The mid-90s could not be the mid-90s without the irrepressible Kenny Dixon Jr., aka Moodymann. I believe this release was his first for Carl Craig’s Planet E imprint. After releases such as “I Kick The Feeling When It Hits” and “The Day We Lost The Soul,” or as I used to call it, “the brown one wi the Marvin Gaye bits on it,” this record sounded a little bit more Detroit. That is due to the sample of “That’s The Game” by Wet, a WBMX classic that is the core of the track. An album on Planet E would follow later and this tune got seriously rinsed in ’97 — is it ok to use drum ‘n’ bass terms in a house context?

Moodymann
Dem Young Sconies
Planet E/US/12
Kenny Dixon Jr. makes his debut for Planet E with this two tracked techno EP, with “Dem Young Sconies” sounding a like a heavily electronic instrumental version of “I Can’t Kick This Feeling When It Hits.” Minimal, lo-tech, but well groovy and strangely compulsive. On the flipside “Bosconi” is stranger still, a fusion of jazzy hip-hop, disco, and lo-tech electronics that takes the Moodymann sound into another realm. Essential whether you’re a Moodymann fan or not. Planet E promise to drop a Moodymann long player soon so keep your eyes peeled. Chris Orr