Larry Tee

Larry Tee
Larry Tee dressed in TZUJI
Background information
Birth name Lawrence Thom
Born (1959-10-12) October 12, 1959
Origin Seattle, Washington, USA
Genres Electroclash, house, pop
Occupation(s) DJ, club promoter, producer
Years active 1989–present
Labels Ultra, Djs Are Not Rockstars, Mogul Electro, Whacked, Universal
Associated acts Afrojack, Shontelle, Princess Superstar, Sean Garrett, Santigold, Steve Aoki, Hervé, Lady Gaga, Sia, La Roux, Major Lazer, Roxy Cottontail, Charlie Le Mindu, Sebastian Leger, Vandalism, Keith & Supabeatz, RuPaul, Avenue D, t.A.T.u., Scissor Sisters, Lady Bunny, Fischerspooner, Peaches, W.I.T., Blogula

Larry Tee (born October 12, 1959) is a Berlin-based DJ, club promoter, and music producer who coined the musical genre term electroclash,[1] and helped launch the careers of such artists as RuPaul, Scissor Sisters, Fischerspooner, Peaches, W.I.T., and Avenue D, and has written songs for and collaborated with Afrojack, Shontelle, Princess Superstar, Santigold, RuPaul, Sean Garrett, Steve Aoki, and Amanda Lepore. In January 2014 he launched his clothing line TZUJI at London Fashion Week. TZUJI has since been worn by popular stars like Jimmy Fallon on the Tonight Show, Rihanna, Missy Elliott, Sean Kingston, and sold in top stores like The Dover Street Market in New York and VFILES as well as in Los Angeles, London, Berlin, Melbourne, and many more.

New York Press credited Tee as "a hipster before there were hipsters, a club kid before Michael Alig dismembered one, and a man who made Williamsburg cool again. The New York Times cites Larry's club in Williamsburg as one of the reasons Williamsburg "got its groove back." New York magazine celebrated Tee's role in making RuPaul a star in the 1990s.[2]

Career

Tee was born to two Canadian-born citizens in Seattle, Washington. He grew up in Seattle and then Marietta, Georgia. In the early 1980s, he moved to Atlanta, where he became a part of the music scene and hung out with personalities such as RuPaul, Michael Stipe (REM), Lady Bunny, and Lahoma Van Zandt at the Celebrity Club in Atlanta.[3]

In 1986, Tee, along with RuPaul, Lady Bunny, and Lahoma Van Zandt, moved to NYC and quickly became involved with the Club Kids scene with his epic party, Love Machine. He hosted nights at Michael Alig's infamous DISCO 2000, which is featured in the movie Party Monster (2003). He also DJ'ed at the ROXY on a weekly basis.[4]

During the 1990s, he became a prominent DJ by playing at highly regarded venues such as Palladium, the ROXY, and Twilo.[4] In 1992, Tee co-wrote the RuPaul's top 40-hit "Supermodel (You Better Work)".

In the early 2000s, while spinning at the Berliniamsburg party at the club Luxx, Tee created and trademarked the term "electroclash", which became so well known that it appeared in the Oxford Dictionary. He coordinated and managed the 2001 Electroclash Festival, which featured Scissor Sisters, Fischerspooner, and Peaches. He also created and managed the nouveau-music electro girl group, W.I.T.[3][5][6]

In 2007, he and Andy Bell released the single "Matthew", an homage to Matthew Shepard, who in 1998 was killed for being gay.

In 2009, Tee released the iTunes top 20 dance album Club Badd, featuring songs by Perez Hilton, Princess Superstar (the Licky single was later re-written by Sean Garrett of Beyoncé/Usher fame and re-recorded by Shontelle), Jeffree Star, Roxy Cottontail, Herve, Bart B More, and Christopher Just. Licky also appeared on the Steve Aoki mix album with Santogold rapping on it and in the Russell Brand movie, "Get Him To the Greek". In 2010, Larry Tee released the single "Let's Make Nasty" featuring Roxy Cottontail; it was re-released in the UK in 2011.

In 2010, Tee collaborated with celebrity blogger Perez Hilton and Amanda Lepore to produce Hilton's first music track.[7] He has remixed artists like Sia, Iggy Azalea, Steve Aoki, REM, Lady Gaga, Roisin Murphy, Kele of Bloc Party, and Cher.

In 2011, Tee moved to Shoreditch, London. He runs a weekly night in east London called Super Electric Party Machine at East Bloc every Friday Night and XOYO, that has featured artists like Charli XCX, Brooke Candy, AME from Duke Dumonts #1 smash, Le1f, Ssion, and 2 Bears' Rolf.

In June 2015, Larry Tee moved to Berlin to run TZUJI from Germany and run KRANK parties in Berlin. TZUJI has since been featured on shows such as The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, X Factor, and similar shows in several countries; associated with such entertainers as Rhianna, Missy Elliott, and Sean Kingston, and sold in such shops as La Petite Mort and The Dover Street Market in New York, V Files, Asos Marketplace, Flasher (on Melrose, in Los Angeles), Borderline Apparel (in London), and Chaos-Labs (in Berlin).

References

  1. ↑ "Larry Tee biography on Yahoo! Music", Andy Kellman, Allmusic, accessed April 15, 2008.
  2. ↑ "Larry Tee tops New York tastemaker poll on inthemix.com.au", accessed March 1, 2011.
  3. 1 2 "Larry Tee Biography". Odeo.com.
  4. 1 2 "Larry Tee Biography on Yahoo! Music". music.yahoo.com.
  5. ↑ "ELECTROCLASH FESTIVAL 2001". Archived from the original on December 8, 2002.
  6. ↑ "NME Live Reviews - Electroclash Festival : New York City Various Venues - NME.COM".
  7. ↑ (cite needed)
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