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Dewdrops in the Garden

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Dewdrops in the Garden
Studio album by
Deee-Lite
ReleasedJuly 12, 1994
Genre
Length67:58
LabelElektra
ProducerDeee-Lite
Deee-Lite chronology
Infinity Within
(1992) 		Dewdrops in the Garden
(1994)
Singles from Dewdrops in the Garden
  1. "Call Me"
    Released: February 25, 1994
  2. "Bring Me Your Love"
    Released: May 1994
  3. "Party Happening People"
    Released: July 12, 1994
  4. "Picnic in the Summertime"
    Released: August 2, 1994
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Baltimore Sun(favourable)[2]
Cash Box(favourable)[3]
Christgau's Consumer Guide(neither)[4]
Entertainment WeeklyB−[5]
The Guardian(favourable)[6]
Knoxville News Sentinel[7]
Music & Media(favourable)[8]
People(favourable)[9]
Q[10]
Slant Magazine[11]

Dewdrops in the Garden is the third and final studio album by American dance music band Deee-Lite, released in August 1994 via Elektra Records. The album saw the group move away from the overtly political lyrical content of the previous album, shifting into themes of dance and intimacy with a heavier lean into psychedelic music.

Background

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At the time of the release of Dewdrops in the Garden, Lady Kier had compared it to Infinity Within, saying:

During the Gulf War and Bush years we felt it was important to use the platform we had in the media responsibly. Our new album is more about personal politics rather than global. We're going back to our original concept. People have enough problems, they don't need to hear it in music. Just making uplifting music is a political statement in itself. We want to strengthen their spirit on the dance floor so they can diffuse the dissatisfaction from daily global destruction.[12]

The album drew inspiration from Lady Kier's travels to the Hopi ruins in the Painted Desert and pyramids in Yucatán and Dmitry's travels to the Grand Canyon and Joshua Tree. The inspiration was clear in Lady Kier's description of the track "Music Selector is the Soul Reflector":

It is about the love of the collective dancefloor consciousness. The DJ is like the guru, the booth is the altar, the dancefloor is the sacred ground we worship on.[13]

Most of the work on Dewdrops in the Garden was done by Super DJ Dmitry and Lady Miss Kier joined by Kansan producer Ani Schempf (DJ Ani, also known as DJ On-E and DJ Ani Quinn). Towa Tei had left the band to do some work on Japanese pop star Nokko's album and his own debut solo album Future Listening!, and he was said to be back for the band's fourth album, which was never made. Even through his absence, Tei contributed various production to the tracks "Call Me", "Party Happening People", "DMT (Dance Music Trance)", and the "Funky Chunky Bonus Beats" portion of "What is This Music?".

Shortly after the album's release, a companion album titled Dewdrops in the Remix containing four remixes of "Picnic in the Summertime," four mixes of "Bring Me Your Love," and six mixes of "Call Me" was released in Japan. "Bring Me Your Love" and "Call Me" became their last two number-one hits on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart.

Track listing

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All tracks written by Deee-Lite.

No.TitleLength
1."Say Ahhh…"4:10
2."Mind Melt"0:33
3."Bittersweet Loving"3:42
4."River of Freedom"4:06
5."Somebody"3:30
6."When You Told Me You Loved Me"3:00
7."Stay in Bed, Forget the Rest"3:10
8."Call Me"3:50
9."Music Selector is the Soul Reflector"4:30
10."Sampladelic"0:47
11."Bring Me Your Love"3:40
12."Picnic in the Summertime"3:32
13."Apple Juice Kissing"3:13
14."Party Happening People"4:00
15."DMT (Dance Music Trance)"4:27
16."What is This Music?"
  • 1. "What is This Music?"
  • 2. "Untitled Spoken Word Sample"
  • 3. "Party Happening People (Funky Chunky Bonus Beats)"
  • 4. "Bring Me Your Love (Johnny Vicious Cosmic Isness Remix 1)"
17:50
  • The song "What is This Music?" ends at minute 0:29. After exactly four minutes of silence begins an untitled spoken word sample as a brief hidden track, beginning at 4:29 and ending at 4:39. After approximately two minutes of silence begins another hidden track—an instrumental song known as "Party Happening People (Funky Chunky Bonus Beats)", previously only released on an obscure 12" vinyl test pressing of "Party Happening People"—beginning at 6:41 and ending at 10:03. After a further two minutes of silence, the final hidden track begins, "Bring Me Your Love (Johnny Vicious Cosmic Isness Remix 1)" from the 12" vinyl release of "Bring Me Your Love", beginning at 12:03 and ending at 17:50, closing off both the track and the album.


