Essex boy Dave Lee has more aliases than a superhero convention. Somewhere down the line (and a very funky one at that) you’ve likely encountered one of Lee’s recording projects and started to dance.
Since he began his studio career in 1991, Lee has conquered the dancefloor under names ranging from Sessomato and the Hed Boys to Z Factor and Raven Maize, via Akabu, Doug Willis, Joey Negro and the chart-topping Jakatta.
Negro is probably Lee’s best known pseudonym, and the one he’s therefore taken for the title of a new CD retrospective effectively covering his last 18 months of craft – The Many Faces Of Joey Negro Vol 2.
Is it a progression of sorts from the first volume? “I think it is” Negro, sorry Lee, wearily opens. The man has just stepped off a plane from Greece, where he was playing the previous evening. “I mean I don’t know what the word progression means but I’ve been in this game f*cking ages now and you obviously learn as you go along. The vibes are the same but I’m using a lot of new tools to create them.”
The same can be said of Lee’s DJ-ing commitments, mainly because they’re no longer just DJ-ing. “The whole Sunburst Band live thing has been amazing” he expands, Sunburst being yet another alter-ego and this time for retro disco-funk shenanigans. “I don’t actually go on-stage, which ensures I have time in the studio, DJing and running the label. A live band is a huge commitment but I’ve been heavily involved in rehearsals, and planning the show. It’s been a great f*cking challenge.”
In terms of just what ‘expressions’ Many Faces Vol 2 pulls for listeners, one CD is given over to relatively recent studio nuggets like Doug Willis’ Philly-disco stormer Nu Dimension and Z Factor’s big ‘n’ bassy We’ll Keep Climbing - all in fine, full-length fettle - whilst a second collects weighty remixes. That includes inspired Joey Negro re-rubs of old-skool tunes by Marshall Jefferson and Grandmaster Flash; not to mention contemporary twists on the Dave Lee back-catalogue by Dennis Ferrer, Jimpster and Spen.
There’s even room for exclusive new material from deep house project Akabu, set to drop a debut album early next year. “I’m almost finished. It’s been a slog; I keep tinkering where probably I don’t need to, but I’m optimistic. I don’t think there’s anything like the Akabu sound – dark and electronic but soulful. The new album is inspired by old-school Mr Fingers and Marshall Jefferson, but also current producers like Loco Dice and Martin Buttrich. It’s certainly different.”
The Dave Lee production line has never been so relentless, and consistent. In fact, a fourth Sunburst Band album is also due early 2010 – “four tracks are already nailed” – not to mention a slew of new Z singles. Surely Dave feels knackered after 20-odd years in the boogie hot seat?: “You have your off, tired and lonely days, but most of the time I know it’s a f*cking amazing job. Unlike actors or authors, say, dance music artists have a shelf-life, but I’ll keep on doing what I do every single day, and see where we get.”
Does a shelf-life really matter anyway, when you have as many fabulous dancefloor disguises as Dave? One imagines his outrageously good beat will go on and on and on….
The Many Faces Of Joey Negro Vol.2 is released October 5 on Z Records.
