- Ash Lauryn speaks with one of Detroit's most distinctive musical voices.
- Growing up in the west side of Detroit in the '80s, Reggie Dokes was part of a local culture that had an outsized influence on the development of electronic music. With venues like Cheeks and Rich & Famous, the club scene was in rude health, and DJs like Ray Barry, Steve Dunbar and Al Ester were helping kindle the musical passion that Dokes holds dear to the present day. As an artist, Dokes is equally comfortable producing hip-hop, house and techno but his tracks rarely fall so neatly into such categories, carrying an otherworldliness that's as distinctive as it is difficult to define. His label Pyschostasia Recordings carries something of the same spirit, with releases like The Mind Journey finding common ground between tracks with diverging stylistic approaches, choosing touching harmonic progressions rather than dancefloor formulas.
For this instalment of the Exchange's ongoing collaboration with Ash Lauryn's Undergound & Black interview series, we hear of Dokes' eight years teaching in Detroit public schools, his turn to soundtrack production and his renewed dedication to working on music without compromise.
TracklistDetroit Westside Kid - Summer Nights
Reggie Dokes - Crossing the Atlantic