There’s a reason why Eddie Fowlkes‘ handprints are cemented on the Detroit Historical Museum’s Legends Plaza. Born and raised in the Motor City, Fowlkes has left an indelible mark on modern electronic music. He began his journey with a little help from Juan Atkins, from whom he borrowed some turntables and taught himself to mix, and to better his sets he’s since recorded and released music for Metroplex, Tresor, Sony, and Peacefrog, plus his own labels CityBoy Records and Detroit Wax. “First and foremost, I am a DJ,” Fowlkes once said. “I created music to have some music to DJ with that the next DJ didn’t have. I’m just a DJ who decided to make music.”

Sonically, Fowlkes introduced the world to what he calls “techno soul,” a mixture of techno, ’70s funk, and Chicago house. (Because “Detroit … is both house heads and techno heads,” he says.) In the 1980s, he was part of the Deep Space DJ collective, which included Atkins, Art Payne, and Keith Martin, and he would perform solo with three turntables, a mixer, a wah-wah pedal, and the 808 and 909 drum machines. Techno legend Kevin Saunderson, whom we’ve featured on XLR8R, said that seeing Fowlkes DJ a fraternity party in Kalamazoo, Michigan, inspired him to become a better DJ.

After some time away from music, Fowlkes has returned with a sizzling four-track EP on Radio Slave’s Rekids, and another one will land soon. (There’s some more new music coming on Defected.) To toast his comeback, Fowlkes has recorded an XLR8R podcast, delivering precisely one hour of uplifting techno soul—coming from Kerri Chandler, Laurence Guy, Rick Wade, and more, plus a few unreleased gems from his private collection.

01. What have you been up to recently?
DJing in America a lot and recording. I’ve been making some cool tracks for 2023.

02. What have you been listening to?
It really hard to say. My range of music is wide open because I like to play different styles of music, so I can’t pin-point it!

03. Where and when did you record this mix?
I recored this hot mix at my studio, early on Friday morning.

04. What setup did you use?
Pioneer CDJ 3000s and a DJM900NXS2 mixer.

05. How did you go about choosing the tracks you’ve included?
I always pick tracks that have both elements of urban house and urban techno styles

06. How does it compare to what we might hear you play out live?
Techno soul baby!

07. What’s next on your horizon?
I am looking for a proper booking agent for Europe, and putting out smoking hot tracks for the world!

XLR8R Subscribers can download the podcast below. If you’re not an XLR8R subscriber, you can read more about it and subscribe here.

Tracklisting

01. Martin Ikin “Key Issues” (Soul Purpose)
02. Mr Jay “Chase This” (Extended Mix) (HouseU Tunes)
03. KPD, Mo’Cream “Clubs In NY” (Mo’Cream Remix) (Blockhead Recordings)
04. Laurence Guy “Waiting For Love” (Shall Not Fade)
05. Homero Espinosa “Along The Way” (Original Mix) (Moulton Music)
06. Sebb Junior, Saison “As One” (Saison Rework) (No Fuss Records)
07. Double 99 “Ripgroove” feat. Top Cat (Rerecorded) (Get Human Records)
08. Luyo, Reno Ka “Back To Me” (Instrumental) (Nervous)
09. Voigt & Voigt “Why” (Kompakt)
10. Retromigration “Retromigration-Flying Lotus” (wewillalwaysbealovesong)
11. Rick Wade “Acid Creep” (Shall Not Fade)
12. Kerri Chandler, Lady Linn “You Get Lost In It The Warehouse Project” (Kaoz Theory)
13. ColorJaxx “Easy Rhodes” (Large Music)
14. Unknown “Unknown” (Unreleased)
15. Unknown “Unknown” (Unreleased)