''Infinity Within'' is the second studio album by American

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

and club/dance group

Deee-Lite Deee-Lite was an American house and dance music group formed in New York City. The group's best-known single is "Groove Is in the Heart", which was released in 1990 from their debut studio album ''World Clique'' (1990), and was a top-ten hit in ...

. Released in 1992 on Elektra, the second album, through its lyrical content, instrumentation, and overall tone, showcases the band's political activism as a more literal part of the music than on their debut album, ''

World Clique ''World Clique'' is the debut album by American dance music band Deee-Lite, which was released in 1990. The album's first single, "Groove Is in the Heart", was a top-five success on both the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart as well ...

'' (1990). "Runaway", the lead single from the album, is Deee-Lite's fourth single to top the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' dance chart, helping to establish their success in the musical genre beyond ''World Clique''.

Album description

With its predecessor subtly focusing on global peace, joy, and unity, ''Infinity Within'' is overtly political, as evidenced by the phrase "Let's face it, it's a

pro-choice Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pre ...

album" appearing on the album cover and more importantly, with outspoken tracks encouraging the protection of the environment ("I Had a Dream I Was Falling through a Hole in the Ozone Layer"), sexual liberation through

safe sex Safe sex is sexual activity using methods or contraceptive devices (such as condoms) to reduce the risk of transmitting or acquiring sexually transmitted infections (STIs), especially HIV. "Safe sex" is also sometimes referred to as safer se ...

("Rubber Lover"), the failure of the judicial system ("Fuddy Duddy Judge") and the importance of

voting Voting is a method by which a group, such as a meeting or an electorate, can engage for the purpose of making a collective decision or expressing an opinion usually following discussions, debates or election campaigns. Democracies elect holde ...

("Vote, Baby, Vote"). The song "Vote, Baby, Vote" was made into a

public service announcement A public service announcement (PSA) is a message in the public interest disseminated by the media without charge to raise public awareness and change behavior. In the UK, they are generally called a public information film (PIF); in Hong Kong, ...

which advocated the band's mission for voter registration and their support of the Motor Voter Bill to ease

voter registration In electoral systems, voter registration (or enrollment) is the requirement that a person otherwise eligible to vote must register (or enroll) on an electoral roll, which is usually a prerequisite for being entitled or permitted to vote. The ru ...

. While some music critics may not have recognized it, the move to more heightened social awareness on the second album was not a departure from ''World Clique'', but a natural progression for the band members. Inspired by the

I Ching The ''I Ching'' or ''Yi Jing'' (, ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. Originally a divination manual in the Western Zho ...

, ''Infinity Within'' is meant to be more self-reflective and to counteract the global view of ''World Clique'', which lead singer Lady Kier felt was often misunderstood. She explained the idea behind the album and its title by saying: To further show their support of the environment, Deee-Lite pledged a portion of the album's profits to

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...

. Additionally, ''Infinity Within'' was the first Warner Music titles that was issued in an eco-friendly package called the Eco-pak. It was designed in 1991 by Ivy Hill Packaging, at the time a subsidiary of Time Warner, as a more environmentally friendly alternative to the

longbox A longbox is a form of exterior paperboard packaging for musical compact discs in widespread use in the 1980s and early 1990s in North America. Background When compact discs first began to appear in the retail stores, the longbox packaging s ...

which was often discarded after purchase, and to facilitate proper display of CDs in music retail stores. The eco-pack was displayed in stores unfolded, to display titles in the same manner as longboxes. Upon purchasing a title and removing the plastic shrink wrap, the packaging was folded into the shape of a traditional CD

jewel case Optical disc packaging is the packaging that accompanies CDs, DVDs, and other formats of optical discs. Most packaging is rigid or semi-rigid and designed to protect the media from scratches and other types of exposure damage. Jewel case A ...

, similar to a

Digipak Optical disc packaging is the packaging that accompanies CDs, DVDs, and other formats of optical discs. Most packaging is rigid or semi-rigid and designed to protect the media from scratches and other types of exposure damage. Jewel case A ...

. By 1993, the use of the longbox was phased out as music retailers began replacing LP-sized sales racks with those to house jewelcase or digipak formats with the locking plastic frames (keepers); thus rendering the Eco-pak, in its original form, obsolete. As a result, ''Infinity Within'' is among the few titles ever released with the original Eco-pak design.

Reception

The album generally received mixed reviews. Despite a lukewarm response,

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

gave the album a very positive 3-star honorable mention. Joe Brown from ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' wrote, "Out to prove they're not just cartoon characters or paper dolls, the retro-Hollywood styled Lady Miss Kier Kirby, Super DJ Dmitry Brill and Jungle DJ Towa "Towa" Tei try for some substance with their style this time out, interlacing the strained zaniness with messages ("Let's face it! It's a pro-choice album!" says the cover). Their concerns are similar to those of

the B-52's The B-52's, also styled as The B-52s, are an American new wave band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate Pierson (vocals, keyboards, synth bass), Cindy Wilson (vocals, p ...

: safer sex, environmental destruction, voter registration and extraterrestrial contacts. As for the music, recycling is the order of the day - while there's nothing as instantly infectious as "

Groove is in the Heart "Groove Is in the Heart" is a song by American dance band Deee-Lite, released in August 1990 as their debut and lead single from their first album, ''World Clique'' (1990). Written and produced by the band, it was a hit in many countries, reach ...

", the band's blend of house Lite, R&B and eclectic sampling is more consistent, and the deceptively slight melodic hooks of " Runaway" and "Heart Be Still" prove infuriatingly tenacious. Kier has developed into a more confident, relaxed singer, and the DJs (plus cameos by bassist

Bootsy Collins William Earl "Bootsy" Collins (born October 26, 1951) is an American bass guitarist and singer. Rising to prominence with James Brown in the early 1970s, and later with Parliament-Funkadelic, Collins established himself as one of the leading n ...

