After debuting on Derrick May’s epic Transmat compilation Techno 2: The Next Generation with the lush-sounding single I Believe (1988), Lenny and Lawrence Burden grasped the nettle and started their own 430 West label. Frequently assisted by brothers Lorne, Lynell and Lance, the duo’s commercial success peaked a decade later with the techno/house banger Black Water, and the Burden brothers have rarely been out of the spotlight since.
Recognised for their high-energy live sets employing an armoury of hardware synths and sequencers, their authentic approach to performing has continually enthused crowds on a global scale. Meanwhile, Lenny and Lawrence continue to break their own musical boundaries with their latest album Never On Sunday – an intriguing blend of ambient, atmospheric and vocal-based electronica, accompanied by remixes from Orbital and Skream.
Growing up in Detroit, was the influence of techno pretty much inescapable?
Lenny: “When we started in 1989, our exposure to Detroit techno primarily came from the radio and clubs, but you could have easily escaped it because there wasn’t a lot of it. Derrick, Juan and Kevin were already established and the first techno album to give Detroit techno its name (Techno! The New Dance Sound Of Detroit) had just been released by Virgin. We were actually on the second album, Techno 2: The Next Generation, so we were technically part of the second wave and by then it had really started to spread.”
You have three other brothers that are into production, too. That must have been some household growing up?
Lawrence: “Having all of us in the house playing music could be kinda chaotic at times. My mum liked to have music in the house no matter how bad it was, but always wanted us to be involved in music. It was also a form of discipline because she could count on knowing exactly where we were.”
Did you share the same musical tastes?
“Mostly the same, but not totally. I’m
