Matt Tolfrey, Lee Curtiss at Flash

Friday, April 28th • Bar 8PM, Roof 9PM, Club 10PM Matt Tolfrey is the man behind the oft-charted Leftroom Records, which boasts releases from artists like Maceo Plex, Kate Simko and DJ Bone. When not releasing on his own imprint, Tolfrey's tracks can be found on Culprit LA, No.19 Music and VIVa MUSiC to name a few. Detroit native Lee Curtiss is the co-founder of perennial fan-favorite imprint Visionquest. His keen sense of the dancefloor has cemented his reputation as a premier selector in the world of the underground. Advance Tickets: ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1474272 Matt Tolfrey ( Leftroom Records | UK ) leftroom.com soundcloud.com/matt-tolfrey Lee Curtiss ( Visionquest | Detroit ) soundcloud.com/leecurtiss residentadvisor.net/dj/leecurtiss Sarah Myers ( Flash | DC ) soundcloud.com/sarahmyers Green Room: Bella & J Tek ( Tech Beats | DC ) mixcloud.com/-J-Tek/ Jorge Rodriguez ( DC ) soundcloud.com/j-avaroa Flash Bar: SpreadLove Project Jett Chandon ( SpreadLove, Forecast | DC ) soundcloud.com/jettchandon DJ Nav ( SpreadLove | DC ) soundcloud.com/dj_nav Neil Kempin ( DC ) MATT TOLFREY: “Matt Tolfrey, the last great British DJ.” Seth Troxler It’s safe to say that Matt Tolfrey’s career in music has been heavily informed by his early 2002 residency at Nottingham’s The Bomb. Shifting from University student to student of house/techno, Tolfrey quickly picked up the skills that mark out a true DJ: varied selection, an open mind, and the ability to read as well as lead a crowd. This passion for unearthing quality, moving with the times, and creating his own vision of where electronic music is heading has extended to his Leftroom imprint; now running for 10 years and celebrating 50+ releases from artists as varied as Maceo Plex and Laura Jones to Jay Haze and DJ Bone, picking up equally varied love and support along the way. As with most DJs of his generation, the studio has also been a place for Tolfrey to experiment. Walking the walk as well as talking the talk, most of Tolfrey’s output (including his well received ‘Word of Mouth’ LP) has cropped up on Leftroom, but when venturing out to other labels, most recently Visionquest’s sub-label Brachtune, there’s always a link in terms of friendships and like-minded attitudes. This unshakeable focus on genuine relationships bleeds through to Tolfrey’s Don’t Be Leftout parties and compilations. Upon first meeting Tolfrey the words that will likely come to mind are: energetic, infectious, and the life of the party. But beyond that he’s a reflective and sensitive soul who manages not to take himself too seriously despite a punishing DJ schedule and the hefty responsibilities of a label head and promoter. 2015 will see Tolfrey expand on the Don’t Be Leftout parties, building on appearances in Barcelona, New York, Amsterdam, Stuttgart, Moscow, and Berlin, while also pouring yet more attention into his monthly Rinse FM show and the Kerb Staller 'live' project alongside close pal jozif. He will also be coming full career circle with ongoing residencies for Verboten (New York) and Spybar (Chicago), and a ten-year relationship with London's Fabric. Biographies can only do so much so if you truly want to get to know Matt Tolfrey the best place is on a dance floor, around 3am and with the lights low. LEE CURTISS: Over the last two years Lee Curtiss has made a name for himself creating primal, exquisitely deep and emotional dance tracks that pulse with life, sex, and humour, incorporating countless influences and genres but beholden to none. With his broad shoulders, even wider grin and keen sense of humour, Lee may give off the straight-shooting air of a Midwestern woodsman, but he’s got the ear, plain and simple. Lee Curtiss is an eccentric, an original, an innovator, a ten-year veteran of the electronic-music scene. His love of his craft shines through in his tracks’ every bump and shudder. From last year’s Visionquest remix of Kiki’s ‘Good Voodoo’, sighted by many as the underground smash of the year, to his ‘Black Door EP’ on Spectral (Mixmag’s techno ‘Tune of the Month’, October 09), Lee has an innate ability to create instantly memorable lead riffs that will stand the test of time. Lee grew up in Western Michigan and eventually moved to Detroit, living the guitars-to-turntables, concerts-to-underground-parties arc shared by so many other children of the electronic music revolution. The similarities end there though. Lee displayed an immediate knack and passion for dance music that translated his love of Prince, Quincy Jones, and good old underground disco into a production and DJ style noted for its sensuality and effortlessness. Recently back in Detroit after an extended stay in Berlin (where he swapped ideas and lived with his close friends and partners-in-crime Seth Troxler, Ryan Crosson and Shaun Reeves), Lee continues to produce vital releases and remixes on labels including Spectral Sound, Get Physical, Dumb-Unit, Wolf+Lamb, Esperanza, and Mothership, and play DJ gigs the world over. Lee’s previous trans-Atlantic tours have seen him play at some of Europe’s most important clubbing institutions including, Fabric in London, Watergate in Berlin, City Fox in Zurich, Kiss Klub in Nurnberg and the UK’s Bloc Weekender Festival. He tore up the Toilets in East London for Kubicle, supported long standing friends Wolf+Lamb in Paris and look his, as Resident Advisor described it, ‘libidinous tech funk’ to Bristol, Leeds, Cardiff and Aberdeen. Lee’s live debut at Fabric earlier this year was met with universal praise and Matthew Dear was so impressed with his live show at the Spectral party at the Miami WMC that, he immediately invited Lee to join him as the live face of Spectral Sound, touring alongside Matt over the coming months. In June Lee is set to follow up his Beatport chart topping ‘Love In The Key of Freak’ EP on Get Physical with ‘I Can Hear You Arthur’, his tribute to Arthur Russel on Guy Gerber’s Supplemental Facts label which is set to be one of the summer’s biggest underground anthems.