Larry Tee Interview
Author: Ariadna
Monday, January 24, 2005
Well, Berliniamsburg ran for two years and they were gorgeous electro-punky years. But in NYC, you get a year or so of cool and then the nights change. It is good to keep locations changing and the sounds changing because otherwise they get stale and predictable. The crowd that comes to Disgraceland is more mixed and less hipster-y than the Brooklyn party, largely I assume because the location.
On your website it says that Berliniamsburg was a "reaction to all the stale club music that was ubiquitous in Manhattan at the time like house, trance, rock n' roll oldies." How come electro isn't considered stale when so much of it is influenced by '80s synth pop-
Certainly all music is inspired by earlier music... i.e. house was related to disco... The new electro sounds that I championed had a very different sound quality and lyrical language than the first wave. More distortion and more modern subjects and performance. I don't really play much of the early electro because i am not an archivist.
A lot of the time you have W.I.T. in tow when you go on tour. I've heard their debut album a few times and they've just never grown on me. Besides the fact that they're really hot and have pretty voices I just don't see the appeal. You created W.I.T. - what is it that I'm not getting-
In the old days of new wave there was the avant garde group The Fall and there was Bananarama. Each had their purpose and each had their appeal. Some people liked the Fall, some people like the pop of Bananarama, and some people liked both. I played both the fun/trashy music AND the artsy/nutritious music. Trying to read more into WIT as though they were to be compared to Peaches or Chicks is comparing apples and oranges. I never got to see a sexy live girl group back in the day, though I am sure they did shows. I thought they were funny
and cute. AND smart. They no longer exist, unfortunately.
The lead singer of W.I.T. was/is a model. Was she the inspiration for Supermodel, Inc.-
No, I wrote that years before I met Melissa. I wrote the original hit "Supermodel(You better Work)" for a drag queen Rupaul and it became the #1 dance song of 1993 in Billboard Magazine. They included it on the Lizzie Maguire soundtrack this year earning me my first double platinum record. For a tranny anthem!!--!! You better Work, right-
Mogul Electro, your electro label, is part of a larger company of yours, Love Machine Music Inc. What other music and artists do you promote-
I am the only Mogul Electro artist. I do compilations because I like to hear new bands and artists. On my new solo album coming out early next year I have guest appearances, by Princess Superstar, Andy Bell of Erasure, and a five year old girl named Amanita with lots of new producers and vocalists. It is my calling to introduce people to new artists.
Lady Kier has been touring with you as of late. How long have you been working together- Is she your opening act- Please don't tell me she plays 'Groove is in the Heart' during each set
We would be so lucky is she played 'Groove'. Don't you agree it is divine- She doesn't though. I have done about six gigs with her but I don't think the upcoming Vancouver date is one, unfortunately. And I could only open for her. She's such a goddess.
For some reason I can't picture you playing in Ibiza (unless, perhaps, it was for a Har Mar party at Manumission) even though Felix da Housecat, DJ Hell and Miss Kittin, etc. do on a semi-regular basis. Am I off-
No, I have a great bathing suit all packed for Ibiza. My set now is ready for Ibiza and I almost got to do it this year. Do you think I still play teeth grinding chatter-clash that I played in a small experimental club in NYC thr Tags