Dames Brown Take Me As I Am – Moodymann Remix on Defected

15/05/2026

Someone said Detroit? Good. Let’s bring the gospel lungs, the funk bones, the house sweat, the techno ghosts, and probably a sandwich wrapped in wax paper by someone’s auntie.

Because the magic place called Detroit gave dance music muscle, dirt, and soul. It also gave that beautiful refusal to behave. And Dames Brown come exactly from there. Take Me As I Am caught the attention of Moodymann too, who pulled the track through his own deep, smoky machinery for a fresh Defected remix.

Athena Johnson, Teresa Marbury, and LaRae feel like a proper music machine with a heart inside. Their debut album Take Me As I Am, released on Defected Records in January 2026, pulls gospel, funk, disco, R&B, and house into one proud Detroit table. The record also honours Amp Fiddler, their late mentor and producer, with much of it recorded in his home studio.

And this is important, because I can feel the tension, the history behind, the hands on the desk.

Moodymann Takes the Wheel

Now fellow Detroiter Moodymann steps in and remixes Take Me As I Am. Kenny Dixon Jr., the man behind KDJ Records and Mahogani Music, has spent decades forging deep house, soul, samples, and holy groove into his own language. On his version here, he turns the title track into something provocative.

The remix is all over the place, but in a cool way. It’s like walking across a bridge that’s still being built – smooth for a second, then suddenly you’re grabbing the rail and hoping for the best. It’s got movement, energy, a little chaos.

The remix first moved around as a super-exclusive dubplate at Amsterdam Dance Event in late 2025. Now it gets its proper release on 15 May 2026 through Defected. I played this one louder than my neighbours probably deserved.

Anyway, before somebody from the building starts knocking with legal documents and emotional damage claims, you can jump into the whole thing right here.