The Frankie Knuckles Foundation and Defected Records come together to commemorate 10 Years since the passing of Frankie Knuckles, possibly one of the architects of the global house sound. The panel will examine Frankie’s contribution to house music, the origins of house and the importance of heritage in dance music.
Marking ten years since his passing, Defected will be honouring the legacy of Frankie Knuckles with a week of content dedicated to his career. Available now, all proceeds of ‘House Masters: Frankie Knuckles’ new vinyl release will be donated to Frankie Knuckles Foundation as it was when the compilation was originally released back in April 2015.
Known as ‘The Godfather Of House’, Frankie Knuckles had a career that spanned over four decades, his catalogue combines a wide range of releases and projects that were pivotal to the movement of house music.
Frankie Knuckles’ sound possibly inspired a movement of love across dancefloors in Chicago and beyond. In retrospect of a career that spanned over four decades, there are moments that were probably pivotal to the movement of house music and changed the course of dance music. Frankie’s 1991 studio album ‘Beyond The Mix’ on Virgin Records, featured one track that would likely remain in the hearts and minds of generations to come.
Arguably one of the most iconic house music moments, born from the black LGBTQ+ scene in Chicago at the legendary Warehouse nightclub and known as one of Frankie Knuckles' earliest productions; ‘Your Love’ is a classic.
Each year, 25 August marks Frankie Knuckles Day and to celebrate the occasion and the history of the classic ‘The Whistle Song’, Eric Kupper himself via Hysteria and in collaboration with the Frankie Knuckles Foundation and SoSure Music, has reproduced and remastered the original demo mix that he handed to Frankie on tape in a studio session all those years ago, for a special one-sided release. The duo were friends, production partners and long-time writing collaborators for over 25 years.