Joey Negro is the best-known pseudonym of English DJ, producer and remixer Dave Lee, who is from the Isle of Wight and was born in 1964. He works in dance and electronica, and is closely associated with house, funky house and disco-influenced club music.

Career

Lee begins producing in 1988 and is among the first artists to bring disco samples into house music. He also uses a range of other aliases, including Jakatta, Akabu, Doug Willis, Raven Maize, The Sunburst Band, Sessomatto and Z Factor.

He starts out in record retail and distribution, first at the London shop Smithers & Leigh, then at Rough Trade Distribution, where he helps set up the dance music arm Demix. He later founds Republic Records in 1988, which becomes known as the UK’s first soulful house label. On Republic he releases early work including M.D.Emm.’s “Get Busy”, his first Dave Lee production, as well as records by Phase II and Turntable Orchestra.

Breakthrough releases

The Joey Negro name first appears in 1990 on “Do It Believe It”, released on Nu Groove. The track becomes a breakthrough and is followed by “Do What You Feel” on Z Records, later released by Virgin as a club hit and Top 40 pop hit. Other charting releases include “Love Fantasy” and the album Universe of Love. Lee also says that “Forever Together”, issued as Raven Maize, is his most successful work from this period.

Labels, remixes and compilations

Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Lee releases music on Z Records and on labels including JBO, Azuli and NRK. Z Records continues to issue a single each month and regularly brings in remixers such as Dennis Ferrer, Henrik Schwarz, Ame and Jimpster.

He completes more than 100 remixes for artists including Kelly Rowland, Mariah Carey, Röyksopp, Róisín Murphy, Sugababes, Empire of the Sun, Diana Ross, Pet Shop Boys, Roy Ayers, Simply Red and Lionel Richie. He also helps shape Take That’s “Relight My Fire”, suggesting it as a cover and producing the finished version, and later produces tracks for 911, Robbie Williams and Shayne Ward.

Lee wins Best UK Remixer from both DMC/Mixmag and DJ magazine in 1992. He also compiles more than 20 compilations, including Joey Negro In The House on Defected, the Disco Spectrum series on BBE, the Jumpin’ series, Disco (Not Disco), Southport Weekender Volume 1, Nite:Life, Back In The Box, The Trip and Lust: Art & Soul. With Sean P, he also puts together soul and disco compilations for Z Records such as Destination Boogie, Locked In The Vinyl Cellar, Supafunkanova, the Soul of Disco albums and Back Street Brit Funk.

DJ work and live projects

As a DJ, Lee plays long-running, eclectic sets moving from rare disco through vocal and classic house into deeper electronic sounds, often using re-edits and updated versions of older tracks. His reputation as a producer and collector keeps him in demand internationally.

He also develops The Sunburst Band into a seven-piece live group featuring musicians including Tony Remy, Pete Simpson and Frank Tontoh. The band plays venues such as Southport Weekender, Jazz Café London, Ronnie Scott’s and Band on the Wall in Manchester, as well as shows in Croatia, Dubai, Serbia and Austria.

Other aliases and later work

Under Akabu, Lee releases the album The Phuture Ain’t What It Used To Be, a more deep-tech-house orientated project that receives praise from Carl Craig, Josh Wink and Nic Fanciulli. He also marks 20 years of Joey Negro with live PA shows featuring material from across his career, supported by a triple-CD mix compiled by Grant Nelson and DJ Spinna.

He continues to work as Joey Negro, with collaborations such as “No Sugar” with Gramophondzie and Shea Soul reaching the upper reaches of Beatport and Traxsource, while his remix of Muzique’s “Keep On Jumpin’” reaches number one on Beatport.