Larry Tee (born Lawrence Thom; October 12, 1959) is an American DJ, music producer, remixer, and nightlife promoter recognized for co-writing RuPaul's 1993 single "Supermodel (You Better Work)" and for originating the term "electroclash" to define a fusion of 1980s synth-pop, techno, and new wave influences that emerged in underground scenes during the late 1990s and early 2000s.^[1][2][3] Tee's career spans over four decades, beginning with early DJ residencies in Atlanta and New York City clubs such as Twilo and The Roxy, where he collaborated with house music pioneers including Frankie Knuckles and Junior Vasquez, before pioneering the electroclash movement through curated events and releases on his Carnage Music label.^[4][5][1] In 2001, he organized the first Electroclash Festival in New York, which spotlighted artists like Fischerspooner and Miss Kittin, propelling the genre's visibility and influencing subsequent electronic music trends by emphasizing ironic, glamorous aesthetics and promoting female producers more than prior formats.^[3][6] Later transitioning into fashion, Tee founded the streetwear brand TZUJI, blending his club culture roots with apparel design while continuing to DJ internationally from bases in cities including Berlin and Los Angeles.^[7][6]

Early Career

1980s Band and Music Involvement

In the early 1980s, Larry Tee, born Lawrence Thom, joined the Atlanta-based new wave band The Fans after the group had already produced The B-52's debut single "Rock Lobster/52 Girls" in 1978.^[5] The Fans' style echoed the quirky, surf-rock-infused post-punk of contemporaries like The B-52's, featuring energetic rhythms and eccentric lyrics typical of the Southern U.S. underground scene.^[8] Tee's involvement with The Fans provided his initial exposure to recording and performance in a burgeoning new wave environment, though the band predated his entry and had limited commercial output beyond production credits.^[5] Tee then formed The Now Explosion in 1981 as its guitarist, vocalist, and creative leader, with Russ Trent on bass and Jon Witherspoon on drums, continuing the new wave vein with upbeat, synth-tinged tracks like "Stuff" and "Bad Bad Bad."^[9] Originating in Atlanta, the band quickly bridged to New York City's club circuit, debuting at The Pyramid Club with performances of songs such as "Poke Salad" and "Stuff," and appearing at Danceteria in 1983.^{[10] [11]} By the mid-1980s, The Now Explosion had secured a residency as house band at The Pyramid Club, hosting early shows for emerging talents including RuPaul and Lady Bunny, which integrated live music with performance art amid the East Village's post-punk milieu.^[2] These band activities immersed Tee in the transitional dynamics of late post-punk toward electronic influences, as New York clubs like Pyramid and Danceteria fostered experimentation with synthesizers and dance-oriented sounds.^[12] Performances there honed his stage presence and network in underground nightlife, setting the stage for his shift to DJing by emphasizing audience engagement through high-energy sets that blended new wave remnants with nascent electronic elements.^[4]

