KMS Records' Nick Bjelopetrovich On Movement Weekend And Running A Label That's Older Than He Is

Opening the Stargate stage on Sunday at Detroit's Movement festival is InSOUL, aka Nick Bjelopetrovich, of Chicago. The producer and DJ not only has had several releases on one of techno's longest running labels (Kevin Saunderson's KMS Records), he also serves as the label manager. Proving himself on both the artistic and business end of things, Bjelopetrovich has seen his workload (and spotlight) grow with each passing year at Movement, having a hand in producing the annual KMS Origins showcase at the festival itself as well as several after-parties. In addition to making his festival debut Sunday afternoon, he will then kick off the KMS Records 30th anniversary after-party at Magic Stick with another set eight hours later.

Bjelopetrovich is a Chicago-area native who moved to Minneapolis to study music production and sound engineering. After touring a few schools that didn’t really speak to him, he looked on the Ableton website and found Slam Academy co-founder James Patrick listed as an instructor. He met Patrick and toured IPR, where Patrick was part of the faculty, and knew he had found his fit. After graduating, he became a part of the original Slam Academy team in 2012, helping the school get set up and serving as a TA for the first two years of the school’s existence - including for a class I took. He currently resides in Chicago. 

I connected with Bjelopetrovich to discuss how he first got involved with KMS Records, the impact working for the label has had on him as an artist, and the big 30th year anniversary celebration at Movement this year.

How did you first get involved with Dantiez Saunderson (Kevin's son) and KMS Records?

I started talking to Dantiez back in the summer of 2013. We started exchanging some messages through Facebook and email. It started off as a friendship, I was in Minneapolis at the time and he was in Chicago. Eventually he sent me a track he was working on and asked for some honest feedback. I asked him to return the favor and sent him one of mine and a friendship started from there. When I moved back to Chicago in 2014, him and I developed more of a working relationship. We started making some tunes together and he asked if I wanted to come onboard the KMS team, to help out on the label because they wanted to start doing a lot more things. They wanted to expand a little bit musically and get some new, fresh people on board, so it went from there.

So you just messaged him out of the blue? You didn’t know him before you first got connected?

No, it was just the message.

He must have already been producing by then, is that how you heard of him?

He had put out a few tracks by then, he was 1-2 years into the game when I first met him. So still pretty new, but he decided he wanted to do this full time. I asked him some tips on how he thought about my tracks themselves, how he felt about them, and then he would ask me more about production-related stuff and engineer-related stuff, and it turned into a nice relationship.

You and Dantiez have released quite a few tracks that you collaborated on, what’s the work flow like when you produce together?

We have yet to actually sit down in a studio together and work on stuff. Our workflow has been one of us will have an idea, play it for the other person, and if we feel like we’re vibing with it and have an idea to make it better or change up something, we’ll send the Ableton project to each other, work on it for a few days, then send it back. I’ll take a listen, say what I like and what I don’t like, and we keep going from there and then we have a final product when we get to a general consensus that it is done. Then I mix it down and get it ready for mastering.

What impact has working with KMS Records, Kevin, and Dantiez had on your career as a musician and on your life in general?

It’s made me a lot more humble about things in general. I’ve learned to have patience to let things fall into place. It’s definitely influenced my production, as we get these demos sent from around the world. It’s really impressive what these people bring. It’s hard to turn down an artist when I think a track is good, but Dantiez is not really feeling it, so it’s helping me as a producer to figure out what things work. We need tracks that fit the label and fit us. We don’t sign things that are for the times, we sign things that are timeless. If an artist hits us up and says ‘I need this released now’, it doesn’t work like that. We sign a track because we believe in it. That’s one of the things that has really got me humble about the music and appreciate it more.

How long have you been a part of the KMS Origins showcase at Movement?

This is going to be my third year. My first year I just helped run the stage. Last year I helped run the stage with a production partner, and then played at the after-hours party at Populux. Last year the Origins showcase was on Monday, but this year we’re on Sunday and then doing our afterparty on Sunday, so it’s going to be a long day to say the least.

We know you are DJing at Movement on Sunday, are you doing anything else at the festival?

I’m going to be helping out with interviews and general things to keep the stage flowing. We’ve got a really awesome production this year, I can’t wait for everyone to see it. We’ve put a lot of time and energy into the showcase this year because it’s the 30 year anniversary of KMS being around. I’m not even 30 years old and the label’s been around for 30 years!  Just to be able to work with Kevin and everyone at KMS, and with Paxahau and Movement, to be able to put on something this special is going to leave a mark, forever.

Gene Farris and Kevin Saunderson watch Bjelopetrovich playing as InSOUL at the KMS Records after party at Populux in 2016. Photo courtesy Nick Bjelopetrovich.

Is there a specific act at the Origins showcase you are looking forward to? How about at the festival in general?

I’m really looking forward to seeing Kevin play, because he’s playing as E-Dancer live, and just the whole production for the show to see how everything comes together. We’ve been watching as things have developed and it looks awesome so I can’t wait to see it in action. Unfortunately I have to leave halfway through his set because I’m playing early at the KMS afterparty.

