Adventures In Rhythm: Francois Kevorkian

Friday, 31 July 2015

Francois Kevorkian

Francois Kevorkian, Francois K, or FK, is a man who helped to define what dance music is, having been an active member of the scene from the heady days of disco. FK has seen it all and done it all.

Francois is a Frenchman who moved to New York in the mid 1970s searching for bigger things. A music man through and through, he initially hoped to find work as a drummer, but New York was such a hotbed of immense talent at the time that the newcomer found DJ-ing to be a better path for him to find work in. He quickly rose to prominence and before long he was working for Prelude Records, where he began his work as a remixer/producer.

With strong connections to Studio 54 and The Paradise Garage, FK was right in the heart of the New York dance music scene. He remixed some of the best and most celebrated tracks from the era, including Sparque's "Let's Go Dancing" which he worked on with Larry Levan and Dinosaur L's "Go Bang" (Arthur Russell). When the disco era came to an end he began working with some of the brightest musical talents of the day, remixing Yazoo's "Situation", "This Charming Man" by The Smiths and other releases for household names as diverse as Kraftwerk, Ashford & Simpson, The Cure and U2.

Francois also continued to work as a DJ, including a tour with his friend Larry Levan in 1992. He set up his label Wave Music in 1995 which released some amazing house records such as the FK EP and Time & Space. Francois is also part of the Body & Soul collective, alongside fellow US DJs and artists Danny Krivit and Joe Claussell.

In more recent years, post 2000, Francois has diversified into areas such as techno and dub reggae, while keeping a keen eye on his roots in house music and disco. His night Deep Space NYC has received critical acclaim and he has worked with dub legend U Roy on this. At the same time, he has maintained his status as a producer and remixer of the highest order.

Francois is an advocate of embracing the future and using the technology which is available, as such he was an early adopter of the digital format for DJ-ing

Musique - In The Bush - Disco Mix By Francois K - 1978