Wave Music

Wave Music is an independent record label founded in New York City in 1995 by French-American DJ, producer, remixer, and label owner François Kevorkian. The label emerged from Kevorkian’s extensive work in club culture, remix production, and independent dance music. Rather than operating as a narrowly defined house imprint, Wave Music developed an eclectic catalog spanning deep and soulful house, electronic music, disco-informed dance music, Brazilian-influenced sounds, dub, reggae, and other forms of club-oriented production. The label provided a vehicle for Kevorkian’s own recordings and remixes while also releasing music by other artists. Its associated artists have included Abstract Truth, Boyd Jarvis, Fonda Rae, Kevin Aviance, Floppy Sounds, and other electronic and dance-music contributors. The label’s catalog includes original singles and albums, DJ-oriented releases, artist projects, and compilation series designed to document particular scenes or stylistic approaches. Wave Music became closely associated with several recurring compilation and imprint concepts. Body&SOUL-NYC reflected the Sunday afternoon New York party launched in 1996 by Kevorkian, Joe Claussell, and Danny Krivit at Club Vinyl. The event’s emphasis on soulful, organic, spiritual, and musically expansive dance music influenced a broader club sound and led to a series of compilations. Other catalog strands included Deep & Sexy, Bossa Mundo, and Frequencies. These releases positioned the label as both a source of new music and an archival platform for DJ culture. The company also established or operated related imprints, including Wavetec, clicktracks, Wave Classics, Streetwave, and Deep Space Media. These imprints enabled the broader Wave Music operation to distinguish between different areas of its catalog, from electronic and club material to classic-oriented releases and dub-focused work. Wave Music additionally distributed recordings from independent labels such as Chez Music and Bombay Records, extending its role beyond its own releases. Kevorkian’s later Deep Space activities broadened the label’s musical identity. Deep Space NYC, launched as a New York weekly event in 2003, explored dub, roots reggae, electronic music, and related forms. The Deep Space Media imprint issued material connected to that direction, including the Deep Space NYC compilation and Kevorkian’s work with Jamaican vocalist U-Roy. This reinforced Wave Music’s position as a curator-led independent label rather than a conventional genre imprint. Representative releases associated with the label include Kevorkian’s FK-EP, Time and Space, Capricorn, Awakening, and Enlightenment, along with the Body&SOUL-NYC compilation series, Deep & Sexy, and releases by other dance and electronic artists. The label’s historical importance derives primarily from its connection to New York’s underground and alternative dance communities, its support for independent artists, and its documentation of club sounds that crossed boundaries between house, disco, dub, jazz-inflected soul, Brazilian music, and experimental electronic production. Publicly available material does not establish a current corporate owner, continuing release schedule, or definitive operating status.

Wave Music was established in New York City in 1995 by François Kevorkian, a French-born DJ and producer who had become a prominent figure in American and international club culture. Before founding the label, Kevorkian had worked as a DJ in New York venues, developed expertise in tape editing and remix production, and held an A&R and remixing role at Prelude Records. His remix work for artists such as D-Train, Sharon Redd, Yazoo, Kraftwerk, U2, the Smiths, Diana Ross, Depeche Mode, and many others gave him a broad understanding of dance-floor production and recording-industry networks. Wave Music was created as an independent platform for Kevorkian’s own music and for releases by artists working across the expanding international dance scene. Its output was not limited to a single house subgenre. The catalog incorporated deep house, soulful dance music, electronic production, disco, Brazilian-influenced material, dub, reggae, and other forms of club music. This diversity reflected Kevorkian’s approach as a DJ and selector, in which organic instrumentation, vocal music, rhythmic experimentation, and electronic production could coexist within the same programming environment. A major part of the label’s identity developed through compilation projects. The Body&SOUL-NYC series documented the musical world associated with Body&SOUL, a Sunday event launched in New York in 1996 by Kevorkian, Joe Claussell, and Danny Krivit. The party became known for a warm, soulful, organic, and spiritually oriented sound that contrasted with more commercially streamlined forms of dance music. Wave Music released multiple volumes connected with this scene, helping circulate its aesthetic beyond New York. The label also released Deep & Sexy and Bossa Mundo compilations, as well as projects connected with Kevorkian’s own artistic work. In 2002, the Sonar Music set marked a more futuristic and electronic phase in Kevorkian’s career, while the later Frequencies project continued to present a broad view of contemporary and archival club sounds. Related imprints, including Wavetec, clicktracks, Wave Classics, Streetwave, and Deep Space Media, gave the operation additional outlets for different catalog directions. In 2003, Kevorkian began a Deep Space NYC residency in New York. The event focused on dub and related styles while also connecting Jamaican roots reggae, electronic music, and experimental club culture. Deep Space Media subsequently issued the Deep Space NYC compilation, which included Kevorkian’s productions alongside work associated with artists such as Mutabaruka and U-Roy. His collaboration with U-Roy and Russ Disciple further demonstrated the label family’s interest in hybrid forms that connected reggae history with modern DJ and remix practice. Wave Music’s catalog also included releases by or associated with artists such as Abstract Truth, Boyd Jarvis, Fonda Rae, Kevin Aviance, and Floppy Sounds. The operation distributed music from independent labels including Chez Music and Bombay Records, making it a small but flexible infrastructure for specialist dance releases. Kevorkian’s own Wave-associated discography included FK-EP in 1996, Time and Space in 1998, Capricorn in 2000, and Awakening and Enlightenment in 2002. The label and its associated imprints remained connected to his international DJ activity and to the continuing circulation of New York underground dance aesthetics. Available reference material does not document a formal acquisition, public listing, definitive closure, or confirmed current management structure. Wave Music is therefore best understood historically as a François Kevorkian-founded independent label and label family whose significance lies in its catalog, its role in New York club culture, and its support for eclectic, DJ-centered dance music.

