Lo-Key Fu

Who is Lo-Key Fu?

Lo-Key Fu is a contemporary producer, performer and remixer based in Perth, Western Australia who composes various styles of Breakbeat and performs his own music as a live electronic act. He is recognized on State, National and International levels as an artist at the forefront of Australia's movement in this genre, and his music has featured on multiple solo releases, soundtracks and compilation albums.

From a long-term friendship and shared musical vision with local drum and bass producer Scope, the collaborative Lincoln Street Switch EP was released locally on CD format in November 2000 as a limited pressing. Named after a residence on Lincoln Street in North Perth where Scope located his studio for the duration of this project, the EP contained two studio produced tracks from each artist and an additional forty minutes of recorded collaborative improvisation. This release marked Lo-Key Fu's first serious foray into live electronic music and formed the basis of techniques he would later develop for triggering and manipulating improvised loops and samples from a Roland SP-808 Groove Sampler.

Following the release of Lincoln Street Switch, Lo-Key Fu joined local original band Rollerskates as a live samplist, second keyboardist, hip-hop MC and vocalist and he remained a contributory member of this outfit until December 2003. It was during this time that Lo-Key Fu originated and developed a technique that used hand movements over the Roland infrared D-Beam technology of the SP-808 to interactively pitch bend samples in a manner that emulated record scratching as part of the bands live performance. In addition to composing, remixing and producing music for this group he also designed artwork for CD releases and printed promotional material; most notably for the successful The Movement EP.