Chart performance

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Chart (1994) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[14] 140
U.S. Billboard 200[15] 127

Personnel

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Deee-Lite

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  • Kierin Kirby – vocals
  • Dmitry Brill – keyboards, bass, drum programming, guitar, piano
  • Towa Tei – drum programming (8, 14, 16), bass (8, 15), keyboards (8)
  • Ani Schempf – keyboards, drum programming, scratching (1, 6, 11, 12, 16)

Additional Personnel

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Production

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  • Deee-Lite – arranger, mixing, producer
  • Armand Van Helden – digital editing
  • Fernando Aponte – mixing, assistant engineer
  • Robert Rives – mixing, assistant engineer
  • Brian Miller – assistant engineer
  • Jimmie Lee – assistant engineer
  • Steve Barkan – assistant engineer
  • Carlos Soul Slinger – assistant engineer
  • Rob Vaughan Merrick – assistant engineer
  • Heather "Aquasonic" Sommerfield – art direction
  • Kier Kirby – art direction, design
  • Alli Truch – artwork
  • Rex Ray – design
  • Joshua Jordan – photography
  • James Minchin III – additional photography
  • Tom Pitts – additional photography
  • Nancy Jeffries – executive producer
  • Rick Essig – mastering
  • Reese Williams – additional production

References

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  1. ^ Phares, Heather. "Deee-Lite: Dewdrops In The Garden". AllMusic.
  2. ^ Considine, J.D. (August 12, 1994). "New Connick disappoints in more ways than one". baltimoresun.com. The Baltimore Sun.
  3. ^ Martinez, M.R. (August 27, 1994). "Urban — Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  4. ^ "Robert Christgau: CG: Deee-Lite". www.robertchristgau.com.
  5. ^ Ehrlich, Dimitri (August 5, 1994). "Dewdrops In the Garden". ew.com. Entertainment Weekly.
  6. ^ Sullivan, Caroline (August 5, 1994). "Music: Back in the groove - Rock/pop". The Guardian.
  7. ^ Campbell, Chuck (August 19, 1994). "Deee-Lite's 'Dewdrops' A Thin Effort". Knoxville News Sentinel.
  8. ^ "New Releases: Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. August 20, 1994. p. 7. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  9. ^ "Picks and Pans Review: Dewdrops in the Garden". people.com. People. August 1, 1994.
  10. ^ Cranna, Ian. "Review: Deee-Lite, Dew Drops In The Garden". Q (Q95, August 1994). EMAP Metro Ltd: 100.
  11. ^ Cinquemani, Sal (January 23, 2002). "Review: Deee-Lite - Dewdrops in the Garden". slantmagazine.com. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 13 August 2009.
  12. ^ Ferguson, Courtney (June 15, 2016). "It's a Good Time for the Positivity of Deee-Lite's Lady Miss Kier". Portland Mercury. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  13. ^ "Deee-lite - A Deee-Liteful Experience". Haktanir.org. Archived from the original on 2012-02-04. Retrieved 2012-02-13.
  14. ^ "Deee-Lite ARIA Albums chart history 1988 to 2022, received from ARIA in 2022". ARIA. Retrieved December 2, 2023 – via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
  15. ^ Billboard.com, artist chart history
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