As for the festival in general, I’m not going to be able to see much on Sunday obviously. I do want to see them play as The Belleville Three (editor's note: a collaboration between Kevin Saunderson, Derrick May, and Juan Atkins), I’m always a fan of the Red Bull stage and the Underground stage looks pretty good. DJ Harvey on Monday looks really awesome.

Do you have any favorite memories from the festival with the KMS team?

My favorite memory was the first year. It was the first time I was ever in Detroit and it was kind of a tough time for me personally. Seeing Derrick [May] and Kevin throw down back to back, with a live bongo player and seeing my friends out in the crowd was a really special moment in my life. It made me realize that everything works out, and it was a really beautiful thing to be involved in. 

Chosen By The Funk Presents: The Great Equalizer - A Variety Show

MINNEAPOLIS, MN -- For the fourth consecutive year, performance artist, writer, dancer, and Gamut Gallery member Bobby Kahn returns to the old firehouse at Lake Street and Minnehaha Avenue in Minneapolis to present a variety show featuring comedy, dance, performance art and music acts. The show, called The Great Equalizer, will take place at 8 PM on April 28 and 29 at The Hook and Ladder Theater, continuing an annual tradition that began when the venue was operated by Patrick’s Cabaret.

For his first two shows, Bobby tapped into his social circle and booked mostly friends and acquaintances to perform. He realized he didn’t put enough effort into booking a diverse cast, and it showed. During that time, Bobby also attended several events where he was one of few white people in the room. These experiences prodded him to get out and try new things and meet new people.  Along the way, he found inspiration from many talented artists across many disciplines and expanded his network significantly. The Great Equalizer is a testament to that.

Performers in the show are ages 12 through 66, female, male, queer, straight, transgender, cisgender, veteran performers, emerging artists, American-born, foreign-born, white, black, Puerto Rican, everybody just a freakin’.

Once they hit the stage and feel the lights, all of these distinctions melt away. Anyone can be a star when given the chance to shine. The stage is The Great Equalizer.

While most of the acts are performing for Bobby for the first time, Hola Agua, a band fronted by 12-year-old Luna Hastur will return for an encore. At the age of 10, Hastur stole the show at Bobby’s 2015 show, and she and her adult bandmates received a standing ovation both nights. The only other return performer is Dani Frame, who has played second fiddle (or second banjo, more like) in previous shows but never had an act of her own.

The show will also feature Voice of Culture Drum & Dance (led by Kenna Cottman), a comedy act by New Year’s Steve (AKA musician, comedian, and artist Michael Gaughan), multiple dances from Energy Dance Collective, a reading by Patrick’s Cabaret board member Tom Cassidy, dance performances by Rikyrah Snow and Her Queens and Jaime Ramberg, and a musical performance by Simon Chama.

In a departure from his previous shows, Bobby will take a backseat as a performer and serve as host and MC.  

After the show ends, the stage will open to the audience for a dance party featuring a live techno set by Modwell on April 28 and a DJ set by Michelle Muse on April 29.

About Bobby Kahn/Chosen By The Funk
Bobby Kahn is a performance artist, writer, cable access television personality, Gamut Gallery member, dance class instructor and event curator/promoter in Minneapolis. He got his start as an artist on the wild cable access show Freaky Deeky and from there expanded into live performance and writing. He organized several Freaky Deeky live performances at venues including First Avenue and the Zombie Pub Crawl.  He produced and starred in variety shows as a guest curator at Patrick’s Cabaret in both 2014 and 2015. In 2016, Bobby and some friends launched a new comedy cable access show called And Now It’s. 2016 also saw Bobby’s debut as a feature writer for The Current’s Local Current Blog, as well as the launch of his Chosen By The Funk website, which covers the arts on a mostly local level. In December 2016, Bobby expanded Chosen By The Funk into an event promotion company with events at First Avenue (Get Together 7) and The Hook and Ladder Theater (Minneapolis Sound 2.0). Bobby curated and performed in both events. He will be promoting and hosting a Prince tribute event on April 21, 2017 in the Seventh Street Entry featuring Detroit DJ Moodymann.

Press Inquiries
Bobby Kahn//rbkahn@gmail.com//612-710-0741

Links
Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/320863731644772/
4/28 Tickets: https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1444220?utm_medium=bks
4/29 Tickets: https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1444228?utm_medium=bks
http://www.chosenbythefunk.com

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Chosen By The Funk Presents: Deep Purple - A Tribute For The Heads Featuring Moodymann

For Immediate Release

Chosen By The Funk Presents: Deep Purple – A Prince Tribute For The Heads Featuring Moodymann

A chance encounter at First Avenue after the Xcel Center Prince tribute with Prince super fan and Detroit house producer/DJ Moodymann leads to a Prince tribute event taking place on April 21, 2017 at the Seventh Street Entry.

Kenny Dixon Jr. is a very devoted Prince fan, with a love so deep that he turned his Detroit home into a private museum after the Minneapolis icon’s passing last year. Purple curtains were flown through every window and Prince’s music was blasted loudly through speakers, echoing down the block around the clock for over a month straight after Prince passed. 

