Kenny Larkin

About

Also known as: Kenneth Larkin, Lark

Kenny Larkin is one of Detroit techno's most quietly influential figures, described by AllMusic as "massively influential" on American, British, and German techno alike. He came up in the second wave of Detroit producers, shaped by the sounds of Juan Atkins and Derrick May as well as Chicago house, and built a catalog spanning labels like Plus 8, Warp, R&S, and Planet E. His early singles "We Shall Overcome" and "Integration" landed on Richie Hawtin and John Acquaviva's Plus 8, while his 1994 Warp album Azimuth pushed toward more experimental, intelligent dance music territory. Larkin also records as Dark Comedy, a project that lets him stretch further into jazz, blues, and soul textures, even incorporating vocals. His records have always found more traction in Europe than at home in the US, which tracks for Detroit techno's transatlantic pull. In 2001 he relocated to Los Angeles to pursue stand up comedy, though he kept DJing and returned to prolific music making in 2004 with The Narcissist and the Dark Comedy album Funkfaker: Music Saves My Soul. His 2008 release Keys, Strings, Tambourines rounded out a run of records that cemented his reputation as one of Detroit's most thoughtful electronic artists.