WE F*CK WITH: GEE LEE

FEATURES - MUSIC - WE F*CK WITH

FRIDAY 29TH AUGUST 2025

WORDS BY AMALIA CASTLE

It can be argued that nighttime is when the best ideas arrive. Maybe some kind of divine intervention? More often, though, it feels like the brain is just refusing to switch off, flooding us with half-formed ideas and wild schemes that feel more like an inconvenience at that time of the day than a gift. But that isn’t the case for London-raised producer GEE LEE. He immerses himself in the late-night creative downpour, calling on both the quiet solace of his bedroom and the fast-paced energy of the city that raised him and shaped his love for dance music. And the result? A sound that captures the intoxicating atmosphere of London’s after-hours.

GEE LEE first arrived on the scene with a sharp ear for sampling and an affinity for remixing, with his trajectory feeling almost instant. Before virality was quite as it is today, his remix of Riton’s ‘Fake ID’ catapulted him into playlists far and wide. The original was already a house party staple, but GEE LEE reimagined it, flipping the track with an effortless cool that helped him rack up nearly 200 million streams and counting.

After a strong run of singles, GEE LEE has returned with his first extended project, coined as a mixtape, that gives listeners a clear window into his world. Drawing inspiration from a broad spectrum of influences, including Moodyman to King Krule, GEE LEE’s sonic world knows no boundaries, and the release of Late Checkout signals a new chapter for a producer whose music feels both rooted in London and destined for far beyond.

How did your journey into music begin? Was there one producer or record that inspired you to start producing?

So when I was about 14, I got super into guitar music and bands like The Libertines, The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys, stuff like that. That was how I started by playing guitar, then when I was about 15 or 16, I got into King Krule because of the way that he blends genre so interestingly. With all his references to hip hop and more ambient stuff, I just became a huge fanboy, yeah, obsessed with his stuff. Then, through that, I got into hip hop, so J Dilla, Mad Lib, and that's when I started producing. I feel like you can trace all that back to what I'm doing now. When I first got Ableton, I was making hip-hop beats, but I wasn't really in the rap scene. I was just making it. I stopped for a while during COVID and then started making dance music. So yeah, now I'm here.

Wow, I see. Because I was going to say you’ve worked across lots of different genres, and with lots of artists including Omar+, Essosa, Keeya Keys and Jaish. What is it you love about blending dance music with other genres?

I think naturally now everyone listens to everything, people aren’t siphoned off by genre in the same way that they were 30 years ago. So I feel like it’s natural to draw from all those sounds. That's just how you create something unique, isn't it, by bringing in different strands, developing your sound and honing it. It's a natural thing.

So would you say all these genres are an indicator of your own personal taste?

Yeah, 100%. I’m just into everything, so I think that that's always going to bleed into the music, whatever your inputs are, that's what's gonna come out. If you don't try to engineer it too much, then you'll get something interesting and original.

You’ve also got a very natural feel for what connects with people. It feels like you utilise the same sensitivity required for great DJing when it comes to your production. Would you say DJing has informed how you produce your music?

With DJing, you want songs that are going to connect and people sing to, but then you also want to be able to surprise them with something weird and left field. So I think trying to do both is really important to me. Being experimental but then also having really good songwriting with great hooks, and bringing those things together. That's what I'm really trying to do and work on.

I see, so when you’re producing, would you say you’re imagining a hypothetical crowd or just one person enjoying the music by themself?

I think that's why it can be weird, because I was producing music before I was DJing, and I just love listening to music when I'm on my own. Especially when I first started, I came from making Lo-Fi Rap beats, and that was the listening environment, so I wasn't thinking about live. I feel like a lot of my music is just what I want to listen to in those situations. But now that I’m starting to do more stuff live and seeing how crowds react, that's going to make you want to get reactions. I think if I can find a way to bring both together, that would be the Goldilocks.

