Responsible for the Detroit Techno sounds emergency all over the World alongside Derrick May's "Strings Of Life", "Big Fun" by Inner City represented an undeniable groundbreaking of the large range top-quality dance music. In 1987, Kevin Saunderson was still in college, and used his free time to produce at his small studio, when he suddenly realized that he would be in need of a vocalist for one of his tracks. Through his friend Terry Baldwin, a Chicago house producer, we could meet Shanna Jackson, known as Paris Grey, and he realized that her vocals would match perfectly on the tune. The alliance between a Chicago house music vocalist and one of the most talented Detroit techno producers turned to be the Detroit music entrance door for an imaginable amount of people.
Through their music, the Inner City could assemble in a unique sound the Soul influences, the futurism of Detroit Techno (very much alive on the way they used all those synthesizer timbres) and the House dancing grooves.
Astonishing as it may be, Kevin Saunderson told his friend Mark Archer that the main synthesizer timbres on "Big Fun" were sampled from "Let's Get Brutal" (1986) by the New York project Nitro Deluxe. That doesn't take anything from "Big Fun"'s masterpiece, on the contrary; the secret lies on the way Kevin Saunderson, with the collaboration of the producers James Pennington A.K.A. Suburban Knight and Arthur Forrest on "Big Fun", used those timbres.
"Big Fun" as Inner City was recorded in 1987, but it was the addition of Paris Grey's vocals to the ground breaking synths and beats that would bring an unparalleled ensemble. "Big Fun"'s lyrics and vocals brought the Soul to a Future Funk Electronic base, a Techno base - and through expressions such as "We don’t really need a crowd to have a party" the masses seduction were accomplished; the funk influence was there, through the groove, the beats and the quote "Just a funky beat and you to get it started" (baptized since then as an essential element to make a real good party).
Any try to label Inner City's music is ill advised, despite being primarly considered Techno, since nobody in Chicago or anywhere else had the same employment of the synthesizers or percussion timbres.

English music expert Neil Rushton is the one that deserves the credit for "Big Fun"'s Worldwide acclaim, for after its master tape was recorded, it remained forgotten during a few months until Neil had the chance to listen to it and finally include it on Virgin Records through Detroit Techno's primar & quintessential compilation "Techno - The New Dance Sound Of Detroit" (1988). Only after that, the singles were released and "Big Fun" became what we call a Worldwide smash.
The original versions from Kevin Saunderson's KMS label are different and uncomparable to the terrible quality 2004 repress. Be warned.

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