Episode 10 –Suburban Knight - Infra Red Spectrum

It’s 1980, and James Pennington, who has a passion for music such as electronic funk, is a school student in Belleville, just outside Detroit. Given Pennington’s music interests, it is noteworthy that the school he attends is also where Juan Atkins, Derrick May, and Kevin Saunderson have been students. Atkins, May, and Saunderson, who in the years to come will be referred to by the media as the Belleville Three, are widely recognized as having made significant contributions to the creation of the electronic music genre known as techno. While Pennington is slightly younger, he gets to know the three well, given they are all from the same location, and share music interests. It is thanks to his involvement in this mini community, that Pennington will develop his music production skills. From this, in the coming years his own darker, brooding style of techno will emerge, exemplified in a track such as “Infra Red Spectrum”.