Lee Coombs grew up in Cambridge on early-'80s electro and new wave, teaching himself to mix on belt-drive turntables before buying Technics in 1990. His first release landed in 1991 at age 20 as The Invisible Men, and he never looked back, building the Thrust Recordings label and becoming one of the first outside artists signed to Finger Lickin' by Justin Rushmore.
His 1999 breakthrough Future Sound of Retro, made in Acid Pro, caught Pete Tong's ear and led directly to his acclaimed 2001 remix of New Order's "Crystal" — a commission that came through Tong, who was A&R for New Order's label, London Records. His high-profile remixes in turn caught Paul Oakenfold, who tapped him to run Perfecto Breaks. Alongside a West London crew of Meat Katie, Dylan Rhymes and Simon Shackleton, he pushed breaks toward a chuggy techno edge, later joining Mark Pembers' Lot 49.
Now based in Florida, Coombs teaches production at Full Sail University, scores film and TV, and revived his old-school electro act The Freakazoids. He self-releases via Bandcamp and mentors artists including Tara Brooks and Christoph.