INTERVIEW BY SEAN OCEAN
EDITOR’S NOTE: FATHER DUKES MAKES HER PUBLIC WORKS JANUARY 24 FOR DETROIT LOVE WITH CARL CRAIG & MIKE BANKS [LIVE].
Now calling the Motor City of Detroit her home, Father Dukes is a DJ with a flair for unique experiences and guiding the crowd with exotic track selections that are outside the norm. With the concept of liquid being a guiding principle, Father Dukes hopes to reach people from all corners of the DJ world and all people who have a passion for dance. Be it Techno, House, or even DnB, the real goal is togetherness and inclusivity. The music is the message, unity is the goal.
Your sound is heavily shaped by Detroit’s legacy. How did the city’s unique history of house and techno specifically impact your approach to mixing and selecting music compared to where you grew up in Ohio?
Michigan is the place I learned how to DJ and discovered house, techno, and real electronic music for the first time. At the time I moved here I would have only heard whatever early 2000s pop-ified versions of house music wouldve been on the radio as mainstream songs, but this is where all of the learning and history all came together to me for the first time through the Seraphine Collective, an artists collective I was involved in, and my DJing teacher and mentor Mother Cyborg/ Diana Nucera who was a member and leader in the group. In college in Ypsilanti, MI I also came out to Detroit with whoever had a car for parties Sheefy Mcfly, Nick Speed, Danny Brown and Bruiser Brigade were throwing, underground spots like North End Studios, Yellow Wall, the Lofts on Grand River and raves in Capitol Park, Funk Night and the Red Bull House of Art so a whole new world was opened up to me where I was soooo excited and mindblown and couldn’t stay away so I moved to Detroit after college and that’s when I signed up for that local DJing group to make new friends!
You’re known for exploring the “outer limits” of various genres, including house, techno, hip-hop, funk, soul, drum and bass, and electro. How would you define these outer limits, and where would you push them to fit in a set?
For me, reaching the outer limits is about being a real lover of music and having an innate drive to dig and take myself to other worlds first and foremost as a listener. In natural terms of the phrase, there’s no way to define what the outer limits are, and I hope I never find them, as I eternally want to have the feeling that there’s more music both backward and forward in time for me to find in obscure and hidden places in record shops and on the internet. I think people who think that about my sets are remarking that they often hear songs that aren’t mainstream or that a lot of people don’t know or commonly play, but that comes from the fact that I’m always looking for things I didn’t know about before and haven’t heard from other people either. When you consistently practice with your equipment, finding ways to fit outlandish things into sets is more of a fun challenge than an intimidation, and makes for fun for the DJ and listener.
It’s kind of a stereotype to say “I take my audience on a journey,” but somehow you seem to have more conviction in that regarding your DJ sets. Do you believe it’s important to actually take places their minds wouldn’t normally explore?
I think the way I successfully achieve this and why it’s important for me to do is because I was always just a dancer and partygoer first, and I’ll never stop going out to see and listen to other people do their thing. I know the feeling of being taken to unexpected places on the dancefloor, and it always makes me super inspired when I’m not the one DJing, and I’m just out dancing for the night. People pay their hard-earned money and come out for adventure, connection, healing, freedom, wonder, and inspiration, and I believe if we’re up on the decks and taking their money at the door, its for damn sure our duty to give to them that feeling as a bare minimum.
There’s a lot that has been said regarding reading the room and drawing inspiration from that. What are your main techniques when trying to get feedback from your audience? Is there a dialogue?
I know that it can be important to sometimes do that, but to be honest, I don’t read into that too much. I approach my sets like perhaps a chef delivering a tasting menu or an omakase service; I have prepared something and am bringing an experience, and I don’t worry so much about adjusting the thematic elements in real time. If people like it, that’s great; if they don’t, then I think they should go where they wanna be and get what they wanna get out of the night. Lol! I think the dialogue is for me a one-way street where I’m just presenting my point of view and what I think is interesting. Luckily, and through careful curation of where I play, I am given a lot of trust and spaciousness from the crowds and event organizers to execute my own vision.
How do you maintain that sort of improvisational practice when doing a set for a podcast or a radio show?
For me, improvisation comes from (kind of insane) preparation levels, haha. I can be a bit anal in song selection and knowing my tracks and every dance break, key change, verse, etc., but having that knowledge sets a grounding for me to have fun after I feel proficient in those ways. When I record at home or go do the radio, I view it like playing a video game with no memory card, and I just cut my mixes all in one take with no continuity edits, so there’s a natural adrenaline for me where I’m pushed to make decisions in the moment, and its a fun eustress that I like to be under. In essence, I get way in my head in the prep stage and out of it while executing.
You’ve performed at major events like Movement Festival and been featured on Resident Advisor’s “mix of the day”. What’s been your most memorable set as a DJ, so far?
Every gig offers something different whether its the flavor of the city, the faces in the crowd, the people im on lineups with, the type of music we’re all playing, the club aesthetics, etc, so I don’t like to compare experiences, I’m blessed and super grateful to have gone to different places to experience different scenes and make memories and lord willing I won’t stop making new memories!
You focus heavily on community building. If you could create a permanent physical space (not just a club) in Detroit dedicated to music culture, what specific feature would make it unique and inclusive?
FD: I think when a space is open about being inclusive and what they’re all about and what they are trying to accomplish and assertive about establishing safety and behavioral standards upfront, that always makes me comfortable to drop into a sense of freedom. Representation and visibly seeing people from all walks of life consistently coming to a space also affirms the aforementioned words and statements for me. Having places to sit and catch a break or talk to people is important to me, and just overall accessibility for people of different abilities and sensitivities who also want to be a part of the action! Also, I never feel totally brought to another world in a space that doesn’t have cute decor and a strong and unique visual aesthetic, and a sick sound system.
There’s a theme of “Liquid” going through your sets, either with deep house, Drexciyan influence, or even Liquid DnB. Can you elaborate on how this term has influenced your selections and musical direction?
In the scientific sense, liquid is a wonder because it can transform into varied states of matter. That inspires me because I certainly don’t want to be and am not a one-trick pony in this game! It’s important to me to explore twists and turns and different sounds, so in that sense, I’m influenced by liquid. In the D&B sense, it refers to a smooth, atmospheric, thought-provoking, and soulful type of sound and is a super signature genre. When it comes to production like Drexciya’s, water is the backdrop for an entire universe. I definitely strive to evoke emotion, atmosphere, and a sense of being in a unique moment or universe in the time that I have in giving the crowd an experience.
Let’s say the dance floor is empty, and everyone has run for the bar. What’s that floor filler track you have in your crate that will win them back every time?
If they run to the bar, I support it! I’m not out to draw anyone back to something they don’t like, and if they wanna get a drink, take a break, or bounce, hey, it happens! I mean, if what I’m doing is REALLY that dreadful, (I do normally play longer tracks) but songs are only a few minutes soooo you’ll get over it! Hang with me for the full experience, or don’t I support everyone’s decision making, and an occasional dead floor keeps us all humble :)
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This interview was conducted by Sean Ocean – AYLI Contributing Editor.
