Kenny Larkin in Propka

Kenny Larkin is rightfully considered one of the main innovators of the "second wave" of Detroit techno producers. Returning to Detroit after two years of service in the US Air Force, Kenny decided to become a stand-up comedian, and as a result of his trips to clubs, he witnessed the emergence of a new musical genre in them, later called "Detroit techno". At the same time, he became friends with Richie Hawtin, then a resident of The Shelter club. During one of the night drives in Detroit, the friends accidentally heard a radio mix by Derrick May (who called himself "Mayday" on the radio), and this determined their musical future.
Kenny Larkin's first two singles were released on the +8 label, but it wasn't until 1992, when the aspiring producer founded his own label called Art of Dance, that he found his unique sound. "War of the Worlds", a track recorded by Kenny under the Dark Comedy moniker and licensed by Derrick May to Transmat Records, became a techno dancefloor classic. In 1994, Kenny Larkin aptly signed a contract with Warp Records and released his first album, "Azimuth", which the European and American press, with rare consensus, declared one of the most original techno albums.
On November 17, 1994, Kenny's meteoric career was overshadowed by the shooting of two unknown assailants in his country house, which nearly took his life. 12 hours of surgery, 6 days in the hospital, two weeks of rest - and just 2 weeks later Kenny Larkin began a tour in support of his new album "Metaphor", again extremely aptly released on R&S Records and subsequently brought him fame as a techno pioneer. In 1997, Kenny's first album, Dark Comedy, was released, much more minimal in sound than the first two.
Despite the unqualified success of his own music and remixes (for Carl Craig, Inner City, Charm Farm, L.A. Synthesis and even Sade, albeit in bootleg form in the latter case), Kenny Larkin has long believed that he did everything he could using traditional techno means. It wasn't until 2002, after his career as a stand-up comedian began to take off, that Kenny felt the urge to record music again and began working on two albums at once. Both The Narcissist and Funk Faker: Music Saves My Soul were very different from the musician’s previous albums, but retained his spirit of innovation and organic genrelessness.
In early 2006, Kenny Larkin began re-releasing his classic creations, and in mid-to-late summer he planned to release a new album under his own name. The most impatient fans have already dubbed the album "Keys, Strings, Tambourines" (apparently not commercially available yet) "Kenny's best dancefloor creation." Let's hope that the famous narcissist and funk faker will give Muscovites the opportunity to form their own opinion on this matter.
October 19, Thursday, Propaganda club, performance by Kenny Larkin (Peacefrog, Los Angeles, USA)