François Kevorkian Audio Interview 20.08.09 by djmixes
Paul Morley speaks to Francois Kevorkian, legendary DJ at New York’s Paradise Garage and Studio 54, about the emergence of disco, it’s continuing influence, and how he remixed the Smiths…
François Kevorkian, alias François K, (born January 10, 1954) is a French DJ, remixer, producer and record label owner of Armenian descent living in the US. Having started his career in renowned clubs such as the Paradise Garage and Studio 54, the NYC-resident is widely considered as one of the forefathers of house music.
Born and raised in France, Kevorkian’s passion for music led to playing the drums during his teen years. He moved to the United States in 1975, where he hoped to find more challenging situations than those back home. Due to the heavy competition for any gig as a drummer in those days, he instead tried his hand at becoming a DJ in underground New York City clubs, around 1976. His career then skyrocketed, and he quickly made this his full-time occupation, although some work was at more commercial venues such as the club New York, New York in 1977. He taught himself tape editing and started making disco medleys, some of which are still popular to this day, such as Rare Earth’s “Happy Song”. He was offered a position doing A&R for a nascent dance indie record label, Prelude Records, which allowed to him to go into the studio and do remixes. His first remix, of a Patrick Adams production, “In The Bush” by Musique became a wild success both in clubs and on the radio. It was the first of many remixes that helped Prelude define the sound of New York’s dance music, including many memorable songs, including “You’re The One For Me’ and “Keep On” by D-Train, and “Beat The Street” by Sharon Redd. His stint at Prelude ended in 1982, the same year where he had the most number one singles in Billboard’s Dance Music Chart, which included his remixes of now-classic songs such as “Situation” by Yazoo, and “Go Bang” by Dinosaur L. [Read More]