Enigmatic Society

Enigmatic Society
EP by
Dinner Party
ReleasedApril 14, 2023 (2023-04-14)
Studios
Genres
Length24:51
Labels
Producers
Dinner Party chronology
Dinner Party
(2020)		 Enigmatic Society
(2023)		 Watchu Bringing?
(2026)
Singles from Enigmatic Society
  1. "Insane"
    Released: March 9, 2023
9th Wonder chronology
The Don & Eye
(2022)		 Enigmatic Society
(2023)		 Don & Eye 2
(2023)
Kamasi Washington chronology
Dinner Party: Dessert
(2020)		 Enigmatic Society
(2023)		 Fearless Movement
(2024)
Robert Glasper chronology
Black Radio III
(2022)		 Enigmatic Society
(2023)		 In December
(2023)
Terrace Martin chronology
Drones
(2021)		 Enigmatic Society
(2023)		 Fine Tune
(2023)

Enigmatic Society is the second extended play by American jazz supergroup Dinner Party. It was released on April 14, 2023, via Sounds Of Crenshaw/Empire Distribution. Recording sessions took place at Organic Grease Studios and Larrabee Sound Studios in Los Angeles and Electric Lady Studios in New York City. Production was handled by members Terrace Martin, 9th Wonder and Robert Glasper, as well as Hi-Tek, Sounwave and Trevor Lawrence Jr. It features guest appearances from Phoelix, Arin Ray, Ant Clemons and Tank.

The album debuted at number 17 on the Top Jazz Albums and number 4 on the Top Contemporary Jazz Albums in the United States. It was supported by single "Insane" with an accompanying animated music video directed by Juppi Juppsen.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic70/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarHalf star[2]
Clash8/10[3]
Pitchfork7.6/10[4]
The ObserverStarStarStarStar[5]
Tom HullB[6]

Enigmatic Society was met with generally favourable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 70 based on five reviews.[1]

Robin Murray of Clash praised the album, saying "finessed and unified, Enigmatic Society is magnificent, a micro-masterpiece that refuses to be pigeonholed. Free-thinking yet direct, it's a salute to collaborative art, and the geniuses behind it".[3] Kate Hutchinson of The Observer stated: "while many mainstream acts lean on jazzists to lend some flair, it's rare that it goes the other way. But Dinner Party bring serious chops to contemporary music's top table".[5] Ben Cardew of Pitchfork resumed: "the whole is stronger than the sum of its parts".[4] AllMusic's Andy Kellman found it "neither as powerful nor as weighty as the debut, and certainly doesn't seem intended to match it in those regards. It's altogether a calmer, more romantic work".[2]

In the mixed review for The Wire, the critic concluded: "this is pleasant but forgettable music, dissolving the instant it hits the eardrum".

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Answered Prayer" (featuring Phoelix)
2:22
2."Breathe" (featuring Arin Ray)
3:09
3."Insane" (featuring Ant Clemons)
2:51
4."Watts Renaissance"
2:49
5."For Granted" (featuring Arin Ray)
  • Neil
  • Martin
  • Glasper
  • Washington
  • Douthit
  • Terrace Martin
  • 9th Wonder
2:51
6."Secure" (featuring Phoelix and Tank)
Terrace Martin2:39
7."Can't Go" (featuring Phoelix)
  • Terrace Martin
  • 9th Wonder
2:44
8."The Lower East Side"
  • Martin
  • Washington
  • Trevor Lawrence Jr.
  • Terrace Martin
  • Trevor Lawrence Jr.
2:52
9."Love Love" (featuring Arin Ray)
  • Neil
  • Martin
  • Glasper
  • Douthit
  • Terrace Martin
  • 9th Wonder
  • Robert Glasper
2:34
Total length:24:51

Personnel

  • Terrace Martin – soprano saxophone (track 1), keyboards (tracks: 2, 5), bass (tracks: 2, 5, 7), alto saxophone (tracks: 3, 5, 7), additional keyboards (track 3), vocoder (tracks: 6, 9), ARP Odyssey and Minimoog synthesizers (track 6), producer, recording (tracks: 1, 2, 4–9), mixing
  • Robert Glasper – piano (tracks: 1, 3), keyboards (tracks: 2, 5, 7, 9), producer (tracks: 1, 9)
  • Kamasi Washington – tenor saxophone (tracks: 2, 3, 5, 7)
  • Patrick "9th Wonder" Douthit – producer (tracks: 2, 5, 7, 9)
  • Michael E. "Phoelix" Neil – vocals (tracks: 1, 6, 7), additional vocals (tracks: 5, 9)
  • Arin Ray – vocals (tracks: 2, 5, 9)
  • Anthony "Ant" Clemons Jr. – vocals (track 3)
  • Durrell "Tank" Babbs – vocals (track 6)
  • Mark "Sounwave" Spears – drums & producer (track 3)
  • Marlon Williams – guitar (track 7)
  • Tony "Hi-Tek" Cottrell – producer & recording (track 4)
  • Trevor Lawrence Jr. – producer (track 8)
  • Phillip Cornish – additional programming (tracks: 2, 5, 7, 9)
  • Piéce Eatah – recording (tracks: 1, 3, 5, 7)
  • Dondre Adams – recording (tracks: 1, 5–7, 9)
  • John Muller – recording (tracks: 2, 4, 5, 9)
  • Christopher Pegram – recording (track 3)
  • Dylan Del-Olmo – recording (track 3)
  • Rick Carson – recording (track 8), mastering
  • Bryan DiMaio – mixing
  • Keith "Qmillion" Lewis – mixing (track 3)
  • Dani Perez – engineering assistant (tracks: 2, 4, 5, 9)
  • Ryan Harvey – engineering assistant (track 8)
  • Amani Washington – artwork

Charts

Chart performance for Enigmatic Society
Chart (2023) Peak
position
US Top Jazz Albums (Billboard)[7]17
US Top Contemporary Jazz Albums (Billboard)[8]4

References

  1. 1 2 "Critic Reviews for Enigmatic Society – Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  2. 1 2 Kellman, Andy. "Enigmatic Society – Dinner Party | Album | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  3. 1 2 Murray, Robin (April 27, 2023). "Dinner Party – Enigmatic Society | Reviews". CLASH. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  4. 1 2 Cardew, Ben (April 20, 2023). "Dinner Party: Enigmatic Society". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  5. 1 2 Hutchinson, Kate (April 16, 2023). "Dinner Party: Enigmatic Society review – slinky, synthy R&B". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  6. ↑ Hull, Tom. "Tom Hull: Grade List: Terrace Martin". tomhull.com. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  7. ↑ "Terrace Martin Chart History (Top Jazz Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  8. ↑ "Robert Glasper Chart History (Top Contemporary Jazz Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
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