[Ornaments]

The third release on the mysterious, limited edition Ornaments label looks to be the highest profile yet. The original August 2007 release of Sascha Dive’s “Deepest America” on Deep Vibes Recordings included two mixes by his alter ego, Samuel Davis, and this release features a third, the Dark Soul Mix. While it’s a funky little number that works itself into a nice lather around a bounding bass and a short vocal clip (before the track’s signature spoken-word passage comes as a somewhat politically motivated break), the real star of this show comes on the flip side.

Moodymann’s remix may be a bit of a throwback to his early, more sample-based productions, but considering that both Detroit and deep-house sounds are so in vogue this year, it is very much of the moment. Working its way up from a vaguely Motown stomp, the short samples are woven tightly into a dense, frenetic backing over which our man Moody works his crazed disco/techno magic. Utterly infectious vocal sample clips (“Music! Music! Ain’t no soul no more!”), whistles, congas, short Rhodes vamps, and perhaps, very deep in the mix, an actual kitchen sink combine to achieve the sort of dancefloor nirvana that puts most so-called “deep-house” to shame with energy to spare. Then, after a breathtaking breakdown, a pulsating Moroder-esque synth leads into the a shorter version of the now infamous spoken-word bit and the heat is turned up once again. We’ve been taking his greatness for granted for a long time now, but once again, Kenny Dixon Jr. has shown that he’s the one to beat in the deep-stakes. Simply incredible. Grab it while you can.