Prolific DJ and producer Dave Lee (aka Joey Negro) has unveiled details for his next full-length, entitled ‘The Phuture Ain’t What It Used to Be’.

Lee has released his fair share of albums over the past two decades, most famously as Joey Negro and The Sunburst Band, but The Phuture… will be his first as Akabu, a guise he’s used off and on since 2000. According to Lee, the new LP shows him moving away from the organic and live sounds of his other monikers for something a bit more, well, futuristic. “After a year producing disco I wanted to do something more electronic and utilize some of the great modern studio technology that’s out there,” he says. “I’ve still tried to attempt to inject some of the excitement of live players and musicality into the electronic music I produce.”

Source: RA

Akabu – The Future Ain’t What It Used To Be

Z Records return with a very strong double-sider from Mr Dave Lee under his Z Factor guise. Starting out with “Makes You Crazy” which is (believe it or not) a housed up rework of an old rave number from back in the early 90′s. Echoing rhodes, gated pads and acid squelches alternate over a big old school techno bassline. Throw in a catchy vocal, a slammin’ crisp drum groove and you’ve got an instant floor filler.

Second but not second best is the techy drums based “The Piano Principle” , which starts off in quite a deep pulsating groove before busting into a big piano riff and then a long Marshall Jefferson style piano solo. Definitely rousing slice of pure house music…

Source: http://www.zrecords.ltd.uk

Z Factor – Makes You Crazy / The Piano Principle