Three categories of people ought to be honored by the exhibit:
1) the whole damn scene and taste culture that collectively led to
(and helped to develop) what was then simply "Detroit House" -- that
fine music we all know as Detroit techno. Without audiences deciding
what was fresh, and not so fresh, the cycle of innovation would not
have worked as it did. Without a scene, the music wouldn't have
happened -- none of these cats were "bedroom virtuosos" which marks a
difference between dance music and other genres.
2) the whole group of people who were actively making music
significantly in and around this scene. Which means that not only
should Fowlkes be given due, but so too should Mills & Mojo & a whole
bunch of other folks. Including Chicago artists, since Detroit and
Chicago ended up being musical siblings to a great degree. Just as
"Detroit House" was not merely Detroit simply "stealing" the Chicago
sound (as a few books on music have foolishly mentioned and argued),
so too the Chicago sound wouldn't have been the same without some
Detroit influence. So 'nuff said -- it's bigger than the Belleville
Three.
3) The Belleville Three. They have been techno's most visible and
loyal stalwarts, through thick and thin. Every ounce of credit and
respect are also due to them. Not *all* the credit for techno, as
points 1) and 2) have hopefully made clear. But due and generous
credit, nevertheless. Fowlkes doesn't rank here. Mills? As great
as his achievements are, this category has at least as much to do
with the *identification* of celebrity with Detroit Techno. And, as
Sterling Silver once tried to call me out on, neither America nor
Europe really identifies Mills with his history, or Detroit per se.
Atkins, May and Saunderson are the celebrities of techno's founding
moment. No matter what the achievements of any other performers,
from then until now, these three play a unique role *as* celebrities,
even as their music veers wildly from Saunderson's heavy
Gospel-inflected work to Atkins' R&B projects. They are techno not
for what they make, but for who they are and what they *made*.
But they didn't make it all alone, in anyone's basement. They made
it in the context of a city, and a specific scene, at a particular
cultural moment. All of which deserves to be remembered, and
explained. I do hope they do a good job of it.
-marc
At 12:33 PM -0800 11/20/02, ed612313 wrote:
so you think eddie fowlkes deserves to be mentioned along with the other
three?
if he does, then so do about another 10 artist!!!!!!!!!
"story of how Juan Atkins, Eddie Fowlkes, Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson,
four young men from metro Detroit, created and developed this electronic
style of dance....."
what has eddie done to get this sort of mention? An originator?
stick to 3
peace
ed
----- Original Message -----
From: "Tristan Watkins" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "313" <313@hyperreal.org>
Sent: Sunday, November 17, 2002 11:41 AM
Subject: (313) Fw: Techno: Detroit's Gift to the World
Optic Studios just sent this out, and I figured this would be something
essential to post here. Seems like this is something that's been talked
about for a long time and has finally happened. Great to see Eddie Fowlkes
name in the same breath as the other 3. Nice that if there's a DEMF this
year, this exhibit will still be on then.
BTW - I finally got the 3MB feat. Eddie Flashin' Fowlkes album on Tresor,
mostly just for Illuminism. I'd only heard the Sun Electric edit of this
track on the Tresor 2 comp until now, but damn the full version is even
better!
Tristan
LINK http://www.detroithistorical.org/exhibits/index.asp?MID=368
Techno: Detroit's Gift to the World
January 2003 - June 2004
Detroit Historical Museum's Stark Hall
History is often thought of as a series of events that occurred a very
long
time ago. The truth is, history is also what happened yesterday, five
> minutes ago, and in fact, today's events will be tomorrow's history. With
this in mind the Detroit Historical Museum has partnered with the
originators of Techno to share the story of their music. This
groundbreaking exhibit will trace Techno's early beginning from its
Detroit
roots to its emergence as a global sensation.
An ambitious new exhibit - the world's first on the subject -- that
celebrates a style of music born in Detroit that has kept the world
dancing
for more than 20 years.
Learn the straight story of how Juan Atkins, Eddie Fowlkes, Derrick May
and
Kevin Saunderson, four young men from metro Detroit, created and developed
this electronic style of dance music and trace its early beginnings from
> local Detroit clubs to its emergence as a global sensation.
>
>