1990s Club Kid Scene and Nightlife Promotion

In the early 1990s, Larry Tee immersed himself in New York's club kid subculture, a flamboyant and often transgressive segment of the city's nightlife characterized by extravagant costumes, drug-fueled revelry, and defiance of conventional norms. He co-promoted the weekly Disco 2000 parties at The Limelight nightclub alongside Michael Alig from around 1990 onward, events that became central to the scene by featuring interactive spectacles such as the Hot Body contest, where participants showcased provocative attire and performances to packed crowds.^[2][4] These gatherings, later referenced in the 2003 film Party Monster depicting the club kids' excesses, drew hundreds weekly and amplified Tee's reputation as a DJ and emcee who filled in for figures like DJ Keoki during high-energy sets blending house tracks with crowd engagement.^[13][2] Tee's promotions extended to other venues like the Pyramid Club, Palladium, Tunnel, Roxy, and Twilo, where he organized riotous events such as Love Machine and Celebrity Club, prioritizing queer performers and boundary-challenging aesthetics over commercial conformity.^[4] These parties served as launchpads for nascent queer nightlife talents, fostering an underground ecosystem that contrasted sharply with sanitized mainstream entertainment by embracing raw, unfiltered expression.^[13] Prior to RuPaul's 1993 commercial ascent, Tee collaborated on early promotional efforts like the Now Explosion shows, integrating drag and performance art to build audiences for such acts in a pre-digital era reliant on word-of-mouth and flyer distribution.^[2] Transitioning from his 1980s band endeavors to a dedicated DJ and promoter career, Tee incorporated influences from house music forebears, performing alongside and drawing from pioneers like Frankie Knuckles and Junior Vasquez, whose extended sets at clubs like Sound Factory shaped the era's sonic palette of soulful, percussive grooves.^[13] This shift solidified his role in elevating New York's nightlife from episodic gigs to a professional pursuit, with Disco 2000 running through the mid-1990s until Alig's legal troubles in 1996 curtailed its momentum.^[4] Tee's efforts emphasized experiential immersion over profit maximization, often resulting in chaotic but culturally resonant nights that prioritized artistic provocation.^[2]

Electroclash Era

Coining the Term and Scene Development

In the early 2000s, Larry Tee coined the term "electroclash" to describe a musical style fusing elements of 1980s synth-pop and new wave with contemporary electronic production, characterized by punk attitudes, glam aesthetics, and ironic detachment.^[14][15] This nomenclature emerged amid Tee's observations of underground performers in New York clubs, where the sound contrasted sharply with the prevailing dominance of house and techno genres that had saturated dance music scenes.^[16][14] Tee organized the inaugural Electroclash Festival in October 2001 across six venues in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, drawing approximately 7,000 attendees and marking a pivotal event in popularizing the genre.^[17][16] The festival highlighted the raw, performance-oriented energy of the style, positioning electroclash as an underground revival rooted in New York's DIY ethos rather than the more polished European electronic traditions, such as those from Germany's International Deejay Gigolo label.^[18] As the movement's unofficial spokesperson, Tee emphasized electroclash's political and feminist undertones, crediting it with launching more female DJs and artists than prior electronic formats through its irreverent, boundary-pushing approach.^[6] This New York-centric development fostered a scene that prioritized theatricality and subversion over the minimalism of European influences, revitalizing club culture by challenging the homogeneity of mainstream dance music.^[18][5]

Compilations, Events, and Artist Promotion

Larry Tee curated several compilation albums that spotlighted emerging electroclash artists, beginning with the 2001 Electroclash release on his Brooklyn-based Mogul Electro label, which introduced tracks from acts including Fischerspooner and Peaches to wider audiences.^[19] This was followed by Badd Inc. Electroclash 2 in 2002, continuing to feature raw, synth-driven material from similar performers and solidifying the label's role in aggregating the scene's sound.^[19] These releases emphasized a playful yet provocative aesthetic blending 1980s new wave influences with contemporary electronic production, prioritizing unsigned talent over established names.^[20] Through events and tours, Tee amplified this curation by organizing the inaugural Electroclash Festival in Brooklyn in 2001, which showcased live performances from promoted artists like Scissor Sisters and Avenue D, drawing crowds with its high-energy, theatrical presentations.^[21] The festival expanded into U.S. and European tours in 2003 and 2004, featuring lineups that highlighted the genre's glam-infused, irreverent vibe—marked by exaggerated visuals, explicit lyrics, and danceable beats—to foster a communal nightlife experience.^[14] Tee's promotion extended to co-writing and booking opportunities that propelled acts such as Fischerspooner and Peaches toward mainstream breakthroughs, with empirical participation in these events correlating to their subsequent chart success and label deals.^[4] Tee has claimed that electroclash initiatives under his purview launched more female DJs and artists than prior electronic genres, citing the scene's emphasis on empowered, sexually forthright performers like Peaches and W.I.T. as evidence of this shift.^[6] This focus contributed causally to greater queer visibility in electronic music by centering non-conforming aesthetics and identities in high-profile bookings, countering the male-dominated norms of preceding house and techno eras.^[22] Despite facing criticism around 2004-2005 for the genre's perceived emphasis on style over substance—which some attributed to its short-lived hype cycle—these efforts enduringly diversified artist representation through verifiable career trajectories of participants.^[18]

