Born in New York but raised in Detroit, USA, Kevin Saunderson joined Belleville High School where he befriended two like-minded students: Derrick May and Juan Atkins. As teens, they bonded over music, citing the pop, disco, and funk records spun by DJ Charles “The Electrifying Mojo” Johnson as a profound influence—and they went on to create the Detroit techno sound, shifting the global music landscape in an unprecedented way.

Starting off as a DJ and under the technically-focused guidance of Atkins, Saunderson began producing, and he put his early work on the Atkins’ legendary Metroplex. Following this period of discovery, Inner City, arguably Saunderson’s greatest achievement, came to be. The result of an accidental pairing with Paris Grey, Inner City established itself as one of the world’s most influential dance acts. Discovered by UK music entrepreneur Neil Rushton, Grey and Saunderson shot to stardom with “Big Fun” and the adored follow up “Good Life.” This immediate success was propelled by their debut album, Paradise, which cemented Inner City’s role as prime-time movers in the house and techno revolution of the late ’80s and early ’90s.

Elsewhere, Saunderson has released music as E-Dancer, an alias created to satisfy his more underground leanings. Since its inception, E-Dancer has created seminal techno in its purest form culminating in the album Heavenly, released on Carl Craig’s iconic Planet E imprint.

In this month’s Influences podcast, Saunderson reflects on his summers in New York, where he went to visit his father, at a time when the legendary Paradise Garage—known as “The Garage” or “The Gay-Rage”—was in its prime. These were some of Saunderson’s earliest memories of club music, learned from no other than Larry Levan, whose decade-long residency at the New York venue shaped it into an institution that we still talk about three decades after it closed its doors forever. Although he was unable to frequent Paradise Garage on too many occasions, the club had left an indelible mark on him, and went a long way into shaping him into one of electronic music’s most pioneering artists.

Above all else, Saunderson believes that the world needs to be uplifted, and Inner City is an outlet to make uplifting music; he believes this is why “Big Fun” and “Good Life” have withstood the test of time. He says that all his successes lead back to Paradise Garage. These are just some of the records that remind of his time there.

“I’m originally from New York, and moved to Detroit at the age of 12. Each summer I’d go back to New York to see my family as my father still lived there. When I got to around the age of 17, I started to go to the Paradise Garage with my cousin Berry and some of his buddies. I think I went about five or six times before it closed.

“It was some of my earliest experiences of clubs, going in at 1 am, and leaving at 12 pm the next day. I used to wait until the music stopped. Watching Larry Levan and seeing this wonderful atmosphere, you just couldn’t leave until the music stopped. Some of these records are in my record crate and I play them out now, and some remind me of memories and moments of seeing people just really loving and embracing the music. Some tracks have a message behind them, and some were just about enjoying the vibe at the time. As I started my path of creating music, I would think about how the tracks I was making would sound on a sound system like the Paradise Garage, and what people would vibe like. Whether it was instrumental or vocal, my inspiration definitely came from there.” — Kevin Saunderson

XLR8R has now joined Mixcloud Select, meaning that to download the podcast you will need to subscribe to our Select channel. The move to Mixcloud Select will ensure that all the producers with music featured in our mixes get paid. You can read more about it here.

Tracklisting

01. Loleatta Holloway “Love Sensation” (Dimitri from Paris DJ Friendly Classic Re-Edit) (2017 – Remaster) (Salsoul Records)
02. Chic “I Want Your Love” (Dimitri From Paris Instrumental 2018 Remaster) (Glitterbox Recordings)
03. Chic “My Forbidden Lover” (Dimitri From Paris Remix) (Glitterbox Recordings)
04. Avon Stringer “Get A Move On” (Original Mix) (Play It Down)
05. Funkatron “Second Choice” (Original Mix) (Cut Rec)
06. First Choice, Dr Packer “Let No Man Put Asunder” (Dr Packer Rework) (Salsoul Records)
07. Aspen Bizarre Disco “Love Will Fix It” (Original Mix) (Nothing But)
08. DJ Mes “Amour Est Libre” (Main Mix) (Guesthouse Music)
09. Double Exposure “Everyman” (Late Nite Tuff Guy Rework) (Salsoul Records)
10. The O-Jays “I Love Music” (Joey Negro Sweet Music Mix) (Z Records)
11. Chic “Dance, Dance, Dance” (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah) (Intro Clean) (Atlantic)
12. First Choice “Doctor Love” (Late Nite Tuff Guy Hypnotizin- Groove) (Salsoul Records)
13. Chic “Everybody Dance” (Intro Clean) (Atlantic)
14. Di Saronno, Gangs of Naples “The Payback” (Original Mix) (Dafunk)
15. MONYQ “Feel All Right” (CYFI)
16. Sister Sledge “He’s the Greatest Dancer” (Cotillion Records)
17. Sister Sledge “We Are Family” (Clean) (Extended) (Atlantic)
18. Sister Sledge “Lost In Music” (Atlantic)