Kenny Dixon Jr., AKA Moodymann, is one of the most enigmatic and charismatic figures in house music. Despite his refusal to give interviews and play the press-and-promo game, Dixon Jr.’s voice has been clearly amongst the loudest when it comes to preserving the rich heritage of Afro-American music while fighting the industry powers that be. Blessed with an immaculate way of sampling, he takes stems from blues and soul, and respectfully takes them onto the next level. From his dark and dusty deep house tunes on Peacefrog, Planet E and his own KDJ label, to R&B-drenched outings on the Mahogani Music imprint, Moodymann’s fingerprint is unmistakable.
An outspoken voice in the normally non-confrontational world of electronic dance music, Moodymann (Kenny Dixon Jr.) is committed to keeping a distinctly black imprint on techno and house.
Moodymann worked at several Detroit record stores in the mid-nineties including a store owned by producer Blake Baxter. During the mid-nineties Kenny was also the resident DJ at the Detroit based Outcast Motorcycle Club. At that time he was known as “House”. After his first several releases on Planet E Records Kenny became quite popular in France and from there his popularity grew.
Moodymann’s sound is a hybrid form of techno/house dance music arrived at via innovative use of reworked riffs, samples and grooves. While he may frustrate people with his refusal to be interviewed and insistence on reminding people of the genre’s origins, the soulfulness of his output is unquestioned. Utilizing classic soul and jazz samples, low-slung bass lines and an approach to drum programming that is diametrically opposed to the tendency to push the tempo faster and faster, he has achieved classic status thanks to gems like “Sunday Morning”, “Shades of Jae”, and his remix of Innerzone Orchestra’s “People Make the World Go Round”. Following years of 12″ only releases, he compiled his best work on “ Silentintroduction”, one of the most celebrated albums of the late 90s. He proved he can continuously evolve and expand with his iconic 2014 release “Moodymann” full of plenty of gospel, blues, house music, and roller-rink funk. The immersive and mysterious “Sinner” followed in 2019. With his last album,Taken Away, Moodymann shows that he remains a master of repetition as a form of challenge. He continues to prove he is no rush to dispel the mystery that surrounds him.
