“I am, above all, a DJ,” states the always captivating Lea Lisa. Based in Switzerland, She is also a vinyl addict who never stops digging and hasn’t since she first started in 1995.
From emotive deep house to driving techno, warm and soulful sounds to jacking club tracks, she has it all in her arsenal. Her sets always effervesce with passion and have lead to high praise from The great Kerri Chandler. They have also taken her from clubs everywhere China to Copenhagen, New York to Paris, as well as high profile festival stages at Nuits Sonores, Southern Soul Festival, Suncebeat, Polaris or finest Underground club as Heideglühen, Folklor, Prince Charles or Zukunft to names a few…
Often combing sensuous vocals and analogue keys, thumping drums and well-crafted percussion, her tracks are an authentic link to the essence of house music, but with fresh perspective. So far she has released on the highly respected likes of Chez Damier and Jorge Caiado’s Inner Balance, cult UK outlet Wolf Music and Phonica Records sub-label Karakul, with more to come. A real stamp of approval for her work comes in the fact that house pioneers Kerri Chandler remixed Lea’s Wolf Music release and Glenn Underground her Karakul release.
Lea Lisa has plenty to share in 2022, from new residency to a brand new EP “Love To The End” on Phonica. Add in more than 25 years of knowledge, an infectious passion and the ability to lay it down with real emotion, and there are no limits to where Lea Lisa is heading next…
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Each week we will be taking a dip into the crates and minds of some of the digging scenes most prolific collectors.
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What is it about vinyl that makes you dig it ?
“When I started mixing, the only option available was vinyl. It was routine for a DJ to go to the record shops to buy the latest releases. In the early 90s, to get the imports, the rarities, it was also very important to travel. I used to go to Florence in Italy, Paris, London, New York. I scoured the record shops because vinyl was my working tool. Being a DJ meant, above all, being passionate about music. I always bought vinyl records to play them and not to collect them. For me, vinyl is a bit like the soundtrack of your history, memories, moments of sharing, sadness. It’s visceral, when I take a vinyl from my collection, there’s always a memory that comes to the surface, and that’s what I like beyond the pleasure of mixing on this medium.”
Favourite record labels of all the time?
“When you like House music, it’s hard to choose – so I can’t mention just one 😉 Prescription, Guidance, Cajual, Peacefrog, Balance, Freetown and the list is too long… These labels shaped the DJ I am today.”
Motivated Monday, what tune gets your engine going ?
“Change – The Glow Of Love
Sincerely, Luther Vandross’ voice is a cure-all, even on Monday. I get on my bike, listen to it and tell myself that life is really beautiful.”
What were your earliest musical influences?
“When I was very young, I was a big Madonna fan. Her first album had a huge influence on me, there was a club side like on her single ‘Everybody’ that I loved, she was a strong, powerful, anti-conformist woman and she really inspired me. A little later I had my new wave period, Depeche Mode, OMD, and then the beginnings of House, Techno, Detroit and Chicago labels.”
One record that sums up your happiest memory and where does it take you back to ?
“Ron Trent vs Lono Brazil vs Dazzle Drums – Manchild (In The Promised Land) – on BBE
It’s a record chosen during a 7 hour set I did in Berlin, at Heideglühen. The strongest emotions
are not necessarily only in peaktime tracks where everyone is screaming with joy. This record is deep, it gives a strong message, it transcribes what I like in House Music.
This night was one of my best memories as a DJ, it’s a vibe, a moment where everyone is connected, dancing, we enter in trance on something delicate and powerful. We all go on a journey together, and when it happens, it’s really magical.”