And so you also recently released your mixtape Late Checkout. What was the process of putting together the project?

I’m always making stuff, so I felt these ideas all sat together. I wanted this to just be a snapshot of what I'm into right now, a bit like a sound palette. It was more of a diary entry rather than an album. It's also helpful for me because when I’m working on more refined projects, I can find the through line between all of the tracks [on Late Checkout], then bring them in, refine them and put it into more conventional song structures.

And were there any big influences on this project?

A lot, yeah and lots of Moodymann. Even though a lot of the songs [on the project] are quite short, I’m really inspired by ambient albums. There's this album called Loop-Finding-Jazz-Records by Jan Jelinek. It's super ambient and kind of meandering, so I wanted to do something like that. I feel you can tease out a lot of different genres in [this project], like dance and then jazz, grime production and hip hop. So, yeah, it's all in there.

There’s also no features or vocals on ‘Late Checkout’. You’re an artist who’s worked on an array of collaborations previously with vocalists, as well as using some super notable vocals samples, so what was behind the decision to make this project 100% you?

I love working with people, but this was almost like a Sketchbook. These are a bunch of ideas that are kind of unrefined, and that was the idea behind the project. I just wanted to take away the pressure and the circus around releasing. I wanted to create something for people so they can find it now or 10 years later, and it's like a trail. You can tease out my influences from there, and there’s just no fluff. I was just like “let's just do it”. It was nice to do that for a change.

I was going to say that the sonics of the project also feel really nostalgic to me, were you intending that with the production?

Did you grow up in London?

No, I’m not actually from London. Is that something that ties to the nostalgia of the project for you?

Yeah, so I’m from London and even just living here - it obviously sounds cliche - but I try to capture that atmosphere as well. I'm a bit of a night owl, so I'm often making a lot of my music at night and feel like that plays into it all. A lot of the ambience I try to capture is London at night. I also finished [the project] when I was in Australia and I was doing these shows there and then spending a lot of time in hotel rooms making the music. So I feel like [the project] also has the atmosphere of a solo mission.

You’ve already collaborated with a slew of incredible UK talent, but are there any other artists you’d love to collaborate with in the future?

I think doing something with Mk.gee would be really cool, and I’ve also done some sessions with Vegyn which was really cool and we had some really good stuff. Then people like KAYTRANADA - everyone says that - but that would be amazing. And Disclosure too, Floating Points, Moodymann and Kerri Chandler. I mean there’s so many.

You’ve already had some huge moments in your career, having amassed millions of streams and played some incredible shows with amazing DJs across the world. Is there a particular highlight or pinch-me moment you wish you could re-live?

Recently, I've been appreciating going into the studio every day. When I'm walking there, I'm like, “this is great, I feel so lucky to be able to do this”. Those are actually the best moments when you realise, “I'm really doing this”. Because at some shows, you're just so overstimulated and there's so much going on that you don't even process it. But when I’m at base level, I feel really lucky and grateful.

Amazing, and while we’re on the topic of shows. What would you say your favourite London or UK venue to play at is, and which is one you would recommend anyone head to?

I haven't played at Koko, but I feel like playing there would be amazing. I've had loads of great nights there. I've also been to FOLD a couple of times, which is great as well. I played at Phonox with Sam Gellaitry, Jyoty and p-rallell, and that was actually amazing. It was a lineup that I would have said to people, “I definitely want to go and see that!” and they're all people that inspire me l. I also think when you’ve just got a good crowd and the lineup’s sick, it’s just great. It's not like that every time, so when it is, you’ve got to be grateful.

Where do you hope to take your music in the future and what can we expect to see from you this year?

I’m going to make some singles and then put out a more extended EP, hopefully, with features and some of my own vocals. I’m focusing more on songwriting now, because I feel ‘Late Checkout’ was more about me experimenting and developing a sound palette. Now I want to go back, focus on the hooks, the melodies and the song structures, and develop something more fleshed out.

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