Transitions at Movement 2008 festival

Transitions at Movement 2008 festival

29 May, 2008 | 8.17PM

• Written by: Amanda Connon-Unda
• Filed under: Music News: john selway, konrad black, movement, paul ritch

With a smorgasbord of artists on the bill, Movement: Detroit’s Electronic Music Festival (DEMF) was full of people there for all sorts of music.

This year artists ranged from some old school solid performers to new school innovative producers such as Carl Craig, Alex Under, Konrad Black, Kenny Larkin, The Cool Kids, Cobblestone Jazz, and Oscar Mulero.

Paxahau, the festival organizer, did a great job selecting sponsors for its stages to create several diverse areas with varied genres to attract different crowds.

One look at the official lineup reveals what the festival attendees dress code showed us.

Energetic young people in army fatigues and colored hair gathered for drum n’ bass, scenesters in high top sneakers gathered for the electro/hip hop sounds of The Cool Kids, and industry types gathered near the backstage areas of the main stage for the minimal techno sounds found on the beatport stage.

Although this may be the wave of the future, it is also reminiscent of the way older parties used to be set up, when the sounds of jungle, house, and techno were all under one roof.

DEMF has gone through a succession of presenters (and no less than four different names) since it was first started in 2000 by Carol Marvin (Pop Culture Media) and Detroit producer Carl Craig.

As the annual electronic music showcase held in Heart Plaza each Memorial Day weekend, the festival continues to evolve under the organization of Paxahau.

This year the ticket price was increased slightly (with an option to purchase a VIP pass), which resulted in fewer local families curiously wandering into Heart Plaza to be a part of the festival.

While the absence of free entrance surely deterred some people from attending, there seemed to be an increasingly higher presence of DJs from abroad performing, and coming to see what music Detroit has to offer.

For example, Paul Ritch from France, who performed on the main stage enthused, “I saw Carl Craig with his jazz band, and it was the first time I saw him, and it was really cool.”

Saturday highlights included the live set done by DBX (Dan Bell) who came prepared with a hardware intensive set-up using most of the original equipment heard on his now classic recordings.

His reasoning behind the equipment was that, “It will be an opportunity for a new generation of club goers and music enthusiasts to experience the sounds of DBX in a way they haven’t before.”

Needless to say, he got the crowd pumped.

Although Movement is known for its three days of solid programming, what festival would be complete without a place to party until the wee hours of the morning?

‘The Other 9 to 5’ presented by Volatl, boasted a great set full of undulating minimal techno sounds by Camea (Clink Records), while a more rambunctious set by Adultnapper had people going wild upstairs.

Here and there, people inhaled nitrogen oxide filled balloons—how very old school!

Later at ‘ReSolute’, the underground trippy sounds of Kyaro were heard before an intricate and precise live set by Pheek.

Sunday, on the Beatport stage, Konrad Black delivered an amazing set of funky minimal techno.

In summarizing the essence of his experience attending DEMF with his Minus label mates, he said,

“In the techno tourism industry, whether or not you’re playing, there are certain people that you always see.

“Everybody all at the same place --all your peers, and all your friends.”

Heartthrob and Paco Osuna played some diverse sounds, showing that tech-house, intelligent bleeps, and clubbier tunes are all appropriate when mixed.

By the time Magda came on the crowd was really riled up, but she slowed the pace and stuck with a more subtle minimal set.

Richie’s fantastic closing, combining banging techno and melodic hypnotic sounds, was a return of full force to the music.

Over at the Real Detroit Underground stage, Punisher, a strong DJ and one of only four women performing at the DEMF, held court with hard techno.

This is the sound she has been instrumental in instilling a taste for in her home city of Detroit.

Later on the underground stage, another Detroit local and one of the originators of the pure ghettotech sound, Mr. De’ (who works with Submerge Records) sang and played keys, as his sidekick DJ’d.

He opened his set with his version of ‘Sex on the Beach’, which had people singing along to the old track.

The afterhours Baretta Music party was a hit, where Troy Pierce was rocking the dancefloor to a steady flow of dark techno that matched the sweaty dancers in the dark environ of The Works.

The final day, Monday, proved to be one of the best days with its main stage line-up.

Cassy played the warmer smoother sounds of tech-house.

This was followed by Par Grindvik’s set as techno scenesters and producers also interested in the Swedish producer’s sound gathered nearby. 

John Selway, New York DJ and production partner with Christian Smith, said, “I identify with Par’s music because I appreciate how he rides the lines between styles.

“Easily going from hard dark techno to minimal or lighter more musical stuff, is similar to what I’ve been trying to do.”

Cobblestone Jazz proved to be a great example of a group pushing genres and blending performance mediums.

Mathew Jonson banged it out on his analogue gear, while his partner played fantastic jazz keyboard.

After years of practice and solid production methods, Cobblestone Jazz has earned its good reputation.

The energetic live set delivered by Paul Ritch managed to captivate dancers, keeping them in the rain for the rest of the hour as the first shower fell.

It was great to see Paul Ritch exemplifying “the show must go on”, as two stage managers held a tarp over his laptop.

Oscar Mulero’s set also measured up, and as the rain cleared people flooded the main stage again.

Speedy Jand Scott Pagano had a superb audio-visual live set constructed for this event.

Starting off with slower minimal techno and moving into a crescendo of hard techno, the duo could be seen signaling each other to create perfectly in synch transitions.

It was a great way to end the festival – with an eye and ear to the next level of fusion art in electronic music.

Earlier on Monday, on the Pioneer Pro DJ stage Dieselboy and MC Messinian dropped a hard drum n’ bass set that resembled the hard sounds of techno in the late 90s.

The crowd danced like crazy; among them, a handful decked out in fun fur and blue hair.

One 16-year old said she had first discovered electronic music (like so many of us), after being introduced to it by an older friend.

These teens had heard about the history of raving in America, and were happy about the festival line up.

Movement 2008 demonstrated it can accommodate both more seasoned mature crowds and new school ravers who still have their optimism and naïve curiosity for electronic music.

As John Selway said, “Where would the festival be without them?

“They’re enjoying the music, and paying to attend the festival.

“And some of them will grow up, lose the candy and the glow sticks, get more into the music, and become the next generation of grown up clubbers, DJs, producers, and label owners.”

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Photo credit: Jeremy K - xanuradio.com

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