Lee Coombs

by Jason BirchmeierInternationally popular British-born breaks DJ/producer Lee Coombs is best known for his affiliation with Finger Lickin' Records from 1998-2005, during which time he scored the crossover club smash "Shiver." Coombs first began DJing in 1989 amid the acid house scene then centered in London. He made his production debut in 1991 in collaboration with Nick Annies. Billing themselves as the Invisible Men, Coombs and Annies released a pair of EPs (The Self Indulge EP, 1991; Overindulge, 1992) on Orbital Records before switching to a new moniker, Exodus to Paradise, and releasing another pair of EPs (Roc-Et/Rhyde the Rithum, 1992; Pump the Jam/Deep Blue, 1993), this time on a label of their own, Paradise Records. Two years later the duo founded another label, Pumpin' Vinyl, on which they released Rock-It (2005), credited to Exodus to Paradise; Energy Trax (2005), credited to their latest moniker, Energiser; and Feel It (1996), credited solely to Coombs. During the next couple years, Coombs broke away from Annies, collaborated with Jeremy Norris as Frog Junkies for the Aura Surround Sounds release Air Guitar (1997), collaborated also with Nick Slater and Kevin Lancaster as Freakazoids for a series of releases on Zoid Recordings, and started a label of his own, Thrust Recordings, on which he released solo productions under a number of monikers. More importantly, however, Coombs joined the ranks of the fledgling label Finger Lickin' Records and made his solo production debut on the label with Skyjuice (1998), followed by several other 12" EP releases. The label also released Future Sound of Retro (2001), his first official DJ mix album. Afterward, Coombs was approached by Paul Oakenfold to record a similarly styled mix album, Perfecto Breaks (2002), and he was commissioned for remixes of New Order and Moby. Coombs ultimately left the ranks of Finger Lickin' Records in the wake of Breakfast of Champions (2004), a full-length album, and "Shiver," a crossover club smash from the album that was licensed for release in 2005 by the prominent house label Azuli. Upon leaving, he renewed his focus on the label he'd founded several years prior, Thrust Recordings, releasing the mix album The Land of the Monkey Snake (2006) on it. A couple years later, after relocating from England to Florida, Coombs aligned himself with the label Lot49, debuting on the label in 2008 with the mix album Lot49 Presents Lee Coombs.