Moodymann - Silentintroduction (1997)

Beginning in 1996 or so, Kenny Dixon, Jr. quietly began releasing on his own KDJ label a number of remarkable 12" EPs as Moodymann, which were in turn cherry-picked by Carl Craig's tastemaking Planet E label soon afterward for a phenomenal full-length debut, Silent Introduction. The album is a compilation of previously released tracks -- among them "Misled," "I Can't Kick This Feeling When It Hits," "Answering Machine," and "Sunday Morning" -- yet Dixon creatively edits them into a fascinating whole that is as cinematic as it is danceable, partly audio montage and partly DJ-style mix. It's an excellent introduction to Dixon's world of deep house music-making, and it also makes a wonderful accompaniment to his 12" EPs, which tend to be dancefloor- rather than listener-oriented, not to mention downright challenging to find. More than anything else, Silent Introduction is the release that catapulted KDJ from simply underground to underground legend in one fell swoop. It's arguably his best full-length release, as his subsequent ones take on a more experimental tone, and moreover, it's undoubtedly ground zero for exploring his twisting, curious catalog.