Party Eh! Presents Dave Lee

With an inimitable CV and discography that includes over a thousand production credits to his name, hundreds of singles under renowned pseudonyms including Joey Negro, and three UK top 40 hits as Jakatta, Dave Lee is one of the UK’s most revered producers of disco and house music, defining each genre with a signature sound. Always looking to push the boundaries of what it means to make music.

Lee’s first role in the industry was working for Rough Trade, eventually setting up the label Republic, one of the first in the UK to champion the house sound of New Jersey. They released tunes like Phase II’s timeless ‘Reachin” and also featured some of Lee’s earliest productions and remixes, including early Brit-house classic Raven Maize’s ‘Together Forever’, one of Dave’s first pseudonyms.

His breakthrough came through with 1990’s ‘Do It Believe It’ on cool NY indie Nu Groove under his most well-known moniker Joey Negro. The follow-up ‘Do What You Feel’ on the newly minted Z Records, eventually went Top 40 pop and landed him a deal with Virgin Records. It was the start of a purple patch that saw him become one of the most in-de-mand remixers on the nascent UK house scene, while later in the decade he had further crossover successes with ‘Must Be The Music’ and ‘American Dream’ (respectively as Joey Negro and Jakatta).

Lee’s also a noted record collector and he’s spun his passion for vinyl into a landmark series of compilations, initially for labels like BBE and Strut, but over the past decade or so has developed Z Records into one of the most respected reissue labels – with series like Under The Influence – while still using the label as an outlet for his current productions, including his cherished live music side project, Sunburst Band.

Having gone through the industry sausage factory over the years, signing for major labels, enjoying crossover hits, and all the trappings that came with it (much of it a kingsized pain in the arse), these days Lee’s USP is arguably his fierce independence. He has no manager, no A&R man, no boss. Every major decision, whether it’s to replace a hi-hat pattern or release another compilation album, is ultimately down to him. It’s how he likes it. “I don’t have a well connected team of people who get involved in strategic decisions,” he explains. “I approach artists, not because of their marketability, but because I like working with them and they want to work with me. I’m pretty critical of my own music, so I like to think I know when it’s below par. Also I don’t think there are many people left producing the same material as me, so when I make an album i want to come out with my sound but at its absolute best.”

In 2020, Lee decided it was time to retire the Joey Negro moniker. “I was never that mad about it in the first place,” he says. “I was struggling to think of a name for that 1990 Nu Groove release and had a pile of records on my desk, J. Walter Negroʼs ʻShoot The Pumpʼ and ʻReach Up To Marsʼ by Pal Joey, and put the two together. In my mind, the Negro was the Spanish pronunciation of black. Somehow it stuck.” 2020 was the year of Black Lives Matter and issues of race and cultural appropriation have been hot topics and Dave, whose entire career has been defined by his love of black music, did not want to become embroiled in these issues. “I would like to make it clear, there wasnʼt enormous pressure on me to change it, I just felt it was the right thing to do.” Despite a number of notable African-American artists backing Dave, he decided it was simpler to retire it and move on to pastures new.

What’s coming up next for Dave Lee? Well, apart from continuing his busy DJ schedule he has a new album ready, in which he has teamed up with Detroit vocalist Maurissa Rose as well as a new reworks/remix compilation album alongside John Morales in the same vein as Lee’s infamous Remixed with Love series.

Ladies and gentleman, may we introduce you to Dave Lee!!

Plus DJ Support from:

Matt Green

Dean Stalker

Johnny Thieves

Carl Tait

See you on the dancefloor Eh! x