Reflections on Movement
Posted: 5/30/2008

The heat would have been unbearable if the moment hadn’t been so special.

A stuffy Detroit loft in various degrees of renovation played host to one of the many Movement after parties, very early on Monday morning. But a few things made this particular party quite special.

First, was its host; none other than the proclaimed originator of techno: Juan Atkins. If techno music called dibs on a mountain and started sculpting, Atkins face would be about where Washington is on Rushmore.

Second, would have to be the music. Upon entering to a set from DJ Archetype, many within earshot offer anecdotes like “This is on a completely different level,” or “You won’t hear this shit anywhere else!”

And, of course, what’s a great party without great guests? Barely noticed, leaning up against a speaker with bottled water in hand is DBX – Daniel Bell, another iconic figure within the techno world.

Bell played a main stage set on the first night, right before Moby. What set his performance apart was his spontaneity, for he created all of his music on the fly. All of the blips, beeps and bends that comprise his signature style were created on keyboards and implemented into the mix right on stage.

The after party transpired as a microcosm of the entire festival, presented by Paxahua, which took place May 24 to 26 at Hart Plaza – giant names in intimate settings. Though there were your standard backstage and VIP areas, no imaginary line of stature separated artist from audience.

Even a complete outsider of the electronic music scene could take away a worthwhile experience from DEMF. Whether the music spoke to you in volumes or just sort of sounded the same, it’s hard not to appreciate the limitless infatuation of the unique and diverse crowd that continuously makes this event one of the biggest in Detroit every year.

Unlike other music scenes, this one has no definitive look or demographic. DEMF is an event where it is perfectly normal to see a tattooed man in a Danzig T-shirt having the time of his life to the sounds of ghetto tech. Next to the young married couple with their toddler-aged daughter are the colorfully, scantily dressed 20-somethings in avant-garde blends of pleather and beads.

Regardless of style and origin, DEMF is always a long circled event on the calendars of all those involved.

“This is our Christmas weekend for what we do and love,” said DJ Seoul, a member of the Detroit Techno Militia collective.

Fellow DTMer T Linder echoed DJ Seoul’s sentiment. “It’s great exposure for Detroit artists. People come from all over the world to be here and check out techno music in Detroit.”

Detroit Techno Militia is a group of DJs and producers who share the same love of the music and work together to make sure that it gets out there. The collective’s website (detroittechnomilitia.com) offers easy access to vinyl and digital recordings from the various artists involved.

Two DTM artists, T Linder and Darkcube, put it down at the underground Real Detroit stage late Sunday afternoon.

“I barely left the area but everyone was saying that no one was at the main stage, everyone was at the underground stage,” said DJ Seoul of the two DJs’ back-to-back midday sets. “We apologize to whoever had to perform up there but that’s how we gotta do it, right?”

The DEMF of 2008 was, as it usually is every year, a celebration of the very best of the music; old school and new school, abroad but mostly local.

You had Detroit originals like Carl Craig, modern day darlings like Richie Hawtin and Benny Benassi, and a worldwide crossover star like Moby. On the Red Bull Music Academy stage you had old school electro from Egyptian Lover on Saturday, the top 40 mash-ups of Girl Talk on Sunday, and six hours of ghetto tech courtesy of Electro Bounce on Monday. That particular day climaxed with a blistering set from DJ Godfather followed by the legendary Mr. Mixx, the man responsible for the booty sounds of 2 Live Crew.

Sometimes we all need reminders of what makes Detroit so special and no event fits that bill like DEMF. A lifelong citizen can gaze on along a dusk-lit Detroit River at the culture and world wide obsession that began right here in our city over 25 years ago.

 -Nick Degel
nick@detroitfashionpages.com

 

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COMMENTS

Submitted by Error on 6/6/2008 3:22:45 PM
Your statement about Carl Craig being before Richie Hawtin is incorrect. They both were in the early 1990s/second wave of techno. You may have been confused because he was originally known as both FUSE and Plastikman.

Submitted by Error on 6/5/2008 10:23:39 AM
It is incorrect to refer to Richie Hawtin as being after Carl Craig, they both were in the second wave of artists that occurred in the 1990s and got their fame there, you may have been confused because of his moniker Plastikman.