These are tracks 10-17 of Disco Connection (Compiled by Jonnie Polyester - Mixed by Joey Negro) Mateo & Matos Disco Dance 3:02 - Garçons - French Boy (Reprise) 6:59 - Jeep Grrlz - Smokin' Daughter 10:45 - Mateo & Matos - Something I Feel 15:45 - Marcel Krieg - Breakin' The 90's 20:31 - Boogie Man - Get On Down 23:56 - Joey Ducane & Arthur Baker - Cosmic Funk (Club Mix) 27:52 - Plain Lazy - After Hours © 1997 Polyester "Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use." Dave Lee's lifelong obsession with dance music began with collecting disco, soul and funk records in the late 1970s. In 1986, he got his first job in the industry, working at the short-lived store Smithers & Leigh. He moved over to Rough Trade, who were then setting up a dance division, Demix, and were looking for someone to run it. Less than a year later, Lee, in partnership with Rough Trade, set up his own label, Republic Records. In 1989, Lee broke through with a club hit under the assumed name Raven Maize. "Together Forever" was released with a press release that claimed Maize was an ex-convict in a Disneyland steel pan band. In 1990, Lee's most enduring pseudonym made its debut, when he released Joey Negro's first single, with his new name an homage to Pal Joey and J. Walter Negro. When the single, "Do It, Believe It", came out in the UK, it was also the debut release on his own self-financed label, Z Records, which remains his primary outlet even today. In 1991, Rough Trade Records went into liquidation and with it Lee’s job. The slack was taken up by increasingly large amounts of studio commissions as his reputation as a remixer grew. Lee was responsible for some of the best UK dance remixes of the era, among them "Direct Me" by The Reese Project, Brand New Heavies’ "Dream Come True" and Adeva’s "Don't Let It Show On Your Face". The second Joey Negro single, the Above & Beyond EP, helped Lee secure a major label deal when he signed to Virgin Records dance offshoot Ten. The year 1993 saw the release of the Joey Negro album Universe Of Love, featuring an all-star cast that included Gwen Guthrie and The Trammps, on its title track, with live instrumentation. Lee's stock as a remixer continued to rise, as he remixed Diana Ross, M People and Pet Shop Boys, as well as racking up further aliases (Z Factor, Doug Willis, Akabu, Sessomatto and Agora). In 1997, Lee met Taka Boom, Chaka Khan's sister, when she relocated to the UK, and the pair collaborated on "Surrender" and "Can't Get High Without U". The same year, the project closest to Lee’s heart, the Sunburst Band, released their debut EP, "Sunburn", which included "Garden Of Love", one of the band’s most successful songs. Eschewing programmed beats, Lee opted to gather many of the session musicians he’d worked over the years – among them Michele Chiavarini, Viv Hope-Scott, Jessica Lauren and Tony Remy – who recorded the first album, Here Comes The Sunburst Band. The follow-up, 2005’s Until The End Of Time, introduced two new vocal collaborators – Linda Clifford and former Chic frontwoman Norma Jean Wright – as well as Lee favorite Taka Boom. On the third album, Moving With The Shakers, Lee brought Leroy Burgess and Diane Charlemagne (vocalist on Goldie's classic "Inner City Life") into his ever-evolving band. The most recent album, The Secret Life Of Us, was released in 2012. Lee’s deep house project Akabu, won plaudits from industry veterans such as Carl Craig when the album was released in 2010. Lee’s scored his first big hit when TV series Ibiza Uncovered used a portion of Z Factor’s "Gotta Keep Pushin’" as its theme. Lee reworked the song, with Taka Boom on vocals, and re-released it as "Must Be The Music" (as Joey Negro). The song eventually peaked at number 8. (The duo had one further hit in 2006 with "Make A Move On Me" (UK #11).) The following year, Lee scored an unlikely hit with an underground smash called "American Booty", sampling two Thomas Newman pieces ("Dead Already" and "American Beauty/Paper Bag") from the soundtrack for the film American Beauty. It was eventually reworked with added vocals from Swati Nektar using the Jakatta alias, delivering the biggest hit of Lee's career (UK #3). It was swiftly followed by two further top ten hits for Jakatta with "Ever So Lonely" (featuring Monsoon) (UK #8) and the Seal collaboration "My Vision" (UK #6). Negro continues to release House music and other disco-influenced styles on his own label Z Records, as well as DJing regularly in the UK and around the world.

• published: 19 Nov 2015
• views: 169