Meet GKevin Kennedy | Electronic Music Producer, Volunteer Instructor at The Fuse Factory

We had the good fortune of connecting with GKevin Kennedy and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi gKevin, looking back, what do you think was the most difficult decision you’ve had to make?
As a creative, there is a decision that has to be made nearly every day-The choiice to continue. No matter your passion, drive, level of success or skill, there is always an obstacle, a barrier-Something-that slows your progress and takes you away from the core of what sparked you to begin in the first place.
Whether it is business dealings, contract negotiation, a struggle to be seen and heard. No matter what it is, if it isn’t YOUR creative process it feels like a drain.

Those are the times where the decision to continue are the most difficult to make.

When I ended up homeless and had no studio space to work on my music, I realized that I could have simply given up, found a job and started a ‘new life.’ I could have allowed my time as a restauranteur remove me from my musical passion. Instead, I made the decision that I HAD TO DO THIS. NO. MATTER. WHAT. Climbing up the rough side of the mountain takes courage, and when the going is the steepest, only the brave hang on.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I never set out to become a musician. Music chose me at a very early age. It started with a desire to be good at playing the clarinet and learning to sing. It progressed through my teens and being influenced by the deluge of music happening all around me-rock, early hip-hop, early electronic dance, classical music, jazz, country…I absorbed it all and could not see a world without sound. So I decided I needed to learn to make my own voice.

My first professional foray happened at 15 years old in a band called Poets of Heresy. Little did I know at the time that we’d be the first Hip-hop group to play on Ohio State’s strip of bar venues, little did I understand how much impact our desire to talk about social issues would change me into an activist, and I would have never realized how many artists we’d influence along the way-and how many legends we’d get to perform alongside. I learned the business this way, I was too young to think this was challenging. I was too focused to fear failure.

In 1993, I began building a home studio while in college at OSU. That began a turning point for me as I started to create the sound I’m most known for today. I learned to repair my own equipment, build synthesizers, and thanks to my mentors began to find my own sound and acceptance of my dance music work in Detroit and Berlin. 32 years on, and I’m still making this music the world calls ‘techno,’ and I have been called ‘legendary,’ ‘prolific,’ ‘intrepid,’ and at times a pioneer in my field.

What sets me apart from other people in the sphere of techno/dance music? My focus on improvisation, minimalism, and the use of my life experience/musical influences to create a sound much more my own than a copy of any one trend or genre. In 31 years of work, my music still resonates with people not even born when I started. My music is without a time period or and expiration date. FBK as an artist is one of one.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
No trip to Columbus is complete without a visit to the campus of The Ohio State University! Seeing The Newport Music Hall, the oldest club in continuous operation in the US. Our beloved Ohio Stadium, aka The Horseshoe, and COSI.

We’re having coffee at Cup O’ Joe, having breakfast at George’s Beechwold Diner, and going to Katzinger’s Deli for lunch. A tour of German Village and the Book Loft, and dinner at Lavash Cafe!

Finding out what is happening at the Old First Presbyterian Church (especially Frequency Fridays), going to Cafe Bourbon Street/The Summit, going to Old Town East and checking out The Oracle for a night of dancing.

We are definitely going to hang out with Scott Woods at The Streetlight Guild after buying his book at Two Dollar Radio, and have a brilliant lunch of Birria tacos from Los Agavez at the Little Grand Market!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The Fuse Factory is an art and technology initiative focused on cultivating artistic production, research, and experimentation with digital media and electronic tools. Our purpose is to function as an incubator for innovation, interaction, collaboration, critical thought, diversity, and artistic exploration. It’s an organization I have been proud to be part of, as I have been able to inspire and instruct young minds in the exploration of digital space and sound, to allow for new minds to find ways of self expression.

Website: https://absoloop.bancamp.com

Instagram: thefbk8088

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/fbk

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/absolo0p