Cut La Roc

b. Lee Potter, Brighton, Sussex, England. Growing up amid a wave of DJ-producers drawn to hip-hop, Potter developed an early obsession with the genre and often bypassed classes to hone his mixing and scratching abilities. By 1987, convinced that hip-hop had turned stale and over-commercialised, he found himself drawn instead to the emerging acid house sound. His DJ sets mirror a wide range of tastes spanning rap, jungle and techno. Worldwide bookings have followed, including regular appearances at Brighton’s Big Beat Boutique, where he shares the decks with Skint Records colleagues Fatboy Slim and the Midfield General. Additional work has seen him deliver remixes for a host of dance music acts. A run of EPs issued on Skint under the title Mad Skills earned widespread critical approval. In 1999 the scheduled release of two Cut La Roc singles was blocked once copyright clearance for the samples was refused after pressing had already taken place. Undeterred by that obstacle, Potter still finished a mix compilation for the Ministry Of Sound label FSUK. Renowned for occasional turntable antics that include scratching with his head, elbows, feet and other body parts, he also claimed a world record in 1999 by DJing simultaneously on nine decks. Assembled in intermittent sessions across two years, the debut album La Roc Rocs drew praise from one reviewer who called it ‘funny, delirious, debauched and intelligent’.