Agency55

Father and son, Kevin and Dantiez Saunderson take control of our mind, body and soul at Audio on September 18th! Kevin Saunderson is an American electronic music producer. At the age of nine he moved to Belleville, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit where he attended Belleville High School and befriended two students, De rrick May and Juan Atkins. Saunderson, with Atkins and May, (often called the "Belleville Three"), is considered to be one of the originators of techno, specifically Detroit techno. He is married to Sharmeela Lamarsha Saunderson. Although frequently associated with Detroit, Kevin Saunderson spent the early years of his life in Brooklyn, New York, before moving to Belleville, Michigan, a rural town some 30 miles from Detroit. As teenagers attending Belleville High School, Atkins, May, and Saunderson were fans of DJ Charles "The Electrifying Mojo" Johnson and the pop, disco, and funk music he played. Atkins and May soon became serious about mixing others' music and creating their own, but Saunderson pursued other goals first, studying telecommunications and playing American football at Eastern Michigan University. Atkins had begun recording with Cybotron in 1981, but it was not until 1985 that May followed suit and made a record. Initially concentrating on becoming a DJ, Saunderson watched the six-month-long process as May completed "Let's Go;" he was inspired to create his own music. Kreem Atkins shared his technical expertise with Saunderson, and those early sessions led to a track called "Triangle Of Love." "I used to wake up in the middle of the night, go into my studio - which was in the next room - and lay down the ideas as they came to me. At the time it was all about experimentation and being a college kid" Saunderson writes on his web page autobiography. "Triangle of Love" was released under the pseudonym Kreem on Atkins' label, Metroplex. Inner City Inner City is a Saunderson collaboration that came about "by accident," according to Saunderson. In 1987 he recorded a backing track in his home studio, but needed lyrics and a female vocalist. His friend, Chicago house producer Terry ‘Housemaster’ Baldwin suggested Paris Grey. "Paris agreed, flew into Detroit, came up with lyrics and ‘Big Fun’ was born."[1] Saunderson filed away the tape until, months later, UK dance entrepreneur Neil Rushton came to Detroit in search of music for a compilation album, Techno - The New Dance Sound Of Detroit for Virgin Records. Neil enthusiastically included "Big Fun" on the album. It was soon released as a single and became a worldwide smash, only to be outsold by Inner City's follow-up single, "Good Life." A debut album, Paradise, soon followed. Over the years, and after three albums, Inner City had about 12 Top 40 hits in the UK and two Top 20 albums, with combined sales of more than 6 million. E-Dancer The E-Dancer project Saunderson creates music that is "more underground." The first E-Dancer album, 'Heavenly,' was released in 1998 to critical acclaim; Spin magazine named it “one of the ten best albums you’ve never heard.” As one of three children, Dantiez Saunderson, was born and bred in Michigan and is the middle son of Recording Artist (and techno pioneer) Kevin Saunderson and Singer/Songwriter Ann Saunderson. So you would imagine that it was a ‘given’ that Dantiez was automatically going to establish a career for himself in the music industry. However, you would be sadly mistaken. It wasn’t to be until 2012, at the age of 20 that Dantiez decided to take a plunder into the music industry. He realised that music was the way to go for him, when he saw the change in electronic music and how his generation (as a whole) were starting to interact with the music, so much more. Not only has he immersed himself into producing music, but he has stepped into the world of djing. Although his inspiration to dj was by watching the likes of the three ‘Originators of Techno’ (namely Derrick May, Juan Atkins and of course his own Dad, Kevin Saunderson), he has also been influenced by DJs such as Marco Carola (from Italy) and Seth Troxler, (Seth is one of the new generation of DJs, currently riding high and co-incidentally, he’s also from Michigan). His productions, reflects all sides of his personality (depending on his mood and the time of day) and for anyone who knows Dantiez, that would certainly be a true assessment. His influences are definitely infused with Detroit, although his productions are energetic. He’s found a nice balance between underground, fused with a pop vibe, mixed with a touch of tech house and techno. “No doubt my father was a huge influence. Watching him in the studio, when I was growing up, was amazing and obviously my mother has been a big influence also. I listened to “Spastik” by Plastikman (aka Richie Hawtin) and I still really love that track. I’m also into Dubfire (formerly one half of Deep Dish) and Oliver Hunttington. However, my early influences would most definitely be Hip Hop, so artists such as Eminem ("Cleaning Out My Closet" was a favourite track), Timberland and his productions; for instance "Lose Control" by Missy Elliott and Justin Timberlake’s "Cry Me a River" and the list goes on...” “Undergo” will be Dantiez’s debut release (co written and co produced by Kevin Castro). It will be released on First Step Records, a UK label (and a subsidiary of Endemic Digital), in May 2013. This young man knows where he’s going and as he says “music is my life (just as it is with my Mother and Father), so the sky’s the limit... Ultimately, I wish to travel the world and share my music and good vibes with others. Just being able to do that is rewarding enough”. Opening set by Agency55 For table reservations, email reservations@audiosf.com 21+