How did you get your artist name Loes Lee?

I'm Bruce Lee's naughty lil' sister, and just as dangerous!!!

You now have a Saturday nite radio show, Urban Revolution, on Dutch national radio station Kink FM. Tell us a bit more about that.

It's totally wicked being able to play two hours of uncompromising, razor-sharp breakbeat in my own format to a large amount of listeners every week. I discovered that radio is quite a powerful medium. The reactions of listeners are overwhelming. A bit strange really 'cause now I find myself playing breakbeats partly to a crowd that knows me from organizing breakbeat parties and DJing in clubs but also to a bulk of people for whom this sound is completely fresh and new. But that keeps you sharp!

In the first hour I mix a selection of new 12 inches and pay some extra attention to upcoming albums or compilations because the majority of my listeners buy CDs. To back up an album even further, I do an interview with the label manager or artist involved or make a label/artist profile. Also I often have free giveaways for the listeners - a big up to all the breaks labels out there providing me with wicked CDs and other goodies!

In the second hour of my show, I broadcast a non-stop mix by a guest DJ and provide listeners with a full profile. I invite deejays from all over the globe for sets 'cause I don't believe in breakbeat as a one-country thing. I ask both high-profile, internationally established DJs - Rennie Pilgrem, Aquasky, Dark Globe, Tipper, etc. - as well as local breaks DJs and upcoming talent.

I also managed to get phat breakbeat tracks charted and played on high frequency daytime rotation. For example, the beautiful single 4 Vini - "Forever Young" on Botchit & Scarper in the MJ Cole mix is getting frequent play (daytime rotation) on Veronica FM, Kink FM's highly commercial sister radio station.

What is the breakbeat scene like in Holland?

The breaks scene in Holland is quite poor compared to other countries I know of. It's hard to get something constructive done. One reason for that is that we have all these stupid governmental rules regarding clubbing, taxes for artists, sponsors, etc. It has damaged the underground scene pretty badly - not just the breaks scene - and still does. Hopefully my Urban Revolution breakbeat show on Kink FM will change the climate for breaks in Holland for the better soon.

You have been producing breakbeat music together with Peter Meneater for quite a number of years. How did you hook up?

We met as sweet sixteens - Peter was the lead singer in one of Eindhoven's most upfront hardcore punk bands. I was their biggest fan. The early years were spent clubbing at acid house and hip hop parties and reggae and hardcore punk concerts, and collecting old records - sweet soul music, car chase Seventies funk, old skool hiphop, rooty rock steady and so on – I could be found on every single flea market throughout Holland. Then I moved to Nijmegen and started doing a weekly radio show on local pirate station Radio Rataplan, playing everything from heartbreaking Sixties soul to chilled-out, early electronic music. Because of my radio show I was asked to come and play as a DJ in the Diogenes nite club for students in Nijmegen. It was basically a house club but that I didn't like so I started playing strictly electronic funk and downtempo breakbeats (all the stuff on Mo' Wax, Ninja Tune, Dope On Plastic), moving on to the early releases on Wall Of Sound, Skint and so on. To a great response. This must have been around late '94. From there I developed my own DJ style and started playing at different clubs all over Holland, followed by festivals,international bookings, blablaba, you know the drill…

The next step from playing breaks was to produce them as well and in 1996 my first project on vinyl - Opex - was born. I started releasing EPs with Peter and two others under the name Opex back in 1996, on the infamous Dutch label Fusebox. Because there weren't many Dutch breaks/jungle producers at the time (and of course we were awfully good - hahaha) we got loads of press attention and we were frequently asked to perform live. So we decided to start a live band, just for the fun of it. We tried to cross the gap between traditional instruments and sequencing. Hard job. In fact I know for sure I never ever want to do any live performances with bands again. I don't want to deal anymore with the horror of soundchecks with stubborn, heavy metal-loving sound engineers,and with carrying around of way-too-heavy flightcases and bass amplifiers and eating crap food - they always forget you're a vegetarian so you end up eating plain rice. Let alone playing the same tracks over and over again three or four times a week for over a year, 'cause with all the gigging you don't find enough time anymore to produce new tracks in the studio.

After Opex, Peter and I got signed to Hollands' biggest techno label Djax Records. There we released a few 12 inches and an album as Bitchville, which is best described as a lo-fi electronic noise project with a heavely punky attitude (Peter Meneater on vocals again! hahaha). To me this is a bit of a black musical period. We weren't really satisfied with our own productions and sound, and things just didn't work the way we planned. So we cut back on the producing side of music for a while and started concentrating purely on deejaying and organizing breakbeat parties. Then we made a downtempo breaks & beats album with all kind of weird bits and pieces of music. Pure sampling madness!

