This site uses two first-party cookies: one to keep you signed in, and one that remembers how you first arrived here (for our own basic stats, never shared with anyone else). No third-party tracking or advertising cookies.
Patrick Joseph Cowley (October 19, 1950 - November 12, 1982) was a San Francisco-based musician and record producer credited as an early pioneer of electronic dance music, most notably in HI-NRG and experimental genres.
Cowley grew up in upstate New York where he worked in local rock bands and eventually studied English at the University of Buffalo. After moving to the Bay Area he began an… Read moreintense study of the synthesizer at San Francisco City College.
Cowley's recording career began when he was asked to join San Francisco-based artist, [A=Sylvester], in the studio after [A=Sylvester] heard what Cowley was doing with the synthesizer and was excited by his innovative techniques. The result was the album "Step II" which skyrocketed [A=Sylvester] to international notoriety. The album landed Cowley a job as a back-up musician on [A=Sylvester]'s subsequent world-wide tour.
Cowley remained close to the San Francisco club scene and eventually joined forces with producer [A=Marty Blecman] to form Megatone Records in the summer of 1981. Under auspices of their partnership Cowley created a successful dance-oriented 12" single that opened the doors for his award-winning "Megatron Man" LP.
While writing the music for his latest album, he also wrote and produced the successful dance single "Right on Target" for San Francisco artist [A=Paul Parker] which reached #1 on Billboard's Disco Charts. He reunited with [A=Sylvester] during the same period and produced the chart-busting "Do You Wanna Funk", also on the Megatone label.
Patrick Cowley died of complications due to AIDS in 1982.
The whole trance scene, connected. Real artists, no AI music.
Catalogue data provided by Discogs. This application uses the Discogs API but is not affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by Discogs. “Discogs” is a trademark of Zink Media, LLC. Additional catalogue data from MusicBrainz.
Chart and release information referencing Beatport is shown for reference only; this application is not affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by Beatport LLC, and “Beatport” is a trademark of its respective owner. Cover art and track matching also draw on the Spotify platform; this application is not affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by Spotify AB, and “Spotify” is a trademark of its respective owner.
Get the appScan with your phone camera to put TranceHQ on your home screenHow it works →
TranceHQ on your phoneFree, no app store needed
We use cookies to keep you signed in and, if you accept, to see which parts of TranceHQ people use so we can make it better. Never sold, never used for ads.