Published
Wed, Mar 22, 2023, 16:00
- Purkis helped launch the legendary FatCat Records.
UK techno pioneer Lee Purkis, AKA In Sync, has died aged 54.
The DJ and producer released most of his music as Insync vs. Mysteron, a trio that also featured Chris Hartley and David Manuel. Together they ran the label 10th Planet. Purkis also released on labels like Irdial Discs, Peacefrog and Plink Plonk.
Regarded as one of the first artists to play house and techno in the UK, Purkis was involved in the creation of the legendary label FatCat Records. Launched as a record shop in his hometown of Crawley in 1989, it specialised in dance 12-inches sourced by Purkis on trips to Chicago and Detroit.
After a hiatus, Purkis reemerged in 2005 with new music and a new label, Fortune8. In the 2010s, outlets like Delsin, Back To Life and Third Ear Records reissued some of his forgotten mixtapes and classic tracks, including the revered "Storm".
Speaking to Resident Advisor, friend and UK techno contemporary Kirk Degiorgio reflected on his time with Purkis.
"Along with the late Matt Cogger, Lee was one of the trailblazing music heads who first went to Detroit to seek out the makers of the early techno records," he said. "In 1991, he came to my place and played me a poorly recorded but stunning cassette master of the now classic Storm / Warm EP. Recorded using just two SH101's triggered by a Roland TR909 and 808, it was due to be the first release on my ART label. I was yet to release anything however and Lee felt more comfortable putting it out on Irdial Discs."
Degiorgio continued: "It remains one of the pinnacles of early UK techno despite being recorded on the floor of a South London flat with such basic equipment. Lee was also a superb DJ and would often be the DJ we awaited the most at parties such as Release in the early '90s. Both of us flew a bit too close to the sun in those heady rave days and we bonded over those experiences, as well as the music and humour."
Listen to "Storm," and read some more tributes.