Kenny Dixon’s sample-heavy house music from Detroit brought a very fresh breath of air to the mid-90s. For sure there was a lot of disco sample house floating around but Dixon’s approach had a rawness to it that hinted at hip-hop. “I Can’t Kick This Feeling When It Hits” is on this album and I remember the first time I heard it out on a big system. Simon DK dropped it in the bar of Backflip (long gone) in San Francisco. It sounded amazing. It still does.

Moodymann
Silent Introduction
Planet E/US/2XLP
Kenny Dixon’s KDJ releases, which have at times been hard to acquire, get rounded up by Carl Craig’s imprint and put out on double LP. As Craig writes on the press release accompanying this Detroit album, this music has more to do with a trip to the liquor store than a trip to Mars. Why ? Because Dixon takes hip hop techniques and mixes them with techno dynamics, pure funk and the omnipresent spirit of classic soul, ensuring that you, the listener, can puff and lounge or dip and twirl. The choice is yours, so scoop for sure. Chris Orr