Movement 08 - Another Great Year at DEMF

Well it’s been a busy couple weeks since we returned from the Detroit Electronic Music Festival. Among other things, Ankur closed on a house purchase and I moved my home office and switched platforms from Windows to Mac OSX. Chaos ensued of course, but it’s beginning to clear up. But not to worry - we’ve got lots of review content coming for DEMF! (We took over 3,000 photos.)

Based on last year's experience, I certainly had high expectations for this event - and they were exceeded on every level. The weather, the sound and lighting, the crowd energy and the artist performances were all excellent. The organizers report that over 75,000 fans attended the festival - a huge increase over the 45,000 fans who attended in 2007 - but still comfortably within the capacity of the beautiful 14-acre venue at Hart Plaza.  

More here >

Movement 08 - Just Days Away!

Well the boys and I are already really excited about heading out to the 2008 Detroit Electronic Music Festival. You know the one. . . I've been raving about it since last year - as has everyone in our party from Movement 07.


This year the crew has grown. We've got a couple of hotels rooms at the super convenient Leland Hotel and have already purchased our afterparty tickets.

As always, DEMF offers a great line-up of artists. The Madison contingent is gathering on Thursday night to "study" the schedule. Rustin has already weighed in as follows:

NOT TO BE MISSED
Dubfire -- absolutely awesome newer sounding, bass heavy, and very palatable/popular progressive house/techno. One half of Deep Dish. Here's some video: (really dope at about 1:45) http://youtube.com/watch?v=K4dpret3D2I

Deadmau5 -live -- making huge waves this year in electrohouse and does some amazing stuff with one of the mixers I have, so I definitely want to check out his technique up close. See here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=XjRKLHUqYAE

Richie Hawtin -- needs no explanation....

James Zabiela -- does some really awesome stuff with the pioneer effects unit that I want to check out: http://youtube.com/watch?v=ViHJMEonZe0&feature=related

Josh Wink -- fucking legend...


WOULD LIKE TO CHECK OUT
Great chill house
Justin Long Mark Farina Miles Maeda
Drum and Bass
Dieselboy & MC Messinian

If your plans are fluid for the upcoming Memorial Day weekend. Think about checking it out. At $50 for a 3 day pass at the gate - it's a deal that can't be beat.

Check out our full preview on MMR, including links to coverage from last year.

Cheers! - Mr Bill

Interview with John Acquaviva

John Acquaviva has been playing as a dj for about 30 years and has been a driving force in the international music and club scene since 1989, when he and Richie Hawtin founded one of the world's best known and influential techno labels, Plus 8 Records.

Last year, he was recognized in the Top 100 (#22) in DJ Magazine’s canonical poll of DJ influence and success worldwide. John is known as a DJ’s DJ with a vast vinyl record collection (over 50.000 pieces) that essentially spans the history of club music. . . and he was spinning through it all!

Always at the vanguard of new music and ideas, John was one of the first people to take notice and embrace electronic music’s digital future at the dawn of 2000. First, he got involved with and championed Final Scratch as a new innovative way for DJ’s and artists to connect the digital world with the analog world. He also helped launch Beatport.com, the biggest dance-music download site in the world.

John played a fun set at Movement 07 – Detroit’s Electronic Music Festival. We had the chance to meet him, and later pose a few questions (I’ll let you guess which questions were from Rusty – our trusty DJ in residence.)

MMR: You seemed to have a really fun time at Movement 07 performing “Bad Habits” and “It’s All About the Music” with Dan Diamond. (I very much enjoyed these songs too.) What brought you two together?

JA: The lyrics to Therapy just grabbed me. I thought that Therapy was a Peace Division record with a vocal sample I had never heard before. A few months later, I bought Bad Habits and I figured it was the same vocalist. I called beatport and begged them to help track him down...Imagine my surprise and delight when I found he was from Detroit... The rest is history.

I decided to bring Dan two years ago [to DEMF 2006] as a proper coming out to the world at large...Then this year – being on the Main Stage - I just figured dj's are boring to watch - so I asked Dan to come and perform with me to add some life to the show... I think it did. We decided to have fun and I think that came through nicely.

with Dan Diamond

I noticed that many artists – including yourself - turned out to listen to one another throughout DEMF. What were your highlights as a listener and fan from Movement 07?
That would be it. Most festivals are in and out, but Detroit was special. More so because not much is happening in North America...so many people came for the whole weekend. In Europe, I have done 3 festivals in 2 days many times - so there is no time to hang out.

