Jakatta

An influential pioneer of the UK dance scene, Dave Lee ran labels, remixed for established pop stars and created a number of big club anthems which crossed over into mainstream recognition. Brought up in the small village of Thorpe-le-Soken in Essex after relocating from the Isle of Wight, he first fell in love with music when he saw glam rock bands and disco acts on BBC TV show 'Top of the Pops' in the mid-1970s and went on to become an obsessive collector, later working as a distributor and dance music expert for iconic indie label Rough Trade. It led to him running Republic Records and releasing his own soulful, disco-inflected house tracks under a host of different names, including M.D.Emm, Rawn Maize, Jakkatta and Doug Willis. It was under the moniker Joey Negro though that he had some of his biggest successes, starting off with the primitive Frankie Knuckles-style house hit 'Do It, Believe' in 1990, and early tracks 'Above and Beyond' and 'Enter Your Fantasy' made it into the UK top 40. He worked with Chaka Khan's sister Takka Boom on the big US dance favourite 'Can't Get High Without U' in 1997 and together they made it into the UK top ten with 'Must Be the Music' in 2000, whilst his compilation albums 'The Trip', 'Lust-Art & Soul' and 'Remixed With Love' have showcased his wide-ranging love of uplifting, dancey, pop bangers. Highly regarded as a DJ, producer and all round taste maker, he has continued to run his label Z Records, released under a myriad of different guises.