Dixon Jr., better known as Moodymann, is a 25-year veteran as a producer and DJ of house, funk, and jazz music, and a Detroit legend. He has professed his love of Prince throughout his career, sampling his music and adopting his writing style in song titles (example: Lyk U Use 2).

He will be coming to Minneapolis to DJ for the first time ever to pay tribute to his musical hero on the one -year anniversary of Prince’s death, April 21, 2017, starting at 9 PM at the Seventh Street Entry at First Avenue for the Chosen By The Funk event Deep Purple – A Prince Tribute For The Heads. The story of how this show came to be is almost too strange to be real. Almost.

Inspired by the all-night dance parties at First Avenue following Prince’s passing, Minneapolis event promoter, writer, and performance artist Bobby Kahn has been on quite the journey over the past year. He covered the all-night parties for The Current and energized by the packed dance floors and communal vibes of those long nights, he decided to promote and host events that both celebrate Minneapolis’ funky history, while also helping to pave the way for the success of the Minneapolis Sound in a post-Prince world.  The concept of Minneapolis Sound 2.0 was born.

While in Detroit for the annual Movement Electronic Music Festival in May 2016, Bobby and a friend got out of their car to visit a techno museum,  and they immediately heard a familiar voice coming from a house across the street. The voice belonged to Prince. They went to check out the house,  which was Dixon’s house/private Prince museum in all its purple glory. Bobby had heard Dixon was a Prince fan, but as he stood outside the house that day, he knew he had to get Dixon to play a Prince event, somehow.

Photo taken by Bobby on 5/29/16.

A few months later, on the night of the Xcel Center Prince tribute event, Bobby was in the audience at First Avenue for a Morris Day & The Time after party. As Stevie Wonder sat upstairs, some 50 feet away, Bobby’s heart filled with purple joy when he spotted someone in the crowd who looked familiar.

His jaw dropped. It was Kenny Dixon Jr., who had made the trek from Detroit solely as a Prince fan. The two chatted about Prince and Detroit for a few minutes, and Bobby told Dixon he hoped to book him to play First Avenue someday. Never in his wildest dreams did Bobby think that day would be on the one-year anniversary of Prince’s death, but the Purple One works his magic in mysterious ways.
 

Bobby and Kenny at First Avenue, on October 13, 2016.

For Deep Purple, Dixon will play an extended set as Moodymann, sharing his incredibly deep collection of Prince rarities and b-sides. He will be joined by local house music heavyweights Daniel Paul Cortez and Christian James, as well as openers Miss Elaine Eos b2b (back-to-back) Medicinall for a night filled with Prince’s music as well as music inspired by Prince. Bobby will serve as host for the evening, which will also feature visuals by Hal Lovemelt. 

About Moodymann:
An outspoken voice in the normally non-confrontational world of electronic dance music, Moodymann (Kenny Dixon Jr.) is committed to keeping a distinctly black imprint on techno and house. Over a 25 year career, he has put out countless classic releases on his KDJ and Mahogani Music record labels.

Moodymann sound is a hybrid form of techno/house dance music arrived at via innovative use of reworked riffs, samples and grooves. While he may frustrate people with his refusal to be interviewed and insistence on reminding people of the genre's origins, the soulfulness of his output is unquestioned. Utilizing classic soul and jazz samples, low-slung bass lines and an approach to drum programming that is diametrically opposed to the tendency to push the tempo faster and faster, he has achieved classic status thanks to gems like "Sunday Morning", "Shades of Jae", and his remix of Innerzone Orchestra's "People Make the World Go Round". Following years of 12" only releases, he compiled his best work on "Silentintroduction", one of the most celebrated albums of the late 90s.

About Bobby Kahn/Chosen By The Funk:
Bobby Kahn is a performance artist, writer, cable access television personality, dance class instructor and event curator/promoter in Minneapolis. He got his start as an artist on the wild cable access show Freaky Deeky and from there expanded into live performance and writing. He organized several Freaky Deeky live performances at venues including First Avenue and the Zombie Pub Crawl.  He produced and starred in variety shows as a guest curator at Patrick’s Cabaret in both 2014 and 2015. In 2016, Bobby and some friends launched a new comedy cable access show called And Now It’s. 2016 also saw Bobby’s debut as a feature writer for The Current’s Local Current Blog, as well as the launch of his Chosen By The Funk website, which covers the arts on a mostly local level. In December 2016, Bobby expanded Chosen By The Funk into an event promotion company with events at First Avenue (Get Together 7) and The Hook and Ladder Theater (Minneapolis Sound 2.0). Bobby curated and performed in both events. He has another two-night variety show, called The Great Equalizer, taking place April 28 & 29, 2017 at the Hook and Ladder Theater.

Press Inquiries:
Bobby Kahn//rbkahn@gmail.com//612-710-0741

Links:
First Avenue event
Facebook event
https://www.residentadvisor.net/dj/moodymann
https://thump.vice.com/en_us/article/moodymann-prince-home-detroit-movement
http://blog.thecurrent.org/2016/05/first-avenues-overnight-dance-parties-epitomized-the-spirit-of-prince/

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