Music Production and Songwriting

Key Hits and Collaborations

Tee co-wrote the lyrics for RuPaul's "Supermodel (You Better Work)", released as a single in 1993 from the album Supermodel of the World.^[23][24] The track, inspired by Tee's attendance at a Versace fashion show, peaked at number 45 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became a foundational dance-pop anthem with enduring cultural resonance.^[23] As of late 2024, it had surpassed 33 million streams on Spotify.^[25] In electronic production, Tee achieved commercial success with "Licky" in 2008, featuring Princess Superstar and produced in collaboration with Hervé, which reached gold certification.^[1][26] Versions of the track, including those incorporating elements from Santigold and Coka Cobra, emphasized raw, sexually explicit themes and garnered widespread plays in club circuits.^[27] Tee's partnerships extended to remixes and co-productions with artists like Afrojack, including the 2010 single "Let's Make Nasty" featuring Roxy Cottontail, which also attained gold status and aligned with Tee's signature provocative style.^[1][3] He collaborated with Steve Aoki and Radio Slave on tracks such as those in the "bitch" series, blending electro-house with unapologetic, boundary-pushing content that featured queer and transgender performers like Amanda Lepore.^[1][28] These efforts highlighted Tee's focus on explicit, sex-centric narratives in electronic music, often defying conventional industry constraints on lyrical content.^[1]

Influence on Queer and Electronic Artists

Larry Tee played a pivotal role in advancing queer artists' visibility in electronic music by co-writing RuPaul's 1993 breakthrough single "Supermodel (You Better Work)," which propelled the drag performer's career into mainstream recognition and highlighted camp aesthetics in dance-pop.^[2] Through his organization of the 2001 Electroclash Festival in New York, Tee facilitated early exposure for queer-leaning acts like Scissor Sisters, whose glam-infused sound drew from the scene's irreverent energy, contributing to their subsequent major-label success.^[29] While Le Tigre's riot grrrl-electro fusion aligned with electroclash's ethos of feminist provocation, Tee's promotional efforts in the genre amplified such groups' underground traction amid limited pre-2000s queer electronic representation.^[30] Electroclash, a term popularized by Tee to describe the genre's fusion of 1980s synth-pop with punkish attitude, disrupted prevailing electronic norms dominated by minimal techno and house's often austere, gender-neutral presentations by emphasizing theatrical, sexually explicit performances that prioritized queer and female agency.^[31] This shift causally fostered greater participation from women in DJing and production; Tee has noted that the movement launched more female electronic artists than prior formats, evidenced by breakthroughs from acts like Peaches and Princess Superstar, who embodied its unapologetic eroticism over polished conformity.^[6] Such innovation challenged industry gatekeeping, where male-centric scenes marginalized overt queer expression, enabling a proliferation of performers who integrated personal identity into electronic frameworks before broader cultural acceptance.^[32] Tea's influence spans over four decades, from his 1980s immersion in Atlanta's drag scene—where he networked with figures like RuPaul—to electroclash's early 2000s peak and echoes in contemporary synth revivals.^[7] A 2025 Guardian retrospective credits electroclash's enduring appeal to its "glamour, filth and fun," contrasting it with later electronic subgenres' perceived self-seriousness, and traces modern pop influences in artists like Lady Gaga and Charli XCX to Tee's foundational provocations.^[18] This longevity underscores electroclash's causal role in sustaining queer electronic subcultures against commodified sanitization, as Tee's mentorship and scene-building prioritized raw expression over commercial viability.^[18]

