Deee-Lite
| Deee-Lite | |
|---|---|
|
The original members of Deee-Lite, from left to right: Lady Miss Kier, DJ Dmitry and Towa Tei | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | New York, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1988–1996 |
| Labels | Elektra |
| Past members |
Lady Miss Kier Towa Tei DJ Dmitry DJ Ani |
Deee-Lite was an American house and club/dance music group, formed in New York City. The group's best-known single is "Groove Is in the Heart", which was released from their 1990 debut album, World Clique, and was a Top 10 hit in multiple countries. In December 2016, Billboard ranked them as the 55th most successful dance artists of all-time.[1]
Background and career history
Originally the band began in 1986 as a duo in New York City with Lady Miss Kier (born Kierin Magenta Kirby) primarily on vocals and Supa DJ Dmitry (born in Ukraine as Dmitry Brill) as the DJ, but became a trio when Jungle DJ Towa Towa (Japanese-born Towa Tei) joined the group in 1988, having moved to the U.S. only a year beforehand. He had intended at first to study graphic design, but found being a musician better, injecting techno music into their old-school style of dance music. Dmitry also had previously emigrated to the U.S. from the USSR.[2]
Album releases and fame
In 1990 their first album, World Clique, shot to the top of the dance charts, and the song "Groove is in the Heart" became their first number one hit. The song features vocals from Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest as well as bass guitar and additional vocals by funk musician Bootsy Collins, a fan of the group.
A second album was released following their success with a politically charged second album named Infinity Within in 1992. The album failed to chart as high as their debut, but they still scored two Top 40 dance hits with "Runaway" and "Pussycat Meow".
Breakup
Prior to the release of the group's third album, Dewdrops in the Garden, Tei abruptly left the band (appearing only on the track "Call Me") and was replaced by DJ Ani. Even with a roster change and minimal record label support, Deee-Lite still managed to tour for one year after the release of the album, even selling more copies than of their second release.
In total, the group scored six number-one hits on the U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart over the five years they were together.
Their careers since
Upon their break-up, the individual members have worked independently as DJs:
Although Kier is still primarily a DJ, having traveled all over the world and performed on many albums with many artists, her forward-fashion style of dress often regarded as an 'icon' by publications such as Vogue.[3]
Dmitry continued DJ'ing, from Hong Kong to Jerusalem and from Berlin's Love Parade to Brazil's Rock In Rio. He was given a DJ of the year award in Ibiza, and has remixed for many artists including Arthur Russell, Jungle Brothers, Sinead O'Connor, Ziggy Marley, Nina Hagen, Ultra Naté and others. He collaborated with Julee Cruise (of Twin Peaks/David Lynch fame) to release the album My Secret Life. Dmitry is currently based in Berlin where he continues to DJ, compose, produce and re-mix.
Towa Tei has recorded several albums as a solo artist, and is currently featured in Japanese supergroup ja:METAFIVE. Since Deee-Lite's disbanding, Kier, Dmitry and Ani have maintained successful club DJ careers. In a 2011 interview, Tei dismissed the chances of Deee-Lite reforming, citing the creative and personal differences that prompted him to depart.[2]
Band members
- Supa DJ Dmitry aka DJ Dmitry (Dmitry Brill, born June 4, 1964, Kiev, USSR), composer, producer, keyboards, guitar
- Lady Miss Kier (Kierin M. Kirby, born August 15, 1963, Youngstown, Ohio, United States), vocalist, producer, arranger, lyricist, choreographer, art director, manager
- Towa Tei (Dong-hwa Chung, born September 7, 1965, originally from Tokyo, Japan), production
- DJ Ani (Ani Q. Scheme, born December 14, 1973, Kansas City, Kansas, United States), mixing, bass
Discography
Albums
Studio albums
- World Clique (1990)
- Infinity Within (1992)
- Dewdrops in the Garden (1994)
Compilations
- Dewdrops in the Remix (1995)
- Sampladelic Relics & Dancefloor Oddities (1996)
- The Very Best of Deee-Lite (2001)
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS [4] |
CAN [5] |
FRA [6] |
GER [7] |
IRE [8] |
NED [6] |
NZ [6] |
SWI [6] |
UK [9] |
US Dance [10] |
US [10] | |||||||||
| 1990 | "Groove Is in the Heart" | 1 | 15 | 31 | 17 | 8 | 10 | 2 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 4 | World Clique | ||||||
| "Power of Love" | 47 | 82 | — | 43 | 21 | 47 | 19 | — | 25 | 1 | 47 | ||||||||
| 1991 | "E.S.P." | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7 | — | |||||||
| "How Do You Say...Love" / "Groove Is in the Heart" (Remix) | — | — | — | — | 24 | — | — | — | 52 | — | — | ||||||||
| "Good Beat" | 105 | — | — | — | — | — | 45 | — | 53 | 1 | — | ||||||||
| 1992 | "Runaway" | 112 | 70 | — | — | — | — | — | 25 | 45 | 1 | — | Infinity Within | ||||||
| "Thank You Everyday" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 92 | — | — | ||||||||
| "Pussycat Meow" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | — | ||||||||
| 1994 | "Party Happening People" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 30 | — | Dewdrops in the Garden | ||||||
| "Picnic in the Summertime" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 43 | — | — | ||||||||
| "Bring Me Your Love" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | ||||||||
| 1995 | "Call Me" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | |||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||||||||||||
See also
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. dance chart
References
- ↑ http://www.billboard.com/charts/greatest-top-dance-club-artists
- 1 2 Hadfield, James (May 18, 2011). "Towa Tei: The Interview". Time Out Tokyo. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
- ↑ "Lady Miss Kier Vogue Italia 1990 | Le Blow UK Fashion and Lifestyle Blog". Leblow.co.uk. 2013-10-27. Retrieved 2014-08-04.
- ↑ Australian (ARIA) chart peaks:
- Singles and albums charting within the top 50: Steffen Hung. "australian-charts.com > Deee-Lite". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
- "Good Beat", "Runaway" and "Picnic In the Summertime": "Response from ARIA to chart inquiry, received 2015-06-05". imgur.com. Archived from the original on 2015-06-05. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
- ↑ Peak positions for Deee-Lite's singles on Canadian Singles Chart:
- For "Groove Is in the Heart" "Top Singles - Volume 53, No. 5, December 15, 1990". RPM. Retrieved 2012-04-16.
- For "What is love?" "Top Singles - Volume 53, No. 12, February 23, 1991". RPM. Retrieved 2012-04-16.
- For "Runaway" "Top Singles - Volume 56, No. 5, August 01 1992". RPM. Retrieved 2012-04-16.
- 1 2 3 4 Steffen Hung. "Discographie Deee-Lite". lescharts.com. Retrieved 2014-08-04.
- ↑ "charts.de". Officialcharts.de. Retrieved 2014-08-04.
- ↑ Jaclyn Ward - Fireball Media Group. "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie. Archived from the original on 2009-06-03. Retrieved 2014-08-04.
- ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 147. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- 1 2 "Deee-Lite | Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-08-04.
External links
- The Garden of Deee-Lite The Ultimate Deee-Lite site
- Deee-Liteful Experience Deee-Lite fan site
- Deee-Lite Discography at Discogs.com
- MusicBlob: Archivio documenti This Italian website has archived some legal documents including the "Kirby v.Sega" case involving Lady Miss Kier of Deee-Lite
| |
| Studio albums | |
| Singles | |
| |
|