, hot rap outfit

Arrested Development The term "arrested development" has had multiple meanings for over 200 years. In the field of medicine, the term "arrested development" was first used, ''circa'' 1835–1836, to mean a stoppage of physical development; the term continues to be use ...

and several ex-JBs) provide perfect music for runway walking or Stairmaster stepping."

Singles

''Infinity Within'' yielded three commercial singles the year of its release. The first single, "Runaway", was released onto CD, cassette, and 12" vinyl in May 1992, three weeks prior to the album's debut. "Runaway" went on to top the ''Billboard'' Dance chart, making it Deee-Lite's fourth song to reach #1 on that chart. The commercial release of "Runaway", which was paired with the song "Rubber Lover", went on to top the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Single Sales chart as well. The single was accompanied by a music video directed by

Gus Van Sant Gus Green Van Sant Jr. (born July 24, 1952) is an American film director, producer, photographer, and musician. He has earned acclaim as both an independent and mainstream filmmaker. His films typically deal with themes of marginalized subcultur ...

, which received modest airplay from

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

. "Runaway" is the only single from ''Infinity Within'' for which a music video was produced. "Thank You Everyday", the second single from the album, was released onto CD and 12" vinyl in September 1992. The single failed to chart. The third and final single from the album, "Pussycat Meow", was released solely onto 12" vinyl in November 1992. The single climbed to #6 on the ''Billboard'' Dance charts and #26 on the ''Billboard'' Dance Sales charts. A promotional CD single of "I Had a Dream I was Falling Through a Hole in the Ozone Layer" was released, but no commercial single was. Aside from the success of "Runaway" on the dance chart, overall the three singles did not have as much impact as those released from ''World Clique''. As such, none of the singles from ''Infinity Within'' managed to chart on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Track listing

All songs written by Deee-Lite, except: ''#1'', co-written by

, ''6'', co-written by Jamal-Ski, and ''9'', co-written by

Michael Franti Michael Franti (born April 21, 1966) is an American rapper, musician, poet, activist, documentarian, and singer-songwriter, known for his participation in many musical projects, most with a political and social emphasis, including the Beatnigs ...

and Danny Madden.CD booklet

Chart performance

Personnel

Deee-Lite

* Lady Kier Kirby – vocals *Super DJ Dmitry Brill – guitar, keyboards, bass, drum programming, loop scooping, piano *

Towa Tei is a Japanese artist, record producer, and DJ. Born in Yokohama, Japan, Towa debuted as a member of Deee-Lite, from the US label Elektra Records in 1990 and shot to fame via their international hit single, "Groove Is In the Heart". He made his s ...

– keyboards, bass, drum programming, loop scooping

Additional personnel

Bernie Worrell George Bernard Worrell, Jr. (April 19, 1944 – June 24, 2016) was an American keyboardist and record producer best known as a founding member of Parliament-Funkadelic and for his work with Talking Heads. He is a member of the Rock and Roll ...

– clavinet (on track 3), clavinet and piano (8), synthesizer (9),

melodica The melodica is a handheld free-reed instrument similar to a pump organ or harmonica. It features a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. The keyboard usual ...

(14) *

Satoshi Tomiie is a Japanese DJ, record producer and musician. Biography A lifelong student of jazz and classical piano, Satoshi had an influential impact from his very first record. His debut single ‘Tears’, which he co-produced in 1989 with Chicago's � ...

– keyboards (11, 13) *

– guitar (3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14), bass (3, 10, 12, 14), backing vocals (12) *

Catfish Collins Phelps "Catfish" Collins (October 17, 1943 – August 6, 2010) was an American musician. A lead guitarist and rhythm guitarist, he is known mostly for his work in the P-Funk collective. Although frequently overshadowed by his younger brother ...

– guitar (14) *Robin Lobe – percussion (3, 13) *Misha Masud –

tabla A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల� ...

(14) *

Maceo Parker Maceo Parker (; born February 14, 1943) is an American funk and soul jazz saxophonist, best known for his work with James Brown in the 1960s, Parliament-Funkadelic in the 1970s and Prince in the 2000s. Parker was a prominent soloist on many of B ...

– saxophone (3, 4, 6, 8, 9), flute (13) *

Fred Wesley Fred Wesley (born July 4, 1943) is an American trombonist who worked with James Brown in the 1960s and 1970s and Parliament-Funkadelic in the second half of the 1970s. Biography Wesley was born the son of a high school teacher and big band lead ...

– trombone (3, 4, 6, 8, 9) *Gary Mudbone Cooper, Danny Madden, Sahirah Moore, Sheila Slappy, Zhana Saunders – backing vocals *

– rap (1), African chant (13) *Jamal-Ski (6),

(9) – rap

Production

*Deee-Lite - arranger, mixing, producer *Fernando Aponte - assistant engineer *Shannon Carr - assistant engineer *Dennis Mitchell - digital editing *Dante de Sole - assistant engineer *Rob Kempner - assistant engineer *Lady Miss Kier - design *Michael F. Mills - art direction, package design *John Parthum - assistant engineer *Nick Phillips - artwork *

Mark Plati Mark Plati is a New York–based musician, record producer, and songwriter, best known for his work in the 1990s with David Bowie. Plati also has worked with Spookey Ruben, The Cure, Duncan Sheik, Hooverphonic, Robbie Williams, Joe McIntyre, D ...

- engineer *Herb Powers - mastering *Mike Rogers - mixing *Dana Vlcek - assistant engineer

References

{{Authority control Deee-Lite albums 1992 albums Elektra Records albums