mix and as per usual we have our Q & A session with him down below along with the complete track list.MR PUZL: Lee, welcome! We’re excited to have you on the series. The mix is pumping right from the get go! How did you go about picking your tracks?LEE: Thank you guys for having me. I really appreciate the support! Ya it’s a pretty no-nonsense kinda mix and gets straight to business lol…I was in a party vibe while making it so the tracks basically picked themselves. I wanted to show the energy I like to bring when I’m playing a live show so I hope I got the point across!MP: Growing up in LA you’ve seen your city evolve culturally, economically, and politically. What is it about this city that draws so many talented creative minded people to it? How do you see dance music’s role helping to improve its growth?LEE: Too many reasons to come to LA. It’s the entertainment capital of the world. The weather , the food, the beach. Just walking around Hollywood, Downtown, Venice or anywhere else, I feel like it’s easy to get inspired. Lots of cool, funky people and a lot of energy flowing through the streets. Now with dance music being such a force, it’s expanding the LA music scene with more events and party lines. It’s cool to see how it went from being pretty underground to “EDM” taking over every single club, and now the audience’s ears are maturing and looking for newer (or older) different styles and sounds. We’re lucky to have a bit of everything over here!PZB: Although you are born and raised in Los Angeles your ties to Israel are strong. This past year you spent some time there. Did you have any opportunities to play while you were visiting? What is the nightlife and dance music culture like there?LEE: Oh man. Israel is SO MUCH FUN! Israelis know how to party and they do not stop dancing! I was born and raised in LA but my entire family lives in Israel so I go visit pretty often. Through some personal connections I was able to play out there about 3 or 4 years ago. It was such a good night that they invite me to play every time I’m out there now. The nightlife in Tel-Aviv is non-stop. The clubs go till very late and all the cool kids really love their house & techno.MP: In your bio you mentioned that you first started producing hip hop before moving into dance music. What were some of your favorite hip hop albums back then? What prompted you to shift towards a different style of music?LEE: Westcoast hip-hop was and still is MY SHIT! I’m a lover of all things funky so the whole “G-Funk Era” really drew me in. Records like Snoop Dogg’s Doggystyle and Dr. Dre’s Chronic 2001 and DJ Quik’s Rhythm-al-ism were the soundtrack to my life. Deep down I’m hood AF! Lol…At the same time I also really loved trance. Old-school Tiesto was my intro to dance music but hip hop was still my #1. Everything changed in 2010 when I took a trip with some friends to Miami for WMC. Seeing the fun & sexy vibes of house music everywhere really opened my eyes to what house is all about. It’s all just love and positivity and good vibes!PZB: Recently you had the opportunity to open and close for Eric Prydz at Sound on a special night celebrating the life of James Lillo. I can only imagine how intense of an experience that must have been. In order to help paint a better picture, could you share a few highlights from the evening?LEE: That was one hell of a night and I was really honored to be a part of such a good cause, supporting the Cancer Research Institute. Prydz is your favorite DJ’s favorite DJ and I was excited just to see him play. Really nice guy too. The vibe in the room was crazy and I played a fun & groovy, house set to get people feeling warm and fuzzy before Prydz. He totally dapped me up and thanked me and told me he really enjoyed my set which is always amazing to hear but this time IT WAS PRYDZ SAYING IT!! Another part of the night that really stuck with me was meeting a bunch of James Lillo’s friends. Such a nice group of people honoring their friend that passed. I could really feel the love in the room that night.PZB: I noticed that you had the opportunity to DJ at Coachella back in 2014. I was fortunate to do the same back in 2011. The festival is so fluid, with its stages and music curation evolving every year. Where did you end up playing and what was the experience like for you?LEE: Coachella was probably the best moment of my DJ career. I’ve never had so much fun playing before. I was the 2nd slot at Yuma Tent both Fridays. People were there early with full energy and we had a blast together. Played a bunch of dirty and sexy and soulfoul and classic house! Whoever was there knows what a magical time we had…It was like laying a blanket of good vibes over the crowd. Perfect way to start an amazing Coachella weekend.MP: You had the opportunity to study sound engineering at SAE Institute. There are several other institutions and schools here in LA that offer classes, degrees and programs for those interested in music production. What about your particular education helped you progress as a producer?LEE: For me it was really just getting to know the ins and outs of my DAW and finding shortcuts to speed up the process a bit. I’m happy to have had some pretty awesome teachers that really emphasized the importance of time management during production and not getting lost or stuck on one particular sound for 5 hours because it can really mess with your vibe. Another important thing I learned is that if it sounds good then what’s wrong with it? It’s music and while there are general rules of thumb, there's def no right or wrong.MP: As progress through the beginning of the year there’s a lot of new music to look forward to including we hear some forthcoming releases of your own. Is there anything more you can tell us about them?LEE: Yes! I’ve been spending a lot of time in the studio and I’m getting ready to drop my first EP in the next couple months…The final 3 tracks in this mix are all mine so you get a nice little sneak peak...Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Track List

1.) CHRIS LAKE FT. DANCES WITH WOLVES - OPERATOR (RING RING)2.) BILLY KENNY, MAXIMONO - THE BOOTY CALL (ORIGINAL MIX)3.) MIDDATH - THERE WAS A GUY (ORIGINAL MIX)4.) RANDOM SOUL - WHAT IT IS (MAN WITHOUT A CLUE REMIX)5.) DENNIS FERRER FT. SAGINE - BUBBLETOP (DF'S BUBBLE WRAPPED MIX)6.) DAVID KENO - YOUTH (ORIGINAL MIX)7.) KYDUS - DELIVER ME (MAT.JOE REMIX)8.) MARTIN WASLEWSKI - CLOUDS (PURPLE DISCO MACHINE REMIX)9.) SOLARDO - TRIBESMEN (ORIGINAL MIX)10.) FULL INTENTION - KEEP PUSHING11.) MARZ LEON - LEVITATION (LEE WELLS REMIX)12.) LEE WELLS - JUST HOUSE (ORIGINAL MIX)13.) AFROJACK - PACHA ON ACID (LEE WELLS 'OFF ACID' BOOTLEG)