One of my all time favourite house producers from the last twenty years is Dave Lee.

You may not know him by that name but I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve heard one or more of his tunes. He’s been known to saunter around the dance charts in many different guises such as Joey Negro, Sessomatto, Z Factor, Jakatta, Raven Maize, Akabu - the list goes on!

Last month, he released a compilation of material he’s created under one of his cheekier pseudonyms, Doug Willis. (Don’t get him mixed up with that Ozzy soap character who fathered another wannabe popstar.)

Throughout the previous twenty years, Dave has been releasing some outstanding productions as Doug Willis. The sound is a lot more disco heavy compared to his other material but don’t let that put you off - in my opinion, Dave is one of the finest disco house producers on the circuit and this eclectic collection confirms just that.

It still holds some of his trademark samples that you tend to notice now and then and with backing from some stunning vocalists, you’re sure to find a few firm favourites among the 2 disc set.

My personal favourites include “Shake“, “Gotta Thing“, “Get Down Tonight” and “Doug’s Place” but that’s being picky. All 21 tracks on the album are worthy in their own right.

Disc 1

1. Intro
2. Power To The People
3. Get Your Own
4. Dougdastardly
5. Begun 2 Luv U
6. Dougswana
7. Spread Love
8. You & I (Timmy Vegas Remix)
9. Two Tons Of Doug
10. Shake
11. Disco Owl

Disc 2

1. Skate Dancer
2. Discotizer
3. Gotta Thing
4. Think
5. Get Down Tonight
6. The Lovin’ Game
7. Doug’s Place
8. Dancin To The Beat
9. Tonight’s The Night (Sensory Elements Remix)
10. Dancin’

The EP is actually available from most big name online stores - iTunes are selling it for £9.48, grab it on CD from Amazon for £10.99, Play have got it for £10.99, Juno have it on download from £8.99 and CD for £9.99 and Traxsource have a high quality download for $17.99 (about £12.23 on today’s exchange rate).

Any house music fan should grab a copy right now. For about a tenner, it’s an absolute bargain and sure to get regular plays both out in the clubs and on your own.

Back in 2003, one of my all time favourite tracks was released - The Shapeshifters‘ “Lola’s Theme“. The catchy vocals, the uplifting instrumentals - every aspect of the tune was what made a perfect house record for me. It quickly became a firm favourite in my record box and iPod, as well as among the crowds I went clubbing with.

So imagine my surprise this morning when I was informed by DJ Cruze that not only was the instrumental a sample but so were the vocals.

That trademark string sample is from What About My Love by Johnny Taylor - a disco track from 1984 - and the chorus is from Love Me Tonight by Anthony White - an acid house track from 1994.

For anyone who is a fan of Lola’s Theme, don’t forget the 2008 Re-Edit has just been released on Defected. It’s a little more of a twisted electro affair this time round but still got that original charm in my opinion.

Check it out on YouTube or grab a copy from iTunes.