Lemon

The pseudonym of DJ, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Nick Hollywood, Lemon combines Hammond organ, trumpet hits, bongos, surf guitar, uptempo breakbeats, obscure ’60s samples, and other instrumentation that would be fitting on a Señor Coconut or Money Mark album to blend sounds of the past with sounds of the future. Starting his music career in the U.K. lounge scene, he was involved in Club Montepulciano, an influential institution in revitalizing cabaret and burlesque. At the peak of the movement, he transitioned the nightly ritual into a label called Club Montepulciano Recordings and released a series of compilations based on the retro/contemporary music of the club. Amidst the recordings, which included the James Bond-influenced Showgirls & Sugardaddies and the bossa nova-inspired Bongo Beach!, Hollywood debuted the first Lemon album, Up! In 2005, he started a new Brighton-based label, Freshly Squeezed Music (not to be confused with Canadian label Freshly Squeezed Records), and released Lemon’s second album, With a Twist. Tours followed, with Hollywood sometimes taking the stage with a live band and at other times gigging as a solo DJ. In 2007, Lemon became a hot licensing commodity, as songs made their way into ads (Coca-Cola, Wal-Mart), trailers (Knocked Up, The Heartbreak Kid, Wild Hogs), and TV shows (Ugly Betty, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, The X Factor). ~ Jason Lymangrover