Kevin Saunderson: Past, Present and Future

Earlier this year, KMS dropped Logarythm, a track co-produced by a relatively unknown young producer named Dantiez Saunderson. A simple tech house groove, complemented with a hiccupping vocal sample and stretched out, club-friendly build-ups, there was nothing in particular to indicate the rich musical heritage from which the artist had emerged. A solo release soon followed and there surfaced just a slight sense that there was perhaps some history seeping through into the music. With more robust kick drums driving the track, and a deeper sensibility to the synth line, Can’t Stop Us felt more in tune with the illustrious 25 year history of KMS, if still framed by unmistakably contemporary production techniques. The track’s accomplished sound should not have come as a surprise to anyone familiar with the work of Kevin Saunderson, Dantiez’s father and the founder of KMS.     

Whenever the history of techno is discussed, Saunderson’s name is more than likely to crop up frequently, and with good reason. Alongside Juan Atkins and Derrick May, the Brooklyn-born producer is routinely credited for his role in developing a scene in Detroit which has since provided the blueprint for countless electronic acts from around the world. Perhaps more so than his contemporaries, Kevin was able to spread the form to wider audiences in a way no-one could have anticipated, earning himself a reputation as being the ‘elevator of techno.’ Through his work with singer Paris Grey as Inner City, which yielded the crossover pop hits Good Life and Big Fun amongst others, Saunderson was arguably the first producer to give techno an air of legitimacy among audiences who had previously sneered at the genre’s potential for growth.

Yet, there have always been many sides to Saunderson and the major label success story of Inner City was only part of his contribution to the scene. Early on he decided he needed his own outlet for music and, in the decades since, KMS has been responsible for releasing some of the most celebrated underground records around. “There have definitely been a lot of highlights over the years,” he says, looking back on the label he started in 1987. “When I think about the reason KMS started, because of my vision to have control and put out whatever I wanted to play, some of the greatest highlights are the many talents who came through my building, through the process of me creating music and because of my success with the music.”

“I think techno is forward thinking, still. It evolves with technology and new technology is an important part of pushing the boundaries” – Kevin Saunderson

There’s a palpable feeling of satisfaction as he discusses some of the artists who have released on KMS and its subsidiary labels – the likes of Marc ‘MK’ Kinchen, Chez Damier, Carl Craig and Stacey Pullen come immediately to his mind, though the full list of contributors is as expansive as it is impressive. Of course he also has fond recollections of his own material released through the label under such aliases as Reese, E-Dancer and Tronik House. Tracks like Rock to the Beat and How to Play Our Music (Reese & Santonio) are clearly works he is still immensely proud of. In producing these early hits, he says, his approach was based on finding stimulation and making music that came from the heart. “I always had an inspiration, whether it was something from soul music or disco or whatever.

“Disco was a big influence on me because I always thought the four on the floor style was for dancing and my main purpose was to be able to play records as a DJ, and be able to play styles that people could dance to. I used to experience Larry Levan at the Paradise Garage or Ron Hardy at the Music Box, so it came deep from within. My approach always depended on my vibe. I always fed off of creating a sound that was unique.”

In the ever-changing electronic music landscape of today, with its sprawling subgenres and increasingly hybrid sounds, some find it hard to imagine how techno music can evolve further and still retain its identity. Ever ready to adopt new approaches himself, Saunderson does not share these doubts about the future of the form he helped establish. “I think techno is forward thinking, still. It evolves with technology and new technology is an important part of pushing the boundaries, depending on how you incorporate it.

“Even for me, as I’m changing the way I produce or record, I still have to learn the tools that I have. I’m sitting here with all of these different plugins and software, trying to determine the best way to use them. But you have to bring out the magic within them. It will continue to happen that way because technology is always moving forward.”

As electronic music shifts forward and styles mutate and meld together, a new generation of producers are trying to find their own place in the narrative shaped by Kevin and his peers in the late 80s. As Dantiez Saunderson embarks on a career in music, a path also taken by his brother Damarii, one wonders if Kevin anticipated that he would have quite as direct an influence on the new breed of techno torchbearers. In one sense, it may have been expected. After all, Kevin’s wife Ann has long been involved in music too, collaborating with him on the Kaos project among others, and also working with Octave One on hits such as Blackwater. Yet, despite the family’s background in music, Saunderson did not feel the need to push his sons into the music game. “It caught me off guard with my kids,” he admits. “They were really more athletic kids and they were into hip hop. Even though they were around me with the music, if they were sitting up in the studio, it was because they had to be there, not because they wanted to be there.”

But, growing up around the scene in Detroit and attending events like the Movement Festival every year soon had an impact. “Their friends started DJing and going to these events and talking about techno and they thought, ‘hey, I’ve been doing this all my life. I’ve been around my father and he is one of the creators of this music.’ They got inspired, not by me at first, but more or less by their friends and then they came back to me and said ‘dad, I want to be a DJ.’ They’ve been working hard to achieve their vision of being creative and I think they both have unique talents and are quite different from each other. They have a bit of me and their mother within them though. It’s great to see.”

Recently Kevin has started performing DJ sets with Dantiez, an experience which he seems to revel in. “It keeps me younger in a way,” he says. “I’ve always played for young people, but now I’m playing with my son and for his generation and I think that’s unique. I don’t know if there are many people doing that.” Of course, there is a mutual benefit to the father/son musical bond. While Kevin is clearly energised by the experience, both his sons will also reap the rewards of their father’s vast experience of making tracks and dealing with the music industry. “I try to give them tips on making sure the music comes from the heart. You shouldn’t chase a track or try to sound like another track because there’s money involved or because it's big and you heard it on the radio. Make sure you love it, or like it a lot, and it’s something that inspires you, no matter what the sound is. I’ll give them pointers on sound, production, developing their skill level and being able to master so they can cover all angles and understand what they can get out of something. I tell them you can’t read a page or two from a book and completely comprehend what that book is saying. So take your equipment just as seriously, and learn it.”

With the KMS back catalogue brimming with classic records, Dantiez and Damarii have a wealth of history to draw upon as they endeavour to take the music forward in their own way. It’s often said that the ability to progress forwards depends on an ability to look backwards first – and Kevin, for one, seems excited by the prospect of dipping into the KMS archives for his upcoming retrospective set in Glasgow, though selecting from the vast array of releases on the label will surely pose some dilemmas. “Some are classics, some are records that got missed and then there’s some I probably won’t play,” he says. “I think my approach will be to use what sounds the most modern right now and what works. I’ll probably loop some stuff and then there’s some remixes of some of the old stuff that was recreated which I’ll probably incorporate to make the full set work out.”

Around 25 years after KMS was founded, the label still feels like a very personal endeavour for Saunderson. He tells us that there are more Inner City tracks on the way, more music under his own name to be released, and the label will continue to work with new talent, including his sons, emerging artists from Detroit and new producers from around the world. Whether he continues to be viewed as an elevator of the scene or not, it’s clear that Kevin aims to have a hand in the future of techno, drawing on the rich history that he has helped shape for over two decades. “I think it always goes back to the beginning, to the roots,” he says. “With all music, somehow it comes full circle.”

A (Very) Selective History of KMS in Five Records

Certain to be more noteworthy for its omissions than for what is included, compiling a five-track compilation to encapsulate the entire history of KMS is a somewhat misguided task. The early days of the label in particular produced a sprawling collection of classics from the likes of Reese & Santonio, Inner City, Chez Damier & Ron Tret and Blake Baxter, among others.

So, rather than attempt a definitive round-up, or even dare to suggest a top five (we couldn’t possibly), we thought we’d share just a few snapshots of the label from its inception through to the present day...    

Kreem – Triangle of Love (1987)

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWNp4EopGHA

The record that introduced KMS to the world. Originally released on Jaun Atkins’ Metroplex label in 1986, this was Saunderson’s first record and contains early glimpses of his fondness for incorporating bold female vocals within the techno sound. This approach was later developed to great effect with Inner City.

Fix – Flash (1992)

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7gCpJeXHro

This stripped down and bouncy Orlando Voorn number has everything you want to hear in a club track. The absurdly funky hook, sampled from Hydraulic Pump by P-Funk Allstars, marches on purposefully for around four minutes before the track, in truest techno fashion, ascends somewhere towards outer space in a flurry of contorted synth sounds.  

Chez Damier – Can You Feel It (MK Dub) (1992)

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-VChzurHjU

A deep and soulful house cut, which works as well in the club as it does at home. A re-working of the first release on KMS by Chez Damier, this exquisite Marc Kinchen version was one of many tracks the producer gave the famous 'MK Dub' treatment to.

E-Dancer – Velocity Funk (Stacey Pullen Remix) (1999)

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeCpw09tRY0

With the toughening of techno production through the 90s, there have been many harder edged remixes of early hits released over the years (see Ben Sims’ re-edit of Inner City’s Good Life). This particular Stacey Pullen remix of a Saunderson classic keeps threads of the original, weaving them into a more penetrating production.

Dantiez Saunderson feat. Mike Young – Can’t Stop Us (2013)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loA0vAXDjWE

Around 25 years after his father founded KMS, Dantiez Saunderson brings things full circle with his first solo release on the label. An accomplished production, the track has the feel of contemporary tech house but is also imbued with the deepness you would expect from a label like KMS. It’s hard to say in what direction the producer will develop, but it’s safe to say music is in his genes.