- 01How a car loan applied for to buy a car became a pair of Technics — and why the bank never would have approved it if Lee had told them the truth
- 02Why Lee walked out of an electrical engineering degree in Cambridge the moment acid house arrived — and what "freedom for the first time" felt like
- 03How Justin from Finger Lickin' became obsessed with Thrust 1, tracked Lee down, and brought him into a roster that included Krafty Kuts, Plump DJs, and the Drumattic Twins — the latter introduced by Lee himself
- 04The Freakazoids origin story: one weekday morning session with Shades of Rhythm that got them noticed in Florida and Germany — and led to two Finger Lickin' signings
- 05Why Lee scored a club scene for a film starring Al Pacino and Anthony Hopkins beat-mapped to picture — and calls it probably the best job he's ever done
Lee Coombs is a DJ, producer, and founder of Thrust Records — one of UK breakbeat's most enduring independent labels, with over 150 releases spanning vinyl from 1992 to the present day. Cambridge-born and Florida-based, Lee built his career from acid house warehouse parties and a Casio sampler to Finger Lickin' Records, a New Order remix that got Paul van Dyk calling, and film placements alongside Al Pacino and Anthony Hopkins in the murder-mystery thriller Misconduct.
A key figure in the UK breakbeat scene of the 1990s and 2000s, Lee's work on Finger Lickin' helped define the sound of the era alongside Krafty Kuts, Plump DJs, and the Drumattic Twins — the latter introduced to the label by Lee himself. His West London Lot 49 crew included Simon Shackleton (Elite Force, Ep 7). He now teaches music production at Full Sail University in Florida, where he has been on faculty for nine years.
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Cambridge Origins & the Electro Discovery
Welcome back to A DJ's Journey. Today I have a very special guest — Lee Coombs, founder of Thrust Records, Finger Lickin' legend, and one of UK breakbeat's most enduring independent operators. Lee, welcome. Let's start at the beginning — what was music like growing up for you?
My mum had 45s — Beatles, Elvis, Motown. That was the soundtrack. Then Duran Duran came along and that was the light, you know? That was when I started paying attention. But the real moment was the Street Sounds label. We were swapping cassette tapes at school — electro compilations, hip hop, all of it. That's where it started for me, in Cambridge, just passing tapes around.
Acid House & Leaving Engineering
When I went to my first acid house warehouse party, that was it. I knew I wanted to be the DJ. I wanted to be the one controlling the room. It was freedom for the first time — complete freedom.
I went to the bank and borrowed some money to buy a car — and just bought decks. They wouldn't have given me the money if I'd said turntables.
Acid house — a big wave hit me and I was just like, I'm leaving. I walked out of my electrical engineering degree. I didn't look back.
Thrust Records & the Finger Lickin' Connection
My first record came out on Orbital/Carbo Records. They actually paid me an advance — I couldn't believe it. Someone was paying me to make music. That's when I knew this could be real.
I released Thrust 1 on my own label and it became Justin's favourite record at the time. He finally bumped into me and said, you want to make something for our label too? That was Finger Lickin'. And from there it just opened up — Krafty Kuts, Plump DJs, the whole crew.
Freakazoids, Lot 49 & The World Opens Up
Freakazoids started with me persuading Shades of Rhythm to come in for one weekday morning session. We made a track, and somehow it got noticed in Florida and Germany. That led to two Finger Lickin' signings. I also introduced the Drumattic Twins to Justin — they became part of the family.
The West London crew — Pembers, Marvin, Shackleton. We were all in it together. Lot 49 was the hub. We all wanted to bring techno into it — that harder, darker edge. It wasn't just breakbeat, it was something else.
Film Scoring, Full Sail & Legacy
Misconduct — I wrote two songs and made them sound like the DJ was mixing. Beat-mapped to picture, Al Pacino and Anthony Hopkins in the scene. Probably the best job I've ever done.
Teaching at Full Sail University. Nine years now. Showing kids how to do things they don't think they need to know yet. But they will.
Imagine someone switched the internet off tomorrow. What are those people going to do? The ones who only exist on Instagram — what happens then? You've got to have real skills, real craft. That's what lasts.