Jay Denham
1 mix · 2018
From Kalamazoo, Michigan
Biography
James Denham, known as Jay Denham, grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan, a city between Chicago and Detroit, developing an interest in dance music as a teenager after hearing a tape of Chicago's Hot Mix radio show. He began traveling to Chicago, connected with Anthony "Shake" Shakir, and through him met Derrick May, moving to Detroit in 1989 to work for May's Transmat and Fragile labels, where he released his early productions as Fade II Black.
He moved back to Kalamazoo around 1992 to found his own label, Black Nation, launching it in 1995 with the EP "Birth of a Nation," featuring Fanon Flowers, Tony Ollie, Brett Dancer, and Chance McDermott. Known as a second-generation Detroit techno pioneer for blending the sounds of Chicago house and Detroit techno, he's since released on labels including Tresor and Elypsia.
