Dave Lee – Produced With Love II – Various Artists

The follow up to his 2017 album, Produced With Love II is a collection of brand new songs from one of the UK’s most longstanding, respected and fiercely independent artists. 

In a flash-in-the-pan industry like music, Dave Lee’s career is notable for both its longevity and consistency. 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. His latest album, Produced With Love II, continues the work he started with 2017’s superb collection. Incorporating aspects of house, soul and disco and crafted with the attention to detail you’d expect from someone of Lee’s heritage and calibre, Produced With Love II comprises 12 brand new songs and will arrive in June 2022. The writing process has always remained the same and Dave has always preferred to work face-to-face with artists whenever possible – albeit with a few enforced remote sessions due to the pandemic. 

Released as the lead single from the album in April, Starlight sees Lee team up with Omar: a former principal percussionist of the Kent Youth Orchestra and later a graduate of the Guildhall School Of Music who was awarded an MBE in 2012 for services to music.  

Starlight is a gorgeous, mid-tempo dance record, with Omar’s silky vocals backed up with rich production: soaring live strings, groove-laden clav and synth over a chugging bassline creating a heady, inviting atmosphere. It’s an almost viscerally life-affirming record: a theme that continues throughout the entire album. Take a track like ‘If You Ever Need Somebody feat. Tiffany T’zelle’, or ‘Taste My Love’ with vocals from the aforementioned Billy Valentine. These songs would stand toe-to-toe with any soul standard from the 70s or 80s: to have production this rich and bold in 2022 isn’t far short of miraculous. And that’s what you get throughout Produced With Love II – an attention to detail and level of creative collaboration rarely seen. It’s why a Dave Lee album is a rare thing. These things take time, but when they do come along, it’s something worth treasuring.