BLAKE BAXTER / EDDIE FOWLKES / THOMAS BARNET - FOUR313 EP

Blake Baxter is often referred to as Detroit’s unsung hero of the Detroit electronic music movement. He was there when the fuse was first lit. Blake Baxter is one of leading figures of the House and Techno Underground Movement. As a DJ and producer, Blake was one of the first artists to have bridged the gap between the US and European club culture. Before there was Detroit Techno, there was Blake. Busy as a DJ and producer, you can find some of his earlier work on Chicago based record label DJ International Various Artist compilations titled Jack Master Vol. 2 and Jack Master Vol. 4. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

Detroit-born Eddie “Flashin’” Fowlkes was raised on the music of another Detroit native: Motown Records. The songs of Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye filled his parents’ house and Fowlkes took this influence and keen vocal ear with him when he began turning heads DJ’ing soul and jazz in 1982. With friends like Juan Atkins and roomates like Kevin Saunderson and Derrick May in 1986, the eventual followed: DJ’ing Kraftwerk gradually turned into making music. Fowlkes’ angle on what would become known as Techno was a smooth continuation of the humanity found in Soul. He sought to bring emotional warmth to the usually cold and machined sound of Techno, seeing Detroit’s new and old music styles - Techno and Soul - as inseparable. Unafraid to combine Techno with Jazz tunes, melodies, and especially vocals, Fowlkes sought to bring the FEELING back to Techno. The success of his first single, “Goodbye Kiss” on Metroplex confirmed his ideology and he pressed on with hits on labels like KMS, 430 West, Play It Again Sam, and Lafayette (UK) until 1992 when Techno caught fire in Europe and Fowlkes caught the eye of Tresor. He recorded for the label with production masterminds 3MB (Thomas Fehlmann & Moritz Von Oswald) in Berlin that year. 3MB were so impressed with Fowlkes’ vision that they put together more tracks for the “Detroit Techno Soul” compilation that Fowlkes coordinated for Tresor in 1994. The spirit of Soul was truly contained in Techno. Now Los Angeles based, Fowlkes keeps spreading the message with his own label, City Boy. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.