Kevin Saunderson‘s legendary underground techno alias e-Dancer has returned and this time his son, Dantiez, is joining him at the controls.
This is soulful, groove-fuelled, underground techno straight from the heart of Detroit and the duo will present the new era of e-Dancer, and of Detroit techno, with new single Melodica on October 23.
In the ’90s, Kevin Saunderson sent shockwaves with e-Dancer’s seminal debut album, Heavenly. Amid sociopolitical storms, inner-city decay and protest, e-Dancer was a battle cry to connect people in a groove. It’s a techno masterpiece that has reverberated across the decades, from the 90s to the 2020s, and is regarded as the definitive Detroit techno album.
“Dantiez sounds like me. Working on this next generation of e-Dancer with him, I’m more passionate and energetic than ever,” says Kevin. “This is about me, the pioneer, passing the torch to carry the legacy. I know it’s in Dantiez’s DNA. I know he’s ready.”
“When people hear the new music, I hope they feel the elevation and the synergy between the original e-Dancer and the new iteration,” Dantiez says. On Melodica he pays homage to his father’s sonic palette while also adding a heavy dose of his own new school Detroit style.
Innovation is at the forefront of every Kevin Saunderson project. His nickname, “The Elevator,” was given to him not just for his role in transporting a new sound from Detroit to a global audience but also for his continued dedication to progressing the culture he helped create. Five decades in, Kevin will continue to enlighten new generations of club kids with the evolution of e-Dancer alongside his son and protégé, Dantiez Saunderson. This isn’t the first time Kevin joins forces with his son to bring a fresh approach to the classic blueprint. In 2019, the pair revived Kevin’s formative Inner City project with a world tour and the first original album in 30 years.
Since e-Dancer’s inception, the alias has evolved in the work of fellow Motor City icons, Juan Atkins, Carl Craig and Kenny Larkin, who put their unique stamp on tracks from the seminal e-Dancer album, ‘Heavenly’. Years later, Kevin turned out an alternative version, ‘Heavenly Revisited’, and Adam Beyer’s Drumcode also honoured e-Dancer’s influence on ‘Re: Generate’, a remix album released in 2021 where the likes of Amelie Lens, TYGAPAW, Robert Hood, and DJ Minx created their own interpretations of e-Dancer.
Now, Detroit’s first family of techno is taking e-Dancer to the next level once again and ‘Melodica’ is just the beginning.
e-Dancer – Melodica
Release date: 23rd October
Label: One House
Stream or download here
Stay tuned to the Techno Trip Tracks of the Week selection and Listen to e-Dancer’s new music first
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