How has your sound has evolved over the years?

I dunno really. I tried some different things, all related to a broken beats sound. At the mo' I'm really impressed with that funky tech-breaks sound by peeps like Rennie Pilgrem and Meat Katie. Tech-breaks has the tight elements that I love about techno, but without the annoying four-to-the-floor beat. Love it! But maybe when this is printed I will already have moved in another direction, as always.

Tell us a bit about your studio setup. What's your favourite equipment and software?

I always wanted to make music so I started like many others making tunes with Fast Tracker on an Amiga. Loads of fun but shit sound. Then I moved to the MIDI side of music, Akai S2000, a simple drum computer and an old four-tracker Tascam. Sequencing the whole thing with Cubase. But since I discovered the magic of Logic on my iBook I seem to be using just that. I like my equipment simple, basic and fat and Logic Audio has all that for me.

How would you describe your DJ style?

As a deejay, I always try to get the crowd on my side without playing cheesy stuff. I think if you use your DJ skills the right way, you can get any type of crowd out of their heads on proper breaks. It's all about the personal touch of the DJ.

What's been your best gig to date and why?
There's a few very favorite gigs that come to mind immediately... I always had a blast playing back-to-back sets with Vini from Botchit & Scarper at the Effenaar in Eindhoven – as a result of that we even got an official back-to-back booking at the Dance Valley festival two years ago (hahaha). Another memorable gig was playing at HighRise at the London club Home – because of the truly wicked soundsystem! Oh yeah, yet another one to remember is this amazing funky fresh Mokka club in Thun, a small village in the Swiss Alps. I played there a few weeks ago - a five-hour set on Sunday nite to a fully-packed, hot and steamy club – sweeeet!!

West Pacific in Amsterdam is very special to me. I've been playing there every other week for over a year and it is always a treat! It's an ultra funky restaurant with amazing food that changes into a club after 11 o'clock every Friday and Saturday nite. It's like you're playing in an extra large, Mediterranean living room with a dancefloor and chill-out space. The atmosphere is incredible and peeps are up for anything funky.

You recently launched your own label, Moving Target Recordings. What would you say is the concept behind the label?

Moving Target will bring you a new taste of breaks: world beats, universal breaks, call it what you want. Spicy producers from all over the globe are releasing their best tech-breaks, future funk, break step and filthy sub bass action on Moving Target. There's the roots reggae-influenced breakbeat combo Surya from Italy, the Amsterdam-based Latino Matt Diamond, Berlin's leading lady of breaks DJ Vela, and of course Peter Meneater and me. Plus heavy remix duties by the likes of Dark Globe, 10 Sui, Cold Fusion Mafia and so on. And almost everyday I receive demos, so who knows what the future is going to bring…

What have you got in store for us on Moving Target?

First of all, Moving Target's second release (Loes Lee & Meneater – "Personal Space") is out now, so what are you waiting for!!

"Personal Space" is followed by the sexiest piece of breakbeat vinyl of 2002: three top female DJ-producers from the European capitols Berlin, London and Amsterdam (DJ Vela, 10 Sui and me, Loes Lee) join forces on the mind-blowing "Irresistible" 12". Release date: Autumn. Then a new Moving Target artist steps into the spotlight. Originally from Chile (South America) but now living in Amsterdam, Matt Diamond brings you his fresh, Latin-influenced, vocal breakbeat garage sound, accompanied by a dark reworking by Fuel's finest, Coldfusion Mafia. And last but not least, Italian breaks crew Surya are busy in the studio as we speak to finish up the follow-up to "Jamaican Alien". And the same goes for Peter and me, so beware...

Actually I find myself quite happy where I am now. It's just fantastic having your own label and being able to do it all yourself. Hard work though, but up until now really satisfying and well worth doing. I'm still completely madly in love with breakbeat music because of its diversity.

Loes Lee & Meneater - "Personal Space" is out now on Moving Target and features a remix by Dark Globe.

Tune in to Urban Revolution every Saturday between 18:00 and 21:00 (6pm - 9pm) on Kink FM. The show is also webcast live on the station's Web site:
http://www.kinkfm.nl

For more info about Loes Lee, Moving Target and Urban revolution, log in to:
http://www.loeslee.com