{"id":3499,"date":"2017-01-30T18:34:15","date_gmt":"2017-01-30T18:34:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ajdancelegacy.com\/~ajdance\/?p=3499"},"modified":"2022-11-06T17:12:47","modified_gmt":"2022-11-06T17:12:47","slug":"francois-k-28-01-17","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ajdancelegacy.com\/~ajdance\/francois-k-28-01-17\/","title":{"rendered":"FRAN\u00c7OIS K 28.01.17"},"content":{"rendered":"

FRAN\u00c7OIS K<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Staying Woke<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody it\u2019s January 28, 2017.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYayyyyy!\u201d A sea of voices yells.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you think I\u2019m going to play music that puts you to sleep. I\u2019m not! There is some $hit that is happening out THERE and I want you to WAKE UP!!!,\u201d shouts an accented baritone, drowned by more \u201cwhewwwws\u201d and \u201cyaaayyyys.\u201d His voice shakes with concern and rightfully so. His stare fixated on the audience as his finger reaches down and presses play. On cue, knocking percussions beats underneath a Lowrey organ\u2019s chords as Timmy Thomas croons, \u201cWhy Can\u2019t We Live Together?\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

2400<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Down the stairs and around the corner, shoulders brush against arms that wave for strangers to follow as feet try to tread open space to dance. Absent are cropped circles with impressive head spinners making statements. There are more bodies standing upright than slant in movements. A sea of porcelain visages stare, engaged at a performance stage. Witnessing the energy emanating from one man. A legend in action already imprints the dance floor.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I Want To See, reads his black tee. His hulky frame stands huddled between a laptop and Pure Groove monitors. His hands swing on deck. As his thumb and index finger tweaks channels across metallic machines the music steadily intensifies to an erupting crescendo of s<\/strong>onic explosions. \u00a0Gershon Jackson’s “Take It Easy<\/a>,” \u00a0The Mike Dunn Blackball Ezee Mix delivers bass drops to the balls before transitioning into the pitter-patter of African drums that elevates Mr. Finger\u2019s \u201cCan You Feel It<\/a>.\u201d Where most DJs create drama to create audience hype this DJ needs neither. His \u201cprocessing techniques\u201d created live is how he works the music; he mutes the groove; he filters arrangements; he compresses the drums; after all he is a master crafter of the music he plays. He may not be the hottest viral sensation but digging though the crates of popular music, you will be hard pressed not to find his name credited as a producer, remixer, or drummer.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Fran\u00e7ois Kervorkian\u2019s discography is much revered among music aficionados and well respected among club heads. His big break arrived in the late 1970\u2019s with a dub of D-Train\u2019s \u201cKeep On,\u201d his 80\u2019s repertoire spans productions for rock seminal Depache Mode to U2, to his leap back as a forerunning DJ playing electronic sounds in the 1990\u2019s. Tonight, there is one aspect that speaks loudest in his biography. Having recently celebrated 40 years of living in this so-called United States of America. Monsieur Kevorkian is an immigrant.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Which only further amplifies why playing Timmy Thomas, \u201cWhy Can\u2019t We Live Together\u201d matters. The music goes silent. \u201cSay What\/Say What\/Say What\/I Woke Up From This Dream\u201d a voice spits over 80 BPM of psychedelic funk. Laurent Garneir\u2019s \u201cFirst Reaction (V2)<\/a>\u201d asks, \u201cWhat\u2019s On Your Mind?\u201d Immigration Reform?<\/em> A Refugee Ban?<\/em> A wall?<\/em> The spoken word of drummer Sangoma Everett pulls minds into deep thought. After all, music should challenge.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

And challenging music is at the heart of the native French DJ. While some naysay Bruno Mars\u2019 music playing at an underground party, \u201c24K Magic\u201d sparkles brilliantly into Francois\u2019 open-mindedness. Tributes abound too. Studio 54 represents with Herb Albert\u2019s \u201cRotation\u201d and Odyssey\u2019s \u201cInside Out\u201d to posthumous icons Prince, \u201cWanna Be Your Lover (Live Version),\u201d and Wham \u201cEverything She Wants.\u201d One finds introspection in listening to Lolita Holloway\u2019s a cappella of \u201cHit and Run\u201d before Eddie Amour proclaims \u201cNot Everyone Understands House Music<\/a>.\u201d An organ fueled dub of the Jungle Brother\u2019s classic \u201cI\u2019ll House You<\/a>\u201d packs the fun while the self-awakening poetry of Mutabaruka\u2019s \u201cDis Poem\u201d- particularly the line \u201cThe Ku Klux Klan riots in Brixton Atlanta\u201d-energizes the room. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

0230<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Bodies are still glued to one another with sweat as neon music notes dance across the wall atop the bar as hints of nicotine straddles the air. Social media posts read, \u201cI was turned away at the front door.\u201d Earlier in the night there was even a line that snaked down the street to the venue\u2019s front door. For everyone who entered received a seat at the table. Their pallets feasted on treasures-Chicago house, Detroit techno, NYC deep, London electro and Soweto\u2019s Afro. The feast was succulent. The music dynamic. This musical exchange was not for the exclusive elite, but inclusive for all to experience. Music itself is the language of freedom that Fran\u00e7ois K beckons to wake up people. In these polarizing times, where weekly worldwide protests are the new black, it is important to stay woke. If we sleep, our right to assemble, dance, and play music might banish.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

wrds: aj dance<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Fb-Button\"\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>
<\/fb:like><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FRAN\u00c7OIS K Staying Woke \u201cEverybody it\u2019s January 28, 2017.\u201d \u201cYayyyyy!\u201d A sea of voices yells. \u201cIf you think I\u2019m going to play music that puts you to sleep. I\u2019m not! There is some $hit that is happening out THERE and I want you to WAKE UP!!!,\u201d shouts an accented baritone, drowned by more \u201cwhewwwws\u201d and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[279,11,287,8,158,7,38,296],"class_list":["post-3499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-events","tag-afro-house-music","tag-atlanta-georgia","tag-dance","tag-deep-house-music","tag-francois-k","tag-house-music","tag-techno","tag-the-music-room"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2JDhj-Ur","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1257,"url":"https:\/\/www.ajdancelegacy.com\/~ajdance\/demf-2009-23-25-05-09\/","url_meta":{"origin":3499,"position":0},"title":"DEMF 2009 23-25.05.09","author":"ajdance","date":"May 26, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Photography by Angie McVay","rel":"","context":"In "Events"","block_context":{"text":"Events","link":"https:\/\/www.ajdancelegacy.com\/~ajdance\/category\/events\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ajdancelegacy.com\/~ajdance\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/01.-MP-AJAngie.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":39,"url":"https:\/\/www.ajdancelegacy.com\/~ajdance\/jamie-326-02-09-12\/","url_meta":{"origin":3499,"position":1},"title":"JAMIE 3:26 02.09.12","author":"ajdance","date":"September 4, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Atlanta\u2019s house and disco heads wishes came true. 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