Later Career and Ventures

DJing, Events, and Ongoing Productions

Following the electroclash era, Larry Tee relocated to Los Angeles and sustained his DJ residency through themed events emphasizing synthetic and electronic dance music. In 2024, he hosted the ICONS Electroclash Edition at Los Globos on December 28, featuring performances alongside artists like Morgan Wood and Sean Patrick, drawing crowds with high-energy sets blending retro influences and modern synth elements.^[33] He also promoted pre-New Year's Eve bashes as alternatives to mainstream NYE celebrations, positioning them as "proper" ring-ins with electro-focused lineups and performers at venues like Los Globos.^[34] Tee's ongoing productions have adapted to streaming platforms, achieving notable Spotify traction in 2024 with over 200,000 monthly listeners across his catalog, excluding the 18 million streams of his 1991 co-write "Supermodel (You Better Work)" for RuPaul, which underscores persistent demand for his independent electronic output.^[35] This digital presence complements live DJing, allowing him to reach audiences amid declining traditional underground club scenes.^[36] Central to his post-2010s work is the "Super Electric Party Machine" ethos, a DIY, polysexual party format originating in New York but revived in Los Angeles to foster exaggerated, scene-driven experiences amid fragmented nightlife.^[7] Tee has described these events as responses to stagnant club culture, prioritizing "bigger than life" music and vibes over commercial dilution, with sets incorporating techno and house variants to sustain communal energy.^[37]

Fashion Design and Media Projects

After establishing his reputation in nightlife and music, Larry Tee transitioned into fashion design, launching the TZUJI clothing line, which features hyper-colorful, sustainable apparel described as couture sportswear.^[38][6] The brand, pronounced "ZHOOZHEE," incorporates bold, politically charged elements reflective of Tee's electroclash background, with designs worn by artists such as MNEK, Missy Elliott, Peaches, Kid Ink, Jimmy Fallon, and members of The B-52's.^[6] In March 2017, Tee presented the "Golden Key" collection at Berghain's Halle during Berlin Alternative Fashion Week, showcasing TZUJI's integration of electronic music influences into wearable art.^[39] Tee's fashion ventures emphasize cross-industry innovation, producing limited-edition pieces that blend electronic subculture aesthetics with practical, comfortable garments to bridge music and apparel markets.^[40][4] In parallel, Tee developed media projects under Fashertainment Inc., launching the platform's website in 2020 to support a reality TV concept merging fashion, entertainment, and personal reinvention narratives.^[6][7] The project includes content production such as interviews with figures like TT the Artist on music labels and clothing designs, alongside a "Meditainment" meditation series focused on creativity.^[41][42] As a self-identified TV content producer, Tee maintains an active presence on Instagram (@larrytee_tzuji) and X (@larryteedj), where posts combine TZUJI promotions with unfiltered personal commentary on health, politics, and industry insights.^[43][44] Early 2025 saw Tee release a theme song for Fashertainment, tying into ambitions for health-oriented branding, including portion-controlled nutrition for optimal wellness and scaling passion projects toward financial milestones.^[45] These efforts position Fashertainment as a multimedia hub, with Tee pitching expansions into television and film via masterclasses on streamer submissions.^[46]

