During the 35 years of making music, Dave Lee has constantly been searching for new singers and writers to work with. A search that’s ended up with many fantastic collaborations and releases with the likes of Thelma Houston, Taka Boom, Dianne Charlemagne and Seal. More recently this quest led him to Maurissa Rose and the creation of their album “London/Detroit.”
After hearing Maurissa’s voice on a Theo Parrish record Dave reached out to her and after a few long phone conversations and mp3 swaps, they both agreed a visit to London would be much more fun than trying to work together remotely. Maurissa made the journey from her home in Detroit to write and record an album with Dave at his studio in March 2022 – as they both feel that creating music together in the same room is always better. The fruits of their labor yielded 11 brand new songs (and 1 cover) tapping into their collective love of Soul, Disco and R&B, with a sprinkle of Soulful House. This album is a special one for Dave Lee as it’s the first time in his career he’s recorded an entire album with the same singer on every track.
In the album’s liner notes Dave talks of how Maurissa is a naturally creative person, full of ideas, warm & unpretentious which is reflected in her vocal performances throughout “London/Detroit.” Dave’s expertly crafted music is backed up with a deeply passionate yet effortless delivery from the Detroiter, a marker of someone who has honed and perfected their art. When it comes to the music side of this LP, Dave Lee is once again proving he’s still at the top of his game and shows no sign of relenting. Drawing from his encyclopedic knowledge of all things Soul/Funk/Disco, we are treated to a range of styles, BPMs and influences from 95bpm street soul to more uptempo disco and boogie flavors. Be it the rippling synth voyage opener of “You Decide,” taking the Johnnie Taylor classic “What About My Love” into a modern Boogie realm, upping the tempo on the soulful houser “I Feel the Sun” or bringing the tempo back down to the bassy acidic chug of “You’re Giving Me Life.” Mr. Lee is truly adept at creating a modern disco soul sound without the usage of samples.
London and Detroit might be two very different cities on opposite sides of the Atlantic but this album is proof that creative synergy knows no distance.
Out everywhere on Feb 28th on Gatefold Vinyl, CD and Digital/Streaming. Preorder here.
