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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.

Dewdrops in the Garden
Studio album by Deee-Lite
Released	August 2, 1994
Genre	House techno funk hip hop
Length	67:58
Label	Elektra
Producer	Deee-Lite
Deee-Lite chronology
Infinity Within (1992) Dewdrops in the Garden (1994)
Singles from Dewdrops in the Garden
"Call Me" Released: February 25, 1994 "Bring Me Your Love" Released: May 1994 "Party Happening People" Released: July 12, 1994 "Picnic in the Summertime" Released: 1994

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
The Baltimore Sun	(favourable)[2]
Cash Box	(favourable)[3]
Christgau's Consumer Guide	[4]
Entertainment Weekly	B−[5]
The Guardian	(favourable)[6]
Music & Media	(favourable)[7]
People	(favourable)[8]
Q	[9]
Slant Magazine	[10]

Background

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.[11]

The album drew inspiration from Lady Kier's travels to the Hopi ruins in the Painted Desert and pyramids in the Yucatan 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.[12]

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 #1 hits on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart.

Track listing

All tracks written by Deee-Lite.

• 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

Chart (1994)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard 200[13]	127

Personnel

References

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