Shake

Detroit producer Anthony "Shake" Shakir ranks among the lesser-known figures in American techno despite his longstanding contributions. Active as a bedroom producer from 1981 onward, he played a key part in forging the early Motor City aesthetic shared by Juan Atkins/Model 500 and Derrick May. Shakir collaborated with May and Carl Craig in the capacities of producer, writer, and engineer on multiple initial Metroplex releases while also handling management and A&R duties for the label during its early period, a role he has wryly described as including janitorial tasks. His debut solo work surfaced on Virgin’s Techno: The New Sound of Detroit compilation under the alias Sequence 10. Regarded as a techno purist, Shakir has avoided the European circuit that drew many peers, a choice that partly accounts for his relative obscurity, and his output aligns more closely with second-wave producers such as Mike Banks and Claude Young through its hard, minimal constructions that draw equally from techno, electro, hip-hop, and funk. His profile has grown in later years through the Frictional and Puzzlebox imprints, the latter launched in 1996 alongside Detroit electro/techno artist Keith Tucker, formerly of Aux 88. Issuing material both independently and jointly, often credited as Da Sampla, Puzzlebox has joined Underground Resistance and Guidance as a prime repository for unadorned Detroit techno.