Three Questions With Kevin Saunderson

Legendary DJ and music producer, Kevin Saunderson, answers three questions!

As a member of the Belleville Three along with Juan Atkins and Derrick May, Saunderson pioneered techno, in particular Detroit techno! He's had a prolific career making music under Kreem, Inner City, E-Dancer and more; and is the founder of KMS Records.

As part of Issue Five, November 2025.

Without further ado...

Kevin Saunderson in the studio.

Synth History: What was the scene like in the early days of Detroit techno? 

Kevin Saunderson: In the early days, it was really about playing great music. There were plenty of amazing records, but it wasn’t necessarily music that was produced with DJs or the dance floor in mind. You had disco, though people said disco was dead, but that four-on-the-floor rhythm still gave you that undeniable dance feel. Beyond that, most of what was out there was still band-driven, not DJ-driven.

We were some of the first to flip that. Juan Atkins was the first in Detroit to actually name and define the genre as “techno.” I went to school with Juan and Derrick May, junior high and high school in Belleville, after moving from Brooklyn, New York to Inkster and then Belleville.

It really started with us DJing, putting together collages of records we thought were different and futuristic. Juan had his Cybotron project, then moved into Model 500 with more of that four-on-the-floor style. Derrick and I began evolving our own approaches. I started as a DJ, but I worked hard to become an essential part of that circle, putting in the hours, finding my sound. Our small crew included Laidback, Chris Antonio, Eric James, James Cunnington, Eddie Fowlkes, and a few others.

Eventually, we released a compilation, house music started crossing over, and techno began to build momentum. I created Inner City, and the hits we had, tracks like “Good Life” and “Big Fun”, helped elevate the scene to new levels and put Detroit firmly on the global map. At first, the music was strictly underground. In Detroit, the audience was almost entirely Black. Black Americans were the first people to embrace it, and that’s where we played it. But when Europe picked it up, it spread like wildfire. The rest is history.

Synth History: I read that for Inner City’s “Good Life” you used a Casio CZ-5000 and a Roland 909? What have been some of your go-to synths over the years, and how have advancements in technology impacted your music?

Kevin Saunderson: That story gets a little mixed up sometimes. “Good Life” wasn’t really about those exact machines; it came from a combination of sounds. I pulled a sample from Lefty Doodles, layered it with different instruments, and built a space that felt uplifting and futuristic. Back then, my goal was to make the record as big as possible, to hit people in a way that felt larger than life. 

Over the years, I’ve used so many different synths, Rolands, Moogs, digital gear, and now, software plugins. Technology has changed everything. When we started, you needed the physical hardware, the big machines. Today, you can do all of that on a laptop. But what hasn’t changed is the vision, knowing how to take those tools and turn them into something with energy.

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Synth History: Can you tell me about e-Dancer?

Kevin Saunderson: e-Dancer is my solo techno project. My purest expression of techno. With Inner City, I made uplifting, vocal-driven music that crossed over to the charts. But e-Dancer was always meant to be deep, dark, raw, and close to my heart. It’s futuristic, it’s emotional, it’s electronic dance in its purest form. The sound isn’t about being overly banging, it’s about creating a unique atmosphere that people can ride with. e-Dancer has always been my way of keeping that underground flame alive.

Synth History: What were some of your favorite albums growing up, and do you ever go back to them?

Kevin Saunderson: I grew up on all kinds of music. Earth, Wind & Fire albums were huge for me, not just the funk and soul but the ballads, too. Kraftwerk was another major influence, that futuristic sound really shaped how I thought about electronic music. I also loved artists like Santana, James Brown, Dr. John, and Donald Byrd. It was really a collage of styles, and all of it gave me the foundation to create my own vision of techno and house. And yes, I still go back to them, they’re timeless.

Synth History Exclusive.

Photos provided by The Prizm Network.

Conducted by Danz.