- Keith Tucker
Infobox Musical artist
Name = Keith Tucker
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Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
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Alias = DJ K-1, KT-19941, Optic Nerve
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Origin = Detroit, Michigan,
Instrument =Casio CZ-101 ,Roland TR-808 ,Boss DR-660
Genre =Detroit Techno , Electro,Techno-Bass
Occupation =Musician
Years_active = 1990–present
Label = Puzzlebox
Associated_acts = AUX 88, Auxmen, Alien FM, Frequency
URL = [http://www.optic-universe.com www.optic-universe.com]Keith Tucker is an American
electronic music ian andDJ fromDetroit, Michigan .Career
Tucker began his career playing cover versions of
Juan Atkins ’ Electro hits from the 1980s with his childhood friend Tommy Hamilton. The live ensemble achieved local renown for combiningbreak-dancing , and Tucker's mobile DJ-ing while manually playing repetitive, high-speed synthesizer basslines. They later became known as Regime, then RX-7, and finally, in 1994 they becameAUX 88 . They were joined by BJ Smith (Posatronix) andLamont Norwood (DJ Dijital).Tucker's first 12" EP was a collaboration with Juan Atkins and Jesse Anderson, under the name “Frequency” in 1990.
AUX 88 released the album "Bass Magnetic" and were the first group to revive Electro in the mid-to-late 1990s. As such they have been credited with eventually inspiring the genre known asElectro-Clash . In the mid-nineteen ninteties they described their own sound asTechno-Bass , a fusion of influences fromDetroit Techno , Electro,Miami Bass and Trance.As co-founder of Puzzlebox recordings in 1996 with Anthony “Shake” Shakir, Tucker also joined the tradition of independent dance music publishing and vinyl record pressing in Detroit. He utilized, along with other artists, the
National Sound Company vinyl lathe which was used to produce the records of legendary Detroit Soul labels such asMotown .Music
Among his influences, he cites 1970s
Funk such as Parliament,Kraftwerk and classical music, particularlyJohann Sebastian Bach . The distinction of his solo work and production credits, is in their blending and refinement of syncopated, minimalist Electro andTechno rhythms influenced by the tonal undulations ofMiami Bass and theRoland TR-808 drum machine.True to the Detroit techno tradition, Tucker's music is often emotive of a machine-like consciousness and a mental imagery of solipsism, urban alienation and decay. This is often expressed, masked or sublimated through metaphors of high technology, science fiction and space travel and conveyed through affected analogue synthesizer timbres. This harks back to Kraftwerk's description of their music – “Electronic blues made with a jazz improvisation technique.”
External links
* [http://www.optic-universe.com/ optic-universe.com] - Keith Tucker's website "Optic Universe"
* [http://www.aux88.com/ aux88.com] - official website of "AUX 88"
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* [http://www.last.fm/music/Keith+Tucker Keith Tucker] atLast.fm
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