Better Days Presents: Dave Lee (Joey Negro, Akabu, Z Records)

In a flash in the pan industry like music, Dave Lee is one of its notable survivors. As a record producer and remixer, DJ and curator, he’s now clocked up well over 30 years and, if such things existed, would be nailed on for a carriage clock for long service to add to the numerous hits and landmarks he’s enjoyed over a storied career.

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 ‘To- gether 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 produc- tions, including his cherished live music side project, Sunburst Band.

Having gone through the industry sausage factory over the years, signing for major la- bels, enjoying crossover hits, and all the trappings that came with it (much of it a king- sized 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 de-

cisions,” he explains. “I approach artists, not because of their marketability, but be- cause 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.” 
 


His latest album, Produced With Love, continues the work he started with 2017’s superb offering. The writing process has always remained the same and Dave has always pre- ferred to work face-to-face with artists whenever it’s possible, but the pandemic has imposed certain restrictions, which has meant remote working, too. “The starting point might be a bassline or it might be some chords,” he says. "It's much easier coming up with a good backing track than it is a killer top line. There were about 200 releases a week in the 90s, now there are about 8,000 on Beatport. How many of them are decent songs? I’d say it’s about the same as the 1990s, maybe even less. So writing memorable songs is really difficult. But it helps enormously when you’re working with some really talented people and I’ve always tried to work with musicians like Michele Chiavarini, Kaidi Tatham and Tony Remy who are some of the best at what they do. On this album I’ve got seasoned vocalists like Omar, Maurissa Rose and Valentine Brothers’ Billy Valen- tine who have the classic soul sound i love. For me i simply think about the voice, not how marketable the person is”

Last year, 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 Negro’s ‘Shoot The Pump’ and ‘Reach Up To Mars’ 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 wasn’t enor- mous 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. 




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


Support DJs, Smudged Soul, Carl Reeks, Paul Foster & Andy Tomlinson.