But the slightly new-look trio proved none the worse for wear in his absence, musically speaking. Handing over fifteen bucks for the privilege of taking the disc home with me that day was one of the easiest decisions I’ve ever made.Įxcept for his contributions to one track (the infectious “Call Me”), original group member Towa Tei had flown solo by the time recording began, replaced by DJ Ani. It took just one cursory listen for my ears to register that this album was special and reinforce why I had been so smitten with Deee-Lite in the first place. I still vividly recall laying my ears upon Dewdrops In The Garden for the first time shortly after its release back in July 1994, courtesy of the listening station at my local Tower Records in Berkeley, California.
Which is lamentable, considering that from beginning to end, it is their strongest effort of the three. The latter album, in particular, remains the unfairly neglected third child of Deee-Lite’s studio discography. Despite their short-lived time spent in the limelight, the group’s three proper studio albums-including 1992’s Infinity Within and 1994’s Dewdrops In The Garden-form one of the most rewarding and uplifting 1-2-3 album punches you’ll ever hear. In the process, and certainly by calculated design, the group transcended musical and cultural barriers to create a loyal global following, predicated upon a shared joie de vivre.ĭeee-Lite’s recording career was regrettably an ephemeral one, allegedly due to irreconcilable creative and contractual differences, both within the group and with their label Elektra Records. From their inception with debut album World Clique in the summer of 1990, the trio was always able to balance style and sound quite effectively, which helped them sustain their appeal among both underground club heads and mainstream pop aficionados alike.
While Deee-Lite cultivated an embellished, unmistakably retro-inspired aesthetic, the group’s hyper-stylized flamboyance and effervescence never compromised the substance of their more contemporary and accessible-yet credible-brand of dance music. Not simply the beautiful face, arresting voice, and FIT-educated fashion maven of the group, Lady Miss Kier was arguably the de facto leader of Deee-Lite, integral to the development of the trio’s career, from the studio to the stage to the media spotlight and beyond. The trio’s genesis was inspired by the dancefloor hedonism and devoted community that defined the city’s vibrant club culture, of which its founders were (and presumably, still are) avid participants and devoted purveyors.Ī more uninhibited counterweight to the generally taciturn Dmitry and Towa Tei, Lady Miss Kier emerged as one of the most charismatic frontwomen in music during the early 1990s, with the soulful vocal chops and penchant for magnetic performance to match her commanding personality. There’s so much more to love and revere about this genre-bending trio, and those who lazily pigeonhole them as a one-hit-wonder need to have their ears, hearts, and souls checked for signs of life.įormed in the “original global village” of New York City in the mid-1980s, Deee-Lite was the brainchild of Kierin “ Lady Miss Kier” Kirby and “Super DJ Dmitry” Brill, who a short time thereafter welcomed DJ Towa Towa (a.k.a. But Deee-Lite’s story and music do not begin and end with their most recognizable song. Granted, the buoyant “Groove Is In the Heart” is a universally beloved classic, and understandably so. Listen beyond their biggest hit and you’ll soon discover the undeniable power of their message, the vivacity of their spirit, their integral role in making New York City club culture palpable to a wider global audience, and the brilliance of their recorded repertoire. The selective memory-driven preoccupation with the massively successful single “Groove Is In the Heart” has unfortunately-and incredulously-obscured the group’s true musical legacy. History has not been as kind as it should be to the criminally underappreciated trio Deee-Lite. Happy 25th Anniversary to Deee-Lite’s third & final studio album Dewdrops In The Garden, originally released July 12, 1994.
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