• 2006

  Frequencies is issued

  [1]François Kevorkianen.wikipedia.org

  The Wavetec-associated Frequencies compilation presents another broad survey of electronic and dance-oriented material connected to Kevorkian’s label activities.

• 2005

  Deep Space NYC compilation is released

  [1]François Kevorkianen.wikipedia.org

  Deep Space Media and Wave Music issue Deep Space NYC, a compilation combining Kevorkian’s work with Jamaican dub and roots-reggae material.

• 2003

  Deep Space NYC launches

  [1]François Kevorkianen.wikipedia.org

  Kevorkian starts a weekly New York event focused on dub, reggae, and related electronic styles; the associated Deep Space Media imprint later documents the project.

• 2001

  Deep & Sexy series begins

  [1]François Kevorkianen.wikipedia.org

  Wave Music issues the first listed volume of its Deep & Sexy compilation concept.

• 1996

  Body&SOUL begins

  [1]François Kevorkianen.wikipedia.org

  Kevorkian, Joe Claussell, and Danny Krivit launch the Body&SOUL Sunday party at Club Vinyl in New York, later associated with a Wave Music compilation series.

• 1996

  FK-EP is released

  [1]François Kevorkianen.wikipedia.org

  Kevorkian releases the FK-EP through Wave Music.

• 1995

  Wave Music is founded

  [1]François Kevorkianen.wikipedia.org

  François Kevorkian establishes Wave Music as an independent dance-music record label in New York City.

An independent, curator-led dance-music label rooted in New York club culture and distinguished by stylistic breadth, DJ-oriented releases, and connections to influential underground parties and producers.

• Compilation series · 1998

  Body&SOUL-NYC

  A multi-volume compilation series associated with the Body&SOUL Sunday party in New York. The series reflects the event’s emphasis on soulful, organic, spiritual, and musically expansive dance music, bringing together selections shaped by Kevorkian, Joe Claussell, and Danny Krivit’s club programming.

• Dance compilation series · 2001

  Deep & Sexy

  A Wave Music compilation concept centered on deep, sensual, and groove-focused dance music. The first listed volume appeared in 2001 and formed part of the label’s broader effort to package specialist club sounds for home listening and DJ audiences.

• Global dance compilation series

  Bossa Mundo

  A compilation strand associated with Wave Music’s interest in Brazilian and globally influenced dance music. It represents the label’s broader musical scope beyond conventional house and techno categories.

• Dub and electronic compilation · 2005

  Deep Space NYC

  A compilation connected to Kevorkian’s Deep Space NYC event and Deep Space Media imprint. It combines electronic production with Jamaican dub and roots-reggae material, including contributions associated with Mutabaruka and U-Roy.

• Electronic compilation · 2006

  Frequencies

  A compilation project associated with the Wavetec imprint that presents electronic and club-oriented work from Kevorkian’s broader musical environment.

• Artist EP · 1996

  FK-EP

  François Kevorkian’s Wave Music EP, released as part of the label founder’s own artist catalog and reflecting the label’s close connection to his production and DJ work.

• Electronic dance release · 1998

  Time and Space

  A François Kevorkian release issued by Wave Music in the late 1990s, representing the label’s focus on electronic and club-oriented music.

• 2003

  Expansion into the Deep Space soundStrategy

  Background

  Kevorkian’s musical interests increasingly included dub, roots reggae, and more experimental electronic forms.

  Action taken

  He launched the Deep Space NYC event and developed related releases through Deep Space Media and the wider Wave Music network.

  Aftermath

  The label family broadened its identity from house and soulful dance music toward a more hybrid connection between dub, reggae, and electronic club culture.

  Source

• 1995

  Creation of an eclectic independent labelStrategy

  Background

  François Kevorkian’s career had combined underground DJ work, commercial remixing, studio production, and international dance-floor culture.

  Action taken

  He founded Wave Music as an independent platform for his own recordings, specialist dance releases, and music by other artists.

  Aftermath

  The label developed a broad catalog spanning house, electronic, soulful dance, dub, reggae, Brazilian-influenced music, and related styles.

  Source

1. 1François Kevorkianen.wikipedia.org