Eddie Fowlkes was born on December 24, 1962, in
Detroit, Michigan. After attending a 1978 Charivari party with his older sisters where he saw DJ Darryl Shannon mixing records, Fowlkes requested a mixer for Christmas and later made his DJ debut in the late 70s. He was part of
Juan Atkins's Deep Space DJ collective which included Art Payne, Keith Martin, and
Derrick May, who was also Fowlkes's roommate. In the 1980s, Fowlkes performed with three turntables, a mixer, a wah-wah pedal, and the
TR-808 &
909 drum machines.
Kevin Saunderson said that seeing Fowlkes DJ at a fraternity party inspired him to get involved in the Deep Space Crew and become a better DJ. After hearing a
Cybotron performance, Fowlkes moved from being interested solely in DJing to creating his own records. Borrowing equipment from Atkins, he trained his ear and taught himself to play the keyboard over a couple of months. Fowlkes recalls spending his nights experimenting with drum machines and synthesizers, self teaching to produce the sounds he had only heard at parties. His first release under his own name was issued in 1986. That release on
Metroplex Records, "Goodbye Kiss", helped establish what would come to be known as
Detroit techno. With the 1991 M.I.D. (Made In Detroit) release of Detroit Techno Soul, Fowlkes introduced the concept of techno soul because "Detroit ... is both house heads and techno heads." This was followed by the 1993
Tresor release
The Birth of Technosoul, featuring 3MB (
Moritz von Oswald and
Thomas Fehlmann). He draws from the idea that Detroit Techno is not just mechanical but carries soul and emotion by blending rhythms with human touch and intent He attributes his success abroad to social barriers in the U.S. stating that America did and still does not support himself and other Detroit artists in the way European audiences did. == Discography ==