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SELF-OBSESSION, it’s the 21st century epidemic. M-m-my generation has become the me-me-me generation and reality has become a TV show which turns our next door neighbours into stars that flicker and die in the blink of an eye. It’s Warhol’s fifteen minutes reductio ad absurdum, Alice navel-gazing through the looking glass. And while our cathode ray icons relentlessly chant “mirror, mirror on the wall .” the myth of Narcissus – condemned to waste away adoring his own image – seems entirely apposite.
Earlier this year was perfect timing then for Detroit techno legend Kenny Larkin to deliver his long-awaited new album. After all, it’s was roughly seven years since his last release. The Narcissist – 11 carefully considered electronic gems guaranteed to provide an antidote to the superficial whirl. From the swooning synthetics of Fake French to the seductive, undulating groove of In The Meantime, it reflects both where he’s been and where he’s coming from now.
Larkin returns with his second release for 2005, under his alter self, Dark Comedy with, quite arguably, his most impressive, and important release to date.
Titled, Funk Faker: Music Saves My Soul, Larkin wastes no time in establishing himself as one of Detroit’s most intriguing and multi-faceted talents. Exploring the full range of his musical persona, Larkin pushes himself to tap into a soulful side of him that although present in his earlier releases, finds itself deeply entrenched in, and modeled after African American music from years’ past. He unapologetically leaves no ambiguity about his intentions. Which, is to remind others how and why soul music, in it’s many shapes, sizes, and guises, undeniably taps the most primal emotional and moral attributes that makes a human, a human being.
This is electronic black music in it’s rawest, purest form. Stripped of slick, modern day production techniques, polished vocals, and mechanically quantized melodies, Larkin instead focuses on funky, laid back organ solo’s, James Brown-esque horn stabs, bluesy guitar riffs reminiscent of John Lee Hooker, and Larkin’s self narrative, comical, blues-style vocals. Larkin thrusts himself into a genre not yet discovered by his electronic contemporaries from Detroit, or quite arguably anyone for that matter, by mixing blues, funk, jazz, house, and a pinch of techno.
Funk Faker: Music Saves My Soul ‘s aim is not to be dissected, and analyzed, it’s purpose is to be felt. Larkin’s unique interpretation of the many black genres of music, that inspired him as a child, leaves the listener with only one option…tap your feet, and move your ass. Witness why African American music, in any form, continues to influence almost every genre of music today.
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DJ Magazine May/05
"File under spoken word and you'd learn something. Stick it with house and it sits perfectly. Add to the list of genre-bending producers out there and Dark Comedy, aka Kenny Larkin, stands tall. This is a journeyman's album but don't misconceive his meaning
.This is a sparse concept album, if such a thing exists. Larkin leads through the life he's lead courtesy of some honest to the bones lyrics and raps, and a soulful yet techno-tinged groove. It's Detroit, it's maverick and at times it's close to genius. Get touched." **** stars
Urb Magazine 12/04
".this album under his Dark Comedy moniker, has a lot of newer ideas at the fore. Loosely themed around a set of dirty funk vocal samples, each track has it's own case of machine blues.it's nice to see Larkin not just maintaining the gold standard for Detroit Electronic music, but actually giving it a little push." ****stars
Plug Magazine July/05
"Detroit's maverick techno interpreter Kenny Larkin returns as his alter-self Dark Comedy with his most impressive and experimental release to date. He taps into his soulful side that explores a bewildering array of sounds from bluegrass to electro to melodius techno funk. A nine course meal for the ears." 9/10
DMC Update June /05
"Kenny Larkin's latest long player uses all manner of aliases, but remains all his own work. Early on there is a strong spirituality in his blend of house and techno, Larkin providing some deeply felt spoken word commentary, without ever being too pretentious. Later he goes for even deeper vibes, the subtle bass line funk driving tracks like 'Tellin' Lie' towards the dance floor. The daring cover gives this one away-Larkin naked as the day he was born (steady girls!) The same thing happens mentally on the album though-stripped bare, it's a compelling, personal record." *****stars
ABC 5 stars
(The arts, books & culture magazine from the Independent on Sunday) 6/05
"Kenny Larkin's new album as Dark Comedy isn't quite like anything else he's produced. Nor is it much like the music anyone else is making, though it has precedents in albums by his fellow Detroit techno legend Moodymann or St. Germain. it also extrapolates from the history of Black American music up to Rock'n'Roll, and amazingly, show how makes gospel, soul, funk, jazz, and particularly the blues, all sound like they were invented to be played on a computer and yoked to a 4/4 house beat. He reveals his previously unsuspected vocal talents and sense of humor, and it's a mildly irreverent but still wholly soulful revision of past black American musical forms." *****stars
Mojo Magazine Aug/05
"An alias of second-generation Detroit techno producer Kenny Larkin, Dark Comedy attempts to escape digital orthodoxy by searching for inspiration in a very different place: the blues. The result may be peculiar, but it's certainly original. Scratchy electric guitars and testifying preacher men are hacked, processed and amalgamated with low-down house rhythms amid joyous irreverence and a real sense of passion." ***stars
BlowBack Magazine June/05
"America is a funny old place isn’t it? Idiots who use to be in the Mickey Mouse Club get elevated to the level of pop star whilst real trendsetters proper founding fathers, get sidelined. In such isolation-past drugs, post fame-paranoia kicks in. Add the fact that Kenny Larkin was shot on his door step for no reason and you get the full picture.
There is a creeping sense of anger and insanity in this album. also an attempt to reconnect to the blues via his own dance medium. Larkin falls back on music for comfort and brings up other ghosts too whilst the nightmares have twisted his sound. It's not funny, it's traveled. Musical catharsis at it's most poignant."
M8 Magazine June/05
"The ever inventive Kenny Larkin returns in his dark comedy guise with an album that does it's very best to blur the lines between techno, house and soul. The Detroit-based producer has been creating and playing music since 1992, drawing on countless influences to push genre boundaries as far as they'll go. And it's business as usual on 'Funk Faker' with Kenny putting his multitude of talents to good use. His rich vocals, warm grooves and cheeky tweaks combine to perfection on the likes of album opener 'House Music', the blues-infused 'In my Home' and and twangy guitar-laden 'Music Saves My Soul'. Far more stylish than your average electronic outing, 'Funk Faker' is unlikely to fill many floors, but it'll sit happily in the CD drawer of your stereo for months to come." 7 out of 8
E-DJ (website)
"Dark Comedy is the incisive, opinionated alter ego of maverick techno personality, Kenny Larkin, and 'Funk Faker: Music Saves My Soul' is only its second outing after 2004's 'The Narcissist'. Within, Larkin explores not only his musicality, but also his life experiences and his beliefs, making for a truly poignant narrative and diverse mixture of sounds. Undoubtedly, its rudiments are thoroughly electronic, but Larkin builds upon this common style in a captivatingly unique, natural, almost crude way; cracking off that over refined electronic gloss in favor of a more wholesome glow. Furthermore, whilst the foundation of most tracks are a stiff, yet lazy, hypnotic 4/4 kick drum, the overall vibe is deep-rooted in soulful, African-American music, spanning bluegrass-infused beats, and bluesy, mournful, dubby house - each narrated colorfully by Larkin's smooth timbre. With its carefree organs, John Lee-Hooker guitars and James Brown horn stabs, this really is contemporary, black electronic music, which is not confined or shaped by a genre that can often be somewhat restrictive. Truly charming and coolly mesmerizing." *** ½ stars
