BOB MOSES: SONIC HOMAGE TO BLACK ARTISTS

Birthed from the walls of the discotheque, electronic music was created by and for the Black community as means of communication and a haven of solidarity. In Belleville, Detroit circa the 1970s, techno was brought to life by a Black man named Juan Atkins-alongside Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson-when they experimented with what they could make with a Korg MS-10 synthesizer and tape deck.

House music has a similar narrative as it was first introduced from “the ashes of disco” in a primarily Black and queer Chicago club called “The Warehouse” by a DJ referred to as Frankie Knuckles. Although in a tier of its own, electronic music served a similar purpose to the queer POC community as it kept disco’s message of liberation and created a space where people of all backgrounds and walks of life could come together and dance.

To commemorate the history behind the electronic music scene that they came up in as well as Black History Month, electronic-duo Bob Moses curated a playlist to pay homage to the Black artists who have influenced their sound. Like several electronic producers and DJ’s over the past year, Bob Moses’ playlist was that of many to honor the musical imprint that the Black community has left on every genre of music, especially that of the modern EDM scene.

The Canadian duo painted a musical picture of their influences throughout their career, paying tribute to iconic artists like OutKast, Gill Scott-Heron, Missy Elliott, and the “godfather of house music” himself, Frankie Knuckles. Represented by their genre-blending style and diverse sound, Bob Moses showcases where they obtained their inspiration from and sheds light on the artists and sounds that have come before them to bring music to where it is today.

Listen here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2tgCHyUNQRJ8PMMeCtHSC5