Today, Detroit electronic music organization Inner City released their first album in 30 years, We All Move Together. The main track of the paintings of the same call includes an inspiring and hard monologue through Idris Elba on the history of dance music and the contributions of Inner City founder Kevin Saunderson to the evolution of the genre, one of the ancestors of techno. In fact, the album as a whole is made in the purest Inner City style: it is significant, moving and stimulating.
According to Kevin Saunderson, the concept for the record came here when he heard his son, Dantiez Saunderson, play a song that reminded him of Inner City and the kind of music he played years ago. “There were such abstentions as I had done at the time. [That] just reminded me. I was joking with [Dantiez] and I said, “Hey, you ripped me off.” And from that conversation, I understand why are we looking to remake Inner City? “says Kevin Saunderson.
The band was later reformed, but with some new members, as it is now composed of Kevin Saunderson, Dantiez Saunderson and singer Steffanie Christi’an; infrequently invited guest singers to record, such as ZebrActobrA and Elba. Although We All Move Together is the band’s first release in 30 years, Kevin Saunderson says it is similar to their last 3 albums as it was created to “make other people feel good”.
When asked what the name of the record means to them, Kevin Saunderson said, “For me, it means that other people meet on the dance floor, meet politically, [and] come together to unite and do something positive.”
“One thing I hear Kevin say, who resonates with me, is that he makes music for everyone,” Christi’an adds. “It doesn’t matter what kind of organization you’re in. You can be in the city of Detroit, at a club in London, [or] somewhere in Berlin or Australia: they’re all going to transfer the music he and Dantiez have made. There’s a unity in the music there.”
The concept of the album’s call has more weight on those days given the weather in the United States with the Black Lives Matter protests, and Kevin Saunderson notes that the album “arrives in a time of need.” He, Dantiez Saunderson and Christi’an agreed that black dance artists do not have the same opportunities as white dancers, so to mention that lists of music festivals tend to be bleached. Christi’an adds that this happens in the outdoor genres of dance music, with the exception of R-B and hip-hop, because they are considered “black music”.
Kevin Saunderson adds that this can discourage Black artists from wanting to create dance music because they won’t feel inspired or influenced by a genre where very few, if any, of the artists look like them. He says that the industry has the potential to change this by hiring more Black agents in agencies and booking artists who create different sounds from the ones often heard in the mainstream space. He adds that the underrepresentation of Black dance music artists is predominantly a problem in the United States, citing that his big success for Inner City initially came in Europe when he should have been more recognized within the United States.
“The history of electronic music and techno was created and ignited through black artists in Detroit,” he adds. “It’s vital to know that we’ve been doing this for years. We haven’t earned credit for all the paintings we’ve made. There have been artists, corporations and managers who have manipulated our sound. It’s one thing to be inspired, I still think they intentionally put black artists aside, so I think we want to know now that this is happening.
Lisa Kocay is a journalist interested in music, gastronomy, wine, spirits and architecture, and covers those interests for ForbesLife. Full-time, she works as a
Lisa Kocay is a journalist interested in music, gastronomy, wine, spirits and architecture, and covers those interests for ForbesLife. Full-time, she works as a content control coordinator at Royce Investment Partners, where she immerses he is immersed in the world of small-cap investments. He graduated from Columbia University School of Journalism and Lehigh University. You’ll probably put it in a concert or look for new restaurants. Follow her on Twitter (@lisakocay) or stop at her online page (lisakocay.com).