Reception and Legacy

Achievements and Impact

Larry Tee is credited with coining the term "electroclash" in 2000 to describe a raw fusion of 1980s electro, new wave synth-pop, and 1990s techno influences, which revitalized early 2000s electronic music by emphasizing theatrical glamour, explicit provocation, and escapist fun amid dominant trance and house trends.^[47][18] By organizing the inaugural Electroclash Festival in late 2001 at venues like The Knitting Factory in New York, he curated lineups featuring acts such as Fischerspooner and W.I.T., fostering a scene that prioritized performative energy over minimalism and thereby influenced subsequent indie dance and electropop trajectories.^[48] This initiative demonstrably accelerated artist visibility, with participating performers gaining international bookings and label deals shortly thereafter.^[30] Tee's promotional and production work launched multiple careers, including co-writing RuPaul's 1993 single "Supermodel (You Better Work)," which sold over one million copies in the U.S. and became a foundational queer pop crossover hit by blending house beats with campy lyrics that celebrated drag culture's boldness.^[2] Through electroclash compilations and events, he elevated acts like Scissor Sisters, Ladytron, and Fischerspooner to mainstream recognition, with Tee asserting that the movement introduced more female DJs and producers—such as those emulating Miss Kittin and Peaches—than any preceding electronic subgenre, evidenced by the disproportionate female-led acts in his 2001-2003 festival rosters compared to prior formats like acid house.^[2][6] Over four decades active since the 1980s New York club kid era, Tee's output includes enduring tracks like remixes for artists including RuPaul and later collaborations with Afrojack and Steve Aoki, maintaining playlist rotation in global clubs and contributing to queer cultural advancements through aesthetics that favored raw, norm-challenging expression over sanitized narratives.^[7] A 2025 Guardian retrospective highlights electroclash's lasting anti-conformist resilience, quoting Tee on its role in countering post-rave homogenization and affirming the genre's causal hand in sustaining provocative electronic subcultures amid commercial pressures.^[18][30]

Criticisms and Backlash

Electroclash, a genre and scene heavily curated by Larry Tee through his compilations and events, drew detractors who viewed it as superficial and lacking depth. A 2003 review in the Austin Chronicle of Tee's This Is Electroclash compilation dismissed the material as "shallow (and) redundant…it can't even qualify as irony," arguing it failed to transcend mere posturing.^[49][48] Similarly, Pitchfork's 2003 critique of electroclash-adjacent act Gravy Train!!!!'s album Hello Doctor labeled the music as "certainly not great," faulting it for an "incredible disregard for human decency" amid explicit, campy content.^[50][51] Slant Magazine echoed this in reviewing Fischerspooner’s 2005 album Odyssey, questioning if the scene amounted to "just synthesizer and nail polish" and concluding affirmatively, highlighting perceived stylistic excess without substance.^[50][52] The backlash intensified in the United States following the genre's early-2000s peak, with music writers rejecting its intentional superficiality and ironic detachment as antithetical to deeper artistic or musical evolution.^[47] In contrast, electroclash maintained greater longevity in Europe, where its fusion of 1980s synth influences with provocative electronic dance elements found sustained club play and influence.^[53] Tee's promotion of the scene, including his role as its de facto spokesperson, tied him to these critiques, with some outlets framing the genre's explicit sexual themes and gender-bending satire as obsessive or indulgent rather than innovative.^[13] Tee's self-described "bad boy" persona exacerbated tensions with more conventional dance music publications, which faulted his work for prioritizing shock value—through lyrics and visuals centered on sex, drag, and nonconformity—over polished production or broad accessibility.^[50] These elements, including tracks like his co-write "Supermodel (You Better Work)" for RuPaul, were seen by critics as defying prevailing sensitivities around explicit content and identity exploration. Tee rebutted such views by underscoring the political intent behind electroclash's opposition to mainstream norms on gender roles and sexuality, stating it discussed "female empowerment" and challenged prudish conventions rather than conforming to them.^[6][13] By 2013, discourse around electroclash's legacy questioned whether its hyper self-awareness had "fossilized" the genre, trapping it in ironic redundancy that stifled growth.^[49] Quip Magazine cited Tee's own promotional quip—"They are fuckable, they have great hair, and they make great records"—as emblematic of this downfall, suggesting the scene's emphasis on surface allure undermined its longevity. Tee countered by framing the genre's edge as a deliberate rebuke to sanitized cultural trends, prioritizing raw cultural critique over polished acceptability.^[49][13] This perspective positioned the backlash as partly reflective of broader resistance to unfiltered expression in electronic music circles.