The latest single from the emerging Meanjin/Brisbane project.
From classical foundations to warehouse parties, Cameron Lee has cemented himself as an integral member of the Meanjin/Brisbane music scene.
Following an international study scholarship in the US, a ripe 22-year-old Lee was vacuumed into the underground world of EDM. Upon his return to the sunshine state, Lee cut his teeth on the local EDM circuit by throwing rowdy warehouse raves.
“I guess the transition for me from classical [music] came when I studied, and had a scholarship, in the States and got into electronic music there. When I came back I went to parties and got in the scene and realised it was really cool and I was really vibing with what was getting out here,” Lee explains.
“I started to throw my own warehouse events and we would get international acts and national acts and even local acts, and I was able to first-hand see what I really liked in the electronic music realm.”
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Six years on, Lee has not only established a name for himself in the Australian EDM game as a DJ – having shared the stage with Jungle Giants and Confidence Man, being one half of electronic duo Penelope Two-Five, as well as kickstarting his new ‘romance’ project – he has also set himself up with an establishment; the highly-regarded Warehouse 25 which opened late last year.
“We hadn’t even opened yet and were still building it [Warehouse 25] and waiting for approvals for liquor licences and whatnot so that was particularly scary because we had invested so much already and weren’t able to open the doors,” Lee says.
“So we were like ‘ah shit’, but we had come this far and it really paid off! Fortunately we’re quite blessed that the community is quite strong here … the culture that had [already been] built helped us from the get go.”
Within the mayhem of transitioning into a venue owner/operator role, he also adopted a new persona for the stage.
An anagram for Cameron, romance is the first solo endeavour for the classically-trained-artist-turned-DJ. 2020 saw the first taste of romance’s tantalising EDM offerings, with the project delivering its debut EP, reckless serenity, in August last year.
A culmination of Lee’s career to this point, romance is the porch to the artist’s lyrical and musical home.
“It’s me trying to express myself in a way that only I can. I’ve enjoyed myself working with other artists in the past but wanted this to be an extension of myself. Even though it’s presented as romance, it’s still Cameron. The process is just so much fun – sometimes a nightmare – but so much fun when I know that I’m representing myself. For me to enjoy the creative process I have to make it for myself and as an expression of myself.”
In an exclusive premiere, Beat brings you romance’s latest single ‘resonance’, accompanied by a masterful music video.
Manoeuvring the twisting turns of grief, ‘resonance’ expresses the struggle and eventual release of growing from, and ultimately accepting, loss and pain to create a positive self-rebirth.
“I think it’s something that everybody goes through and faces all the time whether it is through grief or anger or jealousy or whatever, I think everyone goes through those stages where they try to suppress it and that suppression just causes it to get stronger and stronger until it overloads and have a cool dance sequence in the basement,” Lee explains.
Captured by cinematographer, old friend and musical collaborator, Xavier Rousset, the video moves through the stages of grief quite literally, as personified through the distinctive street dance style and visceral physicality of Amy Zhang.
“It was a way to personify a concept of the resolution of the chaos and being able to move past that chaos and uncertainty,” Lee says.
Warehouse 25 provides the backdrop for the ‘resonance’ clip, with a vast majority of Lee’s extended EDM family and Warehouse employees appearing as extras.
“Most of the people in that little dance shot are employed here but they’re all kind of birds of a feather, they all either DJ or produce or are creative visually. It’s definitely that type of community.”
Check out the new video for ‘romance’ below.
‘resonance’ is out now. For more on romance, head to his Facebook and Instagram page.
