Tune of the Week: Patrick Cowley

Patrick Cowley was an electronic dance music pioneer, becoming most famous for producing hits for disco maven Sylvester. Originally from Buffalo, NY, Cowley moved and attended the City College of San Francisco. He later went on to found the Electronic Music Lab there. He ended up selling quite a few of the creations he made experimenting with the school’s equipment to John Coletti, owner of famed gay porn company Fox Studio in Los Angeles. The above is an example of one of these pieces. Far from the “bow-chicka-bow-wow” music typical of porno soundtracks, Cowley’s productions have a sophisticated funk to them and show a great deal of programming and playing prowess. Unfortunately, Cowley suffered from the early days of the AIDS epidemic. Doctors were unable to successfully diagnose his illness and he died at the ripe young age of 32.