During the early '90s, dance music once again took over the world. Raw house and rave tracks that would've ordinarily stayed underground routinely packed the U.K. pop charts. Nearly every European country and many in Asia, South America and beyond had its own club scenes. Even American radio — which reluctantly played '80s dance pop but avoided anything that might provoke another disco backlash — began opening its doors to house acts like Technotronic, C+C Music Factory, Black Box and Snap! Even the Milli Vanilli scandal couldn't stop the biggest dance boom since John Travolta.

Like most disco, all of the aforementioned acts were producer-driven — C+C's only permanent members were the producers themselves. Deee-Lite differed from its peers in that the people who wrote, sang, performed, and produced the music also provided its visuals. Singer Lady Miss Kier herself designed the trio's dandified costumes that helped her, Ukraine-born Super DJ Dmitri, and Tokyo-born Towa Tei look like early-'70s Hanna-Barbera cartoons. Accordingly, Deee-Lite's music projected a larger/brighter/happier-than-life bohemia that countered rock's cynicism. "What is it that can make a lost soul found? Love!" Kier exclaimed in "Power of Love," a message that — like the band itself —… read more »