Dinner Party - Enigmatic Society (LP) - Black & White Splatter Vinyl

Dinner Party’s second outing lands like a twilight breeze off Crenshaw, cool and smoky but full of life. The supergroup of Terrace Martin, Robert Glasper and Kamasi Washington made its name with that 2020 debut and the Dessert remix set, and Enigmatic Society feels like the moment they settle into a shared language. It’s the sound of three heavy hitters choosing vibe over fireworks. Nobody’s trying to win the solo, yet the whole thing glows.

You can hear Glasper’s fingerprints straight away. Those pillowy Fender Rhodes voicings and sly chord turns give everything a soft neon frame, the kind that makes you slow your walk on a weeknight. Washington’s tenor has that familiar bronze weight, broad and human, singing more than burning. Then there’s Martin, the glue guy who can be anywhere at once, sliding between alto lines, vocoder hooks and drum programming that swings without getting fussy. Across the record the rhythm bed feels loop-tight but played, like a live band channelling the patience of an MPC.

Guests drift through like friends dropping by the session. Ant Clemons brings an unforced tenderness that sits right in the pocket, and Arin Ray threads airy harmonies through the corners. The way the vocals are arranged is key here. Hooks don’t crash in, they sidle up, which keeps the core trio’s conversation front and centre. When the singers do step forward the songs tilt toward RnB radio, but the harmonies are still draped over Glasper’s chords and Washington’s long tones, so the mood never breaks.

What really sticks is the patience. Grooves unspool rather than explode. Horns enter in long ribbons. There are little production winks everywhere if you lean in, like a crunchy snare ghost note tucked under a ride cymbal, or the way a synth bass will push slightly behind the beat to make room for Kamasi’s vibrato. Martin has been a sonic architect on so many crucial records that you almost take his touch for granted. Here he gives the mix air to breathe, then sneaks in his vocoder like a streetlight reflection on wet asphalt. It’s a trick he’s used since his early days but the restraint here is the point.

If you’re the kind of listener who cares about how a record lives on your turntable, Enigmatic Society is a near-ideal candidate. The low end is warm and round, horns feel alive rather than brassy, and there’s enough headroom that you can turn it up without fatigue. I spun a friend’s copy of the Enigmatic Society vinyl and it made immediate sense. The Rhodes blooms, rimshots sit right where they should, and the room tone gives you a sense of players sharing space. If you’re hunting Dinner Party vinyl or looking to buy Dinner Party records online, this one’s the sweet spot between audiophile showpiece and late night mood-setter. Any Melbourne record store with a decent jazz or hip hop section will know exactly where to file it, and it deserves to sit up front with the staff picks for anyone browsing vinyl records Australia wide.

Context helps too. Martin’s work with Kendrick Lamar reshaped how jazz textures move through rap. Glasper is modern jazz’s great bridge builder, with Grammys for Black Radio and a habit of making complex harmony feel like common language. Washington’s The Epic kicked the door open for a new wave of listeners who wanted size and spirit in their jazz. Put those currents together and you get a record like this, one that values feel over flex. It is serious music that never feels stiff.

There’s plenty to love on streaming, but Dinner Party albums on vinyl make the most sense because this music breathes in a room. You drop the needle, let the opening cut set the temperature, and suddenly the evening stretches. The trio’s interplay turns small domestic moments into little cinemas. That’s the magic they’ve carved out for themselves, and Enigmatic Society holds it steady from start to finish.

Not every all-star project becomes a band. This one has. The songs don’t look for headlines. They build a little world and trust you to move around in it. If that’s your thing, clear a side, pour a nightcap and let it roll.