Robert Owens

Robert Owens, an American vocalist, songwriter and DJ associated with the first wave of Chicago house, was born in 1961 in Ohio and moved to Chicago in the mid-1980s. Initially active as a DJ, he met Larry Heard and Ron Wilson and formed the trio Fingers Inc., which left its mark on deep house with the 1988 album "Another Side," where Owens' voice established a soulfully introspective register. Alongside Fingers Inc., Owens developed a solo career built around tracks that became landmarks of vocal house, notably "Tears" with Frankie Knuckles and Satoshi Tomiie in 1989 and "I'll Be Your Friend" in 1991, while continuing to write songs focused on intimacy, spirituality and urban life. His first solo album, "Rhythms in Me," was released in 1990, followed later by "Night-Time Stories" in 2008, extending a deep-house aesthetic of slow rhythms, melancholic atmospheres and soulful singing. Since the 1990s, Robert Owens has collaborated extensively with European and American producers from the house and techno scenes and continues to perform as a DJ and vocalist on club and festival stages worldwide.