How did you make the transition from clubber and fan to performer? And what were the inspirations/influences for the Electro House sound that is currently synonymous with John A.? How do you define ElectroHouse music?
I always loved and bought music...wanted to share with my friends...and dj was the way to do it ...since my school days [the disco era].

Electro is not too hard and not too soft...about having fun -which sometimes we can all be too serious as producers...but always for dancing

I noticed at DEMF that you were playing on Stanton's Final Scratch 2. It seemed to me that almost all the other DJs have switched over to the Rane’s Serato Scratch Live. Why are you so committed to FS2? I've also heard that Traktor is not yet supporting the new intel Mac's (and is generally unstable). Am I misinformed?
I am not much of a technical guy. [Ed. Note: “I don’t believe you!”] But you are right about Stanton not supporting the new intel macs. Me...I have been using FS2 waiting for Traktor. I love the Traktor interface for FS technology and the new Traktor Scratch takes FS technology to the next level for me in every way

Another thing I observed was your use of CD decks instead of turntables. I know that many DJ pioneers that have been doing this from the very beginning (as you have) have an almost religious loyalty to two turntables and sometimes even a rotary mixer. Recently, I was dismayed to see one of my favorite local DJs performing with a single CD Deck and a laptop running SSL. Do you think the turntable and vinyl is on its way out of the DJ booth?
Turntable is the best controller. The decks were a bit dodgy...that is a real pity. CDs cannot do what a turntable does. A lot of young guys don’t know what they are missing. I don’t like and never liked rotary mixers as well... Knobs take too much to handle when you are mixing.

What's got you excited about your music these days? What are you currently working on?
I get excited about the next thing I buy or receive as a demo. I’m still sorting studio sessions this summer...but right now, doing more with Olivier Giacomotto who is my favorite producer, and definitely the fresco guys.

Your weekly gig at Privilege in Ibizza sounds sweet. What is the ideal size audience for a John Acquaviva performance? Is bigger better? Or do you prefer the opportunity to perform in more intimate spaces?
Middle is best, 1-2000 people. In August, we get 4-5000 which is great. Big rooms are very special, but hard to do day in and out.

I’m impressed by your successful entrepreneurialism – including starting Plus 8 records, helping launch Beatport.com and running your own labels. Do you enjoy the business side of the industry? Or is this simply the price you have to pay in order to be get the music out into the world?
I am proud of the vision and hard work I have put in along with Rich and many others. Basically waking up in the day and taking care of business is a price that you must pay. And I think that smoke and mirrors can only get you so far.

What music are you currently recommending to friends? What is on your turntable/ipod now?
I typically recommend tracks that I find on beatport...last month was 30...it was a huge month...you can get these on my newsletter along with a regular podcast. [Ed. note - his podcasts are fantastic!]

What developments do you foresee in the electronic music genre?
Things are always changing but slowly...like a photograph and yourself over time. There is a new generation that has finally and truly embraced technology, so things have been fast and furious the last few years...and I expect it to continue.

I had the chance to groove alongside John during the Jeff Mills performance, and I found him to be one of the most hospitable and gracious artists that I’ve met. If you ever get the chance to go to one of his parties – do it!

After DEMF, I raced out and bought a few new cds by some of the artists that I “discovered” that weekend. One was John Acquaviva presents Acquaholic: The True Electro Experience. It has stayed in frequent rotation and is still fresh. Recommended listening.

Your best move is to buy it at Beatport.com - or if you simply must have the physical media, buy it from locally-owned music stores. As a last choice, buy it through this link to Amazon and help support our site.

Movement 2007 - The Sights

The three days at DEMF was a treat for the ears... and the eyes and the body as well. It is hard to capture the abundance of energy, color, sound and motion that envelops you in Hart Plaza. You are constantly buffeted by the throbbing, pulsating bass emanating from the banks of speakers as a mass of twirling, twitching, grooving bodies whirls around you, heads nodding and bobbing in unison, hands raised up in the air, fists clenched, fingers stabbing the sky and chopping the air to the beats twisted and tweaked out of the dials and touch pads by the DJ's and artists. You raise your camera to take a shot but your body resists the need to stay still - the air pushes at you in time with the deep bass as the ground vibrates to the steps of thousands of dancing feet, urging you to join in, give in to the primal beat. Here is a snapshot of some of those moments...

Dance away

Detroit's finest checking out the scene

Losoul... intense concentration...

Interview with Robin Judge

One of the things that make music festivals so much