François Kevorkian

François Kevorkian, alias François K, (born January 10, 1954) is a French DJ, remixer, producer and record label owner. Having started his career in renowned clubs such as the Paradise Garage and Studio 54, the New York City resident is widely considered as one of the forefathers of house music.

Biography

Born and raised in France, Kevorkian's passion for music led to playing the drums during his teen years. He moved to the United States in 1975, where he hoped to find more challenging situations than those back home. Due to the heavy competition for any gig as a drummer in those days, he instead tried his hand at becoming a DJ in underground New York City clubs, around 1976. His career then skyrocketed, and he quickly made this his full-time occupation, although some work was at more commercial venues such as the club New York, New York in 1977. He taught himself tape editing and started making disco medleys, some of which are still popular to this day, such as Rare Earth's "Happy Song". He was offered a position doing A&R for a nascent dance indie record label, Prelude Records, which allowed him to go into the studio and do remixes. His first remix, of a Patrick Adams production, "In The Bush" by Musique became a wild success both in clubs and on the radio. It was the first of many remixes that helped Prelude define the sound of New York's dance music, including many memorable songs, including "You're The One For Me' and "Keep On" by D-Train, and "Beat The Street" by Sharon Redd. His stint at Prelude ended in 1982, the same year where he had the most number one singles in Billboard's Dance Music Chart, which included his remixes of now-classic songs such as "Situation" by Yazoo, and "Go Bang" by Dinosaur L.

During that time, he was privileged enough to play as a guest DJ at such legendary venues as the Paradise Garage, The Loft, Better Days, Studio 54, Les Mouches, Buttermilk Bottom, and AM-PM, as well as a residency at New Jersey's Club Zanzibar on Fridays for over a year. The great success of his remixes led him to record producing, and his first work was the Snake Charmer EP for Island Records, utilizing an all-star cast of Jah Wobble, The Edge, Holger Czukay, and Jaki Liebezeit. His career as a remixer and producer led him to work or collaborate with many more mainstream artists, such as Eurythmics, Diana Ross, U2, Kraftwerk, Mick Jagger, Ashford & Simpson, The Cure, Midnight Oil, Jimmy Cliff, Foreigner, Jean Michel Jarre, Jan Hammer, The Fatback Band, Bunny Wailer, The Smiths, Pet Shop Boys, Cabaret Voltaire, and culminated in his involvement in mixing all of Kraftwerk's 1986 studio album, Electric Café. He mixed Depeche Mode's biggest-selling album, Violator as well as many of their 12" club remixes.

During this time he decided to build his own recording studio, Axis Studios, which ironically shared the same building as Studio 54. It quickly turned into a major commercial operation. Due to the pressures of studio work, he had abandoned DJing around 1983 to dedicate himself to recording and mixing full-time, but couldn't stay away from the turntables, and started spinning again in early 1990. The scene had really become much more international, and he quickly was able to start traveling and gaining much exposure overseas, including Japan. He toured Japan, DJ'ing with Larry Levan in the Summer of 1992 (the 'Harmony Tour') right before Levan's death in November of that same year. The demand for his DJ appearances led him to start traveling to many of the best club venues around the world, including London's 'Ministry Of Sound' and 'Fabric', Japan's 'Spacelab Yellow', Ibiza's 'Pacha' and 'Space', as well as Italy's 'Angels Of Love' and many large-scale festivals.

By 1995, he decided to start an eclectic independent record label, Wave Music which allowed him to find an outlet for his own creative endeavours, including the FK-EP, as well as signing records by Abstract Truth, Floppy Sounds and a slew of other electronic music releases. Then in 1996, he (along with partner John Davis) became involved in starting what arguably became one of New York's most revered weekly parties, Body&SOUL which took place every Sunday afternoon at Club Vinyl (6 Hubert Street), playing along with co-resident DJs Joaquin 'Joe' Claussell and Danny Krivit for a mixed crowd of ecstatic and faithful dancers from all over the world. The 'Body&SOUL' sound, a unique soulful mix of very organic and spiritual dance music grooves, led to the release of a successful compilation series by the same name.

His career as an artist did not stop evolving, as he rekindled his interest for a more electronic sound, and the release of his Sonar Music set in 2002 marked a turning point; he started playing a much edgier and futuristic style, with more to do with Techno and Dub than the House sound he was mostly identified with as a DJ until that time. In 2002, he also started touring along with Detroit Techno legend Derrick May, playing sets together as the 'Cosmic Twins'. His recent appearances at Berlin's Tresor, Manchester's Sankey's Soap and London's Fabric have helped gain him many younger fans that may not have been aware of his previous work, which in turn has led to the timely Summer 2006 release of his newest compilation CD, entitled 'Frequencies', (Wavetec), which takes the listener on a grand tour of the types of electronic music sounds he has been championing of late, from Electro and Minimal to 'big-room' House and Techno.

In April 2003, he started a residency at a new weekly Monday night event in New York City called Deep Space NYC, which focuses on Dub in all of its forms, and where the format is extremely eclectic, ranging from spaced-out Techno to the deepest Reggae, Dubstep, Hip-Hop as well as Drum & Bass, House music and Disco. His recent musical output has him mixing Deep Space NYC Vol. 1, a compilation featuring several of his own original productions (along with Jamaican dub legends Mutabaruka and U-Roy); he also recently did notable remixes for Moloko, Yoko Ono, Cesaria Evora, Nina Simone, as well as much for his own label. In 2005, he was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame as both a remixer and DJ.

Kevorkian now tours the world, taking part in many music gatherings, such as the Sonar Multimedia Festival in Barcelona, Global Gathering (UK), Exit Festival (Serbia), The Big Chill (UK), Electric Picnic (Ireland).

He is also credited for the continuous DJ mix on the dance radio station (Electro-Choc) in the game Grand Theft Auto IV. (April 2008)

To this day, many people (especially in the UK) insist on mistakenly spelling his last name as 'Kervorkian', which can be traced to an erroneous credit on the Violator album he mixed for the group Depeche Mode.

Selected discography

As an artist

• FK-EP (Wave Music) 1996
• "Time And Space" (Wave Music) 1998
• "Capricorn" (Wave Music) 2000
• "Awakening" (Wave Music) 2002
• "Enlightenment" (Wave Music) 2002
• "Road Of Life" (Deep Space Media) 2007

Compilations

• 'Masterpiece: Created By Francois K' (Ministry Of Sound) 2008
• 'Frequencies' - 2 x CD - (Wavetec) 2006
• 'Deep Space NYC (vol. 1)' (Deep Space Media/Wave Music) 2005
• 'Live At Sonar' (SonarMusic) 2003
• 'Body&SOUL NYC (vol. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) (Wave Music) 1998-2007
• 'Deep & Sexy (vol.1)' (Wave Music) 2001
• 'Choice: A Collection of Classics' (Azuli) 2002
• 'Essential Mix - François K' (London/Ffrr) 2000

Video Game DJ Mix

• 'Electro-Choc', the Dance radio station in Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar Games) 2008

As a producer

• 'Snake Charmer' Jah Wobble, The Edge, Holger Czukay and Jaki Leibezeit (Island Records) 1983
• "May The Cube Be With You" Dolby's Cube 1985
• 'Species Deceases' Midnight Oil (Columbia Records) 1985
• 'We're On The Move' Jamaica Girls (Sire) 1985
• "Strong Enough" Loleatta Holloway (Active Records) 1992 co-produced with Yvone Turner and Alan Friedman
• "Got To Be In Love" Barbara Mendes (Wave Music) 2003 co-produced with Eric Kupper
• "Rootsman" U-Roy (Deep Space Media) 2005 co-produced with Russ Disciple

As a mix producer

• 'Electric Café' Kraftwerk (EMI Records, non-USA; Warner Bros. Records, USA 1986
• 'Violator' Depeche Mode (Mute, non-USA; Sire/Reprise/Warner Bros., USA) 1990
• 'Erasure' Erasure (Mute) 1995
• 'Blondosaurus' Rebecca (Sony Japan) 1989

As a remixer

• "In The Bush" Musique (Prelude) 1978
• "I Hear Music In The Streets" Unlimited Touch (Prelude) 1980
• "You're The One For Me" / "Keep On" / "Music" / "Walk On By" / "Misunderstanding" D-Train (Prelude) 1981-1983
• "Beat The Street" / "Never Give You Up" / "Send Your Love" / "Can You Handle It" Sharon Redd 1982-1983
• "Body Music" The Strikers (Prelude) 1981 co-mixed with Larry Levan
• "Let's Go Dancin'" Sparque (West End) 1981
• "Situation" Yazoo (Mute) 1981
• "Go Bang" Dinosaur L (Sleeping Bag) 1981
• "Enjoy what you do (WHAM! rap)" WHAM! (COLUMBIA) 1982
• "Two Hearts Beat As One" / "New Year's Day" U2 (Island) 1983
• "This Charming Man" The Smiths (Rough Trade) 1983
• "Tour De France" Kraftwerk (EMI - Warner Bros.) 1984
• "Lucky In Love" / "Just Another Night" Mick Jagger (Columbia) 1984
• "Blue Light (12" Mix)" David Gilmour 1984
• "Solid (As A Rock)" Ashford & Simpson (Capitol) 1984
• "Sleepless" King Crimson 1984
• "Zoolookologie" Jean Michel Jarre (Disques Dreyfus France) 1985
• "Perfect Way" Scritti Politti UK 12" Single ((Version)) (Virgin) 1985
• "Why Can't I Be You" / "Japanese Dream" / "Hot, Hot, Hot" / "Hey You!" / The Cure (Fiction-Elektra) 1985-1990
• "The Telephone Call" Kraftwerk (EMI/Warner Bros.) 1987 co-mixed with Kraftwerk and Ron St. Germain
• "Don't You Want Me" Jody Watley (MCA) 1987
• "Rent" Pet Shop Boys (Parlophone/EMI) 1987
• "My Bag" (dancing mix) Lloyd Cole and the Commotions (single b-side, Polydor) 1987
• "My Bag" (dancing mix)/"My Bag" (dancing dub) Lloyd Cole and the Commotions (Capitol Records) 1988
• "Personal Jesus" / "Enjoy the Silence" / "Policy of Truth" / "World in My Eyes" Depeche Mode (Mute / Sire / Reprise) 1990
• "Radioactivity" Kraftwerk (EMI/Elektra) 1991
• "Higher Love" Depeche Mode (Mute/Sire/Reprise) 1994 co-mixed with Goh Hotoda
• "Get Another Plan" Abstract Truth (Wave Music) 1996
• "Tout est bleu" Ame Strong (Delabel) 1997
• "Sangue De Beirona" Cesaria Evora (Lusafrica / Wave) 1999
• "Expo Remix" Kraftwerk (EMI) 2000 co-mixed with Rob Rives
• "Hunter" Dido (Arista) 2001
• "Swollen" Bent (Ministry Of Sound) 2001
• "Josephine" Chris Rea (Warner Bros.) 2001 co-mixed with Eric Kupper
• “La La Land” Green Velvet (Music Man) 2002 co-mixed with Rob Rives
• “Community” Audio Soul Project (NRK) 2002 co-mixed with Rob Rives
• "Forever More" Moloko (Echo) 2003 co-mixed with Eric Kupper
• "Walking on Thin Ice" Yoko Ono (Twisted) 2003 co-mixed with Eric Kupper
• “Aborigine’s Jam” Cirque du Soleil (Cirque du Soleil) 2003 co-mixed with Eric Kupper
• “Aero Dynamik” Kraftwerk (EMI - Astralwerks) 2004
• “Welcome Dub” Herbest Moon (Soundscape) 2004
• “Disco Infiltrator” LCD Soundsystem (EMI UK) 2005
• “Ride a White Horse” Goldfrapp (Mute) 2005 co-mixed with Eric Kupper
• “Talk” Coldplay (EMI UK) 2005
• "Here Comes the Sun" Nina Simone (Columbia) 2006

As an editor

• "Happy Song" (bootleg) Rare Earth (labelled as: "Happy Song And Dance")
• "Is It All Over My Face" Loose Joints (West End Records) with Larry Levan --uncredited on label--

External links

• You can get more information and tour dates from his personal web site: http://www.francois-k.com/
• His record label, Wave Music: http://www.wavemusic.com/
• Current DJ residency, Deep Space NYC: http://www.deepspacenyc.com/
• Artist page on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/francois_k
• Body & SOUL's web site: http://www.bodyandsoul-nyc.com/main.html
• His DJ Profile on Resident Advisor (RA): http://www.residentadvisor.net/dj_view.asp?ID=373
• Another look at François K. from Jahsonic: http://www.jahsonic.com/FrancoisKevorkian.html
• Interview with DJ Times, 2002
• Interview & Playlist for Resident Advisor, 2007
• Six Million Steps FRANCOIS KEVORKIAN SPECIAL radio show from April 2009