Music
Eddie Fowlkes
born 1962 · DJ, record producer, label owner
Detroit-born DJ often called the “fourth” founder of techno, who coined the term “techno soul” and runs City Boy Records.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan
age 63- Also known as
- Eddie "Flashin" Fowlkes · the Belleville Fourth
- Detroit years
- 1962–present
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Eddie Fowlkes was born in Detroit and got hooked on mixing in 1978 after watching a DJ at a Charivari party, one of the teenage social-club dances that shaped the city's early dance scene. At Eastern Michigan University he met Juan Atkins and joined his Deep Space DJ collective, and for a time he shared a place with Derrick May; Kevin Saunderson later said that seeing Fowlkes play a fraternity party pushed him to take DJing seriously. Inspired by Cybotron, Fowlkes taught himself keyboards on borrowed gear and in 1986 released “Goodbye Kiss” on Atkins's Metroplex label. He played the Music Institute alongside the Belleville Three, and in 1991 his Detroit Techno Soul record named his blend of techno and house. His later work with Berlin's Tresor and his own City Boy and Detroit Wax labels kept him active worldwide. The Detroit Historical Museum's 2003 exhibition counted him among techno's four creators.
Highlights
- First release “Goodbye Kiss” on Metroplex (1986).
- Named alongside Atkins, May and Saunderson in the museum's 2003 show Techno: Detroit's Gift to the World.
- Coined “techno soul” with Detroit Techno Soul (1991).
- Recorded The Birth of Technosoul with 3MB for Tresor (1993).
- Founded City Boy Records in 1993.
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 3
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Performed here · 1988–1989
The Music Institute
Closed · 1988–1989
The downtown club where he DJed alongside the Belleville Three before it closed in November 1989.
Memorial
Detroit Historical Museum
His handprints are set in the museum's Legends Plaza, honoring him as a techno pioneer.
Studied here · early 1980s
Eastern Michigan University
Where he met Juan Atkins and joined the Deep Space DJ collective.