Deee-Lite

by Jason AnkenyWith the massive popularity of their hit single Groove Is in the Heart, Deee-Lite brought the colorful sights and sounds of New Yorks club culture into the mainstream. Formed in 1986, the trio was led by vocalist Lady Miss Kier (born Kieren Kirby in Youngstown, Ohio) and fleshed out by a pair of DJs, Super DJ Dmitry (a classically-trained guitarist and Russian emigre born Dmitry Brill) and Jungle DJ Towa Towa (born Doug Wa-Chung in Tokyo, Japan). Fusing house, techno, rap, ambient and funk music with an outrageous visual flair largely influenced by the drag-queen community (Kiers fondness for Fluevog platform shoes helped the 1970s fashion revival gather steam), Deee-Lite became hugely popular among New York club denizens, and the trios own unique cultural make-up earned them a following which ignored racial and sexual boundaries. In 1990, they debuted with the album World Clique, a crossover smash thanks to hits like the loping classic Groove Is in the Heart (featuring the fluid bass of Bootsy Collins and the saxophone of Maceo Parker) and Power of Love.With their 1992 follow-up Infinity Within, Deee-Lites music turned overtly political as songs touched base with hot topics like the environment, safe sex and democracy. Towa Towa left the group soon after; rechristened Towa Tei, he released his solo debut Future Listening in 1995. Kier and Dmitry, meanwhile, enlisted DJ Ani for 1994s Dewdrops in the Garden, a sensual outing influenced by the growing rave culture. After the release of 1996s remix album Sampladelic Relics and Dancefloor Oddities, Deee-Lite disbanded.