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 | FEATURE: Francois K - Zanzibar Legend |
François K. was born and raised in France, moving to New York in 1975 to pursue a career as a drummer. He played in various R&B cover bands and was hired by the Galaxy 21 disco to drum along with the DJ's records. This led to a strong interest in the nascent disco sound. François started DJing around New York, playing in clubs such as Experiment 4 (along with John "Jellybean" Benitez), JJ Knickerbocker, the Flamingo, and New York New York.
Around the same time, François discovered studio editing and mixing. He created a series of disco medleys and re-edits (many of which are still available as bootlegs), and in 1978 landed an A&R job at Prelude Records, a small but rapidly expanding independent disco label. One of his first accomplishments at Prelude was remixing Musique's "Push Push In The Bush," a massive disco hit which sold nearly a million copies. He went on to remix and/or edit the majority of Prelude releases, including such club classics as D Train's "Keep On", "Body Music" by The Strikers as well as signing seminal tracks that helped define the dance music aesthetic, like "Double Journey" by Powerline or "Disco Circus" by Martin Circus.
Meanwhile, François continued his DJ work, spinning at legendary clubs such as Studio 54, Les Mouches, Better Days, Buttermilk Bottom, The Loft, AM/PM, Bond's, Zanzibar, and The Paradise Garage, filling in for resident Garage jock Larry Levan. He also started collaborating with Levan (a major remixer in his own right) on studio work, and soon became so busy behind the console that he decided to stop DJing in 1983.
By the mid-eighties, François had become an in-demand top remixer and producer on both sides of the Atlantic. He quit Prelude in 1982 and started Axis Productions, working with many new wave acts such as Yazoo and Wide Boy Awake, as well as U2, Thomas Dolby, The Cure, Eurythmics, Ashford and Simpson, Mick Jagger, Diana Ross, Dinosaur L, and many others. He has as well mixed albums and singles for Kraftwerk, Depeche Mode, Rebecca (Japan) and Erasure.
In 1987, he opened Axis Studios, which quickly became a major recording and mixing facility. Axis Studios was in business for 15 years and saw the making of albums from many international pop artists.
François has since returned to DJ'ing , playing various guest spots in New York City at The Sound Factory Bar, House Nation, Afterlife, Roxy, Vinyl and Twilo. He has also played in the U.K. at Ministry of Sound, The End, Bar Rhumba, Back To Basics, The Blue Note and Hard Times, in Italy at Angels Of Love, Cocorico and Red Zone, and in Japan at Club Yellow, Gold, Precious Hall, Red Hot, and various clubs.
In 1996, François started the now legendary Sunday afternoon at Body&Soul which went on for six years and three events at Central Park SummerStage. François, along with DJ's Joaquin 'Joe' Claussell and Danny Krivit, spun a soulful mix of everything from jazzy house to drum n'bass. Body&Soul, which is still holding events from time to time (in Tokyo yearly) has established a faithful eclectic following and has allowed him to experiment and develop his own musical vision.
In the spring of 2003, Francois started a new NYC weekly club residency called Deep Space, where every Monday night he plays Dub in all of its musical forms, from Jamaican vintage grooves to spacey and abstract new electronic sounds with anything in between.
In 1994, François established Wave Music a fully independent record label. Wave Music was created out of a need for a label with initiative to turn out lasting music with substance as well as style. It is with this mentality that Wave has established extraordinary national and international success with its eclectic catalog of soulful music and minimal, techy sounds. With staples such as Abstract Truth's "Get Another Plan", the #1 Billboard Dance Chart hit "Din Da Da" by club sensation Kevin Aviance, “Sweeter Love��? by Blue 6 Wave places no boundaries on expression. Along with a steady flow of new releases, he has managed to find time to record some of his own music, such as the acclaimed FK-EP, followed by "Time & Space", as well as "Capricorn", "Enlightenment, "Awakening", a stunning Brazilian-flavored jazzy song featuring vocals by Barbara Mendes, and “Got To Be In Love��?, a house anthem performed by Barbara Mendes as well. Recently, he has launched a new label division called Deep Space media, dedicated to the dubby vibes and abstract sounds of his Monday night party, on which the first compilation will be released in January 2005.
François he is still very much in demand as remixer today, working in recent years on material for the likes of Cesaria Evora, Moloko, Ame Strong, Talvin Singh, Underworld, Juan Atkins, Rinocerose, B 52's, Bent, Gloria Estefan, Yoko Ono, Cirque du Soleil and others.
http://www.deepspacenyc.com
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Posted on January 28, 2010
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