Kenny Larkin

Kenny Larkin is one of the chief innovators of Detroit's so called
'second wave' of techno producers from Detroit.

He began his music career in 1990. After serving two years in the
U.S. Air Force repairing computers, Larkin returned to Detroit to
pursue stand up comedy. During his pursuit, he, along with other
Detroit club goers, witnessed the birth of a new genre of music at
local clubs. What came to be called "Detroit Techno," thumped in
clubs like; The City Club, The Majestic Theatre, The Shelter, and the
legendary Music Institute. The latter considered home base for the
bumping, sultry, emotive, yet almost romantic style of club music
that rose out of urban plight, desperation, and decay.

Larkin mostly frequented The Shelter, were he soon hooked up with
Richie Hawtin, who was one of the club's resident dj's, and the two
became good friends. While driving around the city at night, they
stumbled onto a local Detroit radio mix show. The dj creating the
mind-blowing mixes that changed both of their lives was none other
Derrick May, or "Mayday," his call-name on the radio. May along with
others, inspired both Larkin, and Hawtin to pursue this new form of
music.

When Hawtin formed +8 with John Acquaviva, Larkin released his first
two singles. But, it wasn't until 1992, when he founded his own
label, Art of Dance, that he came into his signature sound. Under his
"Dark Comedy" moniker, Larkin created 'War of the Worlds,' which went
on to become a seminal dance floor techno classic for Derrick May's
Transmat Records, of which Larkin licensed the project to. After
contributing the exquisitely beautiful and sublime tracks 'Serena
X' (under the name Yennek) for the compilation Panic in Detroit and
'Tedra' on the hugely innovative Virtual Sex (Buzz) compilation,
Kenny was pushed to the forefront of techno's soulful elite.

In 1994, Larkin shrewdly carved out his own classic sound when he
signed to Warp Records, and released his first album, entitled
Azimuth. The album was hailed by European and U.S. press as one of
the most original techno albums to date. A few quotes:

"Azimuth is one of the most imaginative and original techno albums
yet." MUSIC WEEK

"Delightful, pure Detroit-style techno. Melodic, emotive and, like so
much great U.S. techno, almost jazz-like in places. Larkin is a man
with his finger on the fast forward button of music's future." SELECT

"A masterpiece. This LP of intelligent Detroit techno is an upcoming
classic." STREETSOUNDS

Street Sound magazine later voted Azimuth as one of the top 50 Techno
CD's of all time.

Larkin's music career seemed very bright, but tragedy struck when on
November 17, 1994, he almost lost his life after being shot in his
suburban Detroit home by two unknown assailants. Luckily, the bullet
missed vital organs, but it sliced through his lower abdomen. After
12 hours of surgery, Larkin was in critical condition, but pulled
through. Hospitalized only for 6 days, Larkin began touring just two
weeks after he was discharged from the hospital to support his new
album, Metaphor, which was released on R&S Records in February of
1995. The release earned him more accolades as a leader in electronic
music.

"This is electronic soul music, full of human feeling and warmth" MixMag

"A juxtaposition of polished classic Detroit and quirky jazz-inspired
innovation". At times very minimal and ambient, other times well
informed by house, Kenny's warm dance beats hit in just the right
places at just the right time." I-D

Metaphor was nominated for best electronic album of the year in
Keyboard Magazine. In his hometown, Metro Times voted Larkin 'Best
Techno Artist of The Year' at it's yearly music awards.

Since the release of Azimuth, Larkin has traveled over 2 million
miles around the globe, dj'ing and playing live at the biggest
Festivals in Europe, some which had him doing his electronic
performance in front of as many as 25,000 fans.

In addition to his own productions, Larkin lent his melodic
sensibilities to various artists. He has done remix work for Carl
Craig, Inner City, Charm Farm, L.A. Synthesis, and most notably,
Sade. Although a bootleg, the remix of 'Surrender' sold 10,000 in 3
weeks. Apparently, Sade wasn't amused. Her attorney contacted Larkin
and demanded they stop selling the single, or face litigation. Larkin
agreed, and stopped distributing the single.

Larkin's remix for Charm Farm entitled, 'Superstar', shot up the
charts in France, helping establish the band in Europe in the dance
scene.

In 1997, Larkin released his first LP under his 'Dark Comedy'
moniker. More striped down and minimal than his first two LP
offerings, the project showed a darker side to his persona. 'The
Bar', which was released as a single, was a favorite among techno's
elite dj's, because of it's frenetic beats, and purposely rough, off
edits.

After the release of this album, Larkin took a break from recording
to keep up with his hectic dj schedule. Unfortunately, months turned
to years. And he found himself losing motivation to releasing techno
music. He explained when interviewed, "there's so much crap out being
called techno, that I've lost the desire to be associated with it
anymore."

For the next few years, Larkin was content with dj'ing, until 2001.
That's when he decided to go back to his first love, stand up comedy.
As a result of that decision, Larkin gave up the 'state of the art'
studio he built in the suburbs of Detroit, and moved to LA to pursue
comedy full time. Although definitely not a seasoned professional
yet, Larkin is performing his comedy in the biggest clubs in LA, the
Laugh Factory being his preferred spot, which is paying off. He
regularly showcases his act here, and is very close to securing a
prized 'regular' spot at this this top club.

In 2002, after getting his comedy career off the ground, Larkin's
desire to record music returned. With the new change of scenery and
inspiration, Larkin began to record two albums at the same time.
These would be his first projects in almost 8 years. The first
completed album, Narcissist, was picked up by Peacefrog.
Released in April, 2004, Larkin did what he always tried to do, which
is go against the established perception of what techno should be.
His signature sound still remains after such a long hiatus. Larkin
has put focus more on mood, and melodies, instead of harsh, abrasive,
non-melodic material that has defined techno for the last few years.

The second album Larkin completed late 2004, was under his Dark
Comedy alias. This album took a huge departure from what others have
come to expect from him. Instead of the stripped down production of
his '7 Days' outing, he decided to go in a totally different direction.

"I felt it was imperative that I take my music in a totally different
direction. There was nothing else I could do with 'techno' to take my
sound to the next level. For inspiration I decided to pay homage to
my musical upbringing. I listened to a lot of blues, jazz, and funk.
Once I turned to my past, it took me a split second to decide what
type of album I wanted to do, and what direction I wanted to go with
my Dark Comedy name. I'm all about pushing myself, and trying
different things with this group. In the end, it was very easy for me
to record this album, because I stuck very close to my musical roots.
My slant in this production is it has an electronic edge to it. It's
my version of an electronic blues/funk/jazz album. For the first
time, I'm using my voice to weave stories about my life. What I've
been through," Larkin states.

Upon hearing the album, record companies big and small lined up to
sign it. Among the interested parties, Dan Keeling, A&R at Parlaphone/
EMI UK, who discovered and signed Coldplay. Larkin decided to sign
the album to a smaller label, in order to get as much attention as
possible for this totally different genre-bending album. Poussez, a
French label headed by Alain Ho (DJ Yellow) from Yellow Productions/
France, convinced Larkin that they could provide what Larkin was
looking for. Larkin signed the album, entitled: Dark Comedy: 'Music
Saves My Soul.' The album was released June 2005 to much critical
success. The reviews were pretty much the same.  It placed Larkin in
a genre of his own. The press applauded him for bending his genre,
and pushing himself into a different realm altogether. Quotes:

DJ Magazine May/05
"File under spoken word and you'd learn something. Stick it with
house and it sits perfectly. Add to the list of genre-bending
producers out there and Dark Comedy, aka Kenny Larkin, stands tall.
This is a journeyman's album but don't misconceive his meaning....
...This is a sparse concept album, if such a thing exists. Larkin
leads through the life he's lead courtesy of some honest to the bones
lyrics and raps, and a soulful yet techno-tinged groove. It's
Detroit, it's maverick and at times it's close to genius. Get
touched." **** stars

Urb Magazine 12/04
"...this album under his Dark Comedy moniker, has a lot of newer
ideas at the fore. Loosely themed around a set of dirty funk vocal
samples, each track has it's own case of machine blues...it's nice to
see Larkin not just maintaining the gold standard for Detroit
Electronic music, but actually giving it a little push." ****stars

Plug Magazine July/05
"Detroit's maverick techno interpreter Kenny Larkin returns as his
alter-self Dark Comedy with his most impressive and experimental
release to date. He taps into his soulful side that explores a
bewildering array of sounds from bluegrass to electro to melodius
techno funk. A nine course meal for the ears." 9/10

DMC Update June /05
"Kenny Larkin's latest long player uses all manner of aliases, but
remains all his own work. Early on there is a strong spirituality in
his blend of house and techno, Larkin providing some deeply felt
spoken word commentary, without ever being too pretentious. Later he
goes for even deeper vibes, the subtle bass line funk driving tracks
like 'Tellin' Lie' towards the dance floor. The daring cover gives
this one away-Larkin naked as the day he was born (steady girls!) The
same thing happens mentally on the album though-stripped bare, it's a
compelling, personal record." *****stars

ABC 5 stars (The arts, books & culture magazine from the Independent
on Sunday) 6/05
"Kenny Larkin's new album as Dark Comedy isn't quite like anything
else he's produced. Nor is it much like the music anyone else is
making, though it has precedents in albums by his fellow Detroit
techno legend Moodymann or St. Germain. it also extrapolates from the
history of Black American music up to Rock'n'Roll, and amazingly,
show how makes gospel, soul, funk, jazz, and particularly the blues,
all sound like they were invented to be played on a computer and
yoked to a 4/4 house beat. He reveals his previously unsuspected
vocal talents and sense of humor, and it's a mildly irreverent but
still wholly soulful revision of past black American musical forms."
*****stars

Mojo Magazine Aug/05
"An alias of second-generation Detroit techno producer Kenny Larkin,
Dark Comedy attempts to escape digital orthodoxy by searching for
inspiration in a very different place: the blues. The result may be
peculiar, but it's certainly original. Scratchy electric guitars and
testifying preacher men are hacked, processed and amalgamated with
low-down house rhythms amid joyous irreverence and a real sense of
passion." ***stars

BlowBack Magazine June/05
"America is a funny old place isn't it? Idiots who use to be in the
Mickey Mouse Club get elevated to the level of pop star whilst real
trendsetters proper founding fathers, get sidelined. In such
isolation-past drugs, post fame-paranoia kicks in. Add the fact that
Kenny Larkin was shot on his door step for no reason and you get the
full picture. There is a creeping sense of anger and insanity in this
album. also an attempt to reconnect to the blues via his own dance
medium. Larkin falls back on music for comfort and brings up other
ghosts too whilst the nightmares have twisted his sound. It's not
funny, it's traveled. Musical catharsis at it's most poignant."

M8 Magazine June/05
"The ever inventive Kenny Larkin returns in his dark comedy guise
with an album that does it's very best to blur the lines between
techno, house and soul. The Detroit-based producer has been creating
and playing music since 1992, drawing on countless influences to push
genre boundaries as far as they'll go. And it's business as usual on
'Funk Faker' with Kenny putting his multitude of talents to good use.
His rich vocals, warm grooves and cheeky tweaks combine to perfection
on the likes of album opener 'House Music', the blues-infused 'In my
Home' and and twangy guitar-laden 'Music Saves My Soul'. Far more
stylish than your average electronic outing, 'Funk Faker' is unlikely
to fill many floors, but it'll sit happily in the CD drawer of your
stereo for months to come." 7 out of 8

E-DJ (website)
"Dark Comedy is the incisive, opinionated alter ego of maverick
techno personality, Kenny Larkin, and 'Funk Faker: Music Saves My
Soul' is only its second outing after 2004's 'The Narcissist'.
Within, Larkin explores not only his musicality, but also his life
experiences and his beliefs, making for a truly poignant narrative
and diverse mixture of sounds. Undoubtedly, its rudiments are
thoroughly electronic, but Larkin builds upon this common style in a
captivatingly unique, natural, almost crude way; cracking off that
over refined electronic gloss in favor of a more wholesome glow.
Furthermore, whilst the foundation of most tracks are a stiff, yet
lazy, hypnotic 4/4 kick drum, the overall vibe is deep-rooted in
soulful, African-American music, spanning bluegrass-infused beats,
and bluesy, mournful, dubby house - each narrated colorfully by
Larkin's smooth timbre. With its carefree organs, John Lee-Hooker
guitars and James Brown horn stabs, this really is contemporary,
black electronic music, which is not confined or shaped by a genre
that can often be somewhat restrictive. Truly charming and coolly
mesmerizing." *** ½ stars

The beginning of 2007, Larkin started focusing on re-releasing his
back catalog. Classics that were long out of print were available again on Dutch label's, Rush Hour.
      
 In 2008,  Larkin is due to release another album
under his Kenny Larkin monikier on Carl Craig's, Planet e. This time he returns to his
electronic dance roots, which will no question be hailed as his best
dance floor album. Entitled, "Keys, Strings, Tambourines", it once
again showcases Larkin's affinity for melodic structure, yet still
keeping his heavy rhythmic beats close by to help educate the younger
generation about  why Detroit is still the place to turn for
beautiful Techno.

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