SELF-OBSESSION, it’s the 21st century epidemic. M-m-my generation has become the me-me-me generation and reality has become a TV show which turns our next door neighbours into stars that flicker and die in the blink of an eye.
It’s Warhol’s fifteen minutes reductio ad absurdum, Alice navel-gazing through the looking glass. And while our cathode ray icons relentlessly chant “mirror, mirror on the wall ...” the myth of Narcissus – condemned to waste away adoring his own image – seems entirely apposite.”
Kenny Larkin, 2005.
Detroit’s maverick techno interepretor, Kenny Larkin returns as his alter self, Dark Comedy
with quite arguably, his most impressive, and important release to date, “Funk Faker:Music Saves My Soul”. From the swooning synthetics of Fake French to the seductive, undulating groove of "In The Meantime", it reflects both where he’s been and where he’s coming from now. With “Funk Faker: Music Saves My Soul", Larkin wastes no time in establishing himself as one of Detroit’s most intriguing and multi-faceted talents. Exploring the full range of his musical persona, Larkin pushes himself to tap into a soulful side of him that although present in his earlier releases, finds itself deeply entrenched in, and modelled after African American music from years’ past. Big intentions, and also to remind others how and why soul music, in it’s many shapes, sizes, and guises, undeniably taps the most primal emotional and moral attributes that makes a human, a human being.
This is electronic black music in it’s rawest, purest form. Stripped of slick, modern day production techniques, polished vocals, and mechanically quantized melodies, Larkin instead focuses on funky, laid back organ solo’s, James Brown-esque horn stabs, bluesy guitar riffs reminiscent of John Lee Hooker, and Larkin’s self narrative, comical, blues style vocals. Larkin thrusts himself into a genre not yet discovered by his electronic contemporaries from Detroit, or quite arguably anyone for that matter, by mixing blues, funk, jazz, house, and a pinch of techno.
Funk Faker: Music Saves My Soul ‘s aim is not to be dissected, and analyzed, it’s purpose is to be felt. Larkin’s unique interpretation of the many black genres of music, that inspired him as a child, leaves the listener with only one option…tap your feet, and move your ass. Witness why African American music, in any form, continues to influence almost every genre of music today.
Detroit techno legend Kenny Larkin delivers his long-awaited new album six years after his last release. The Narcissist – 11 carefully considered electronic gems guaranteed to provide an antidote to the superficial whirl.
Dark Comedy- Funk Faker: Music Saves My Soul will be released on Poussez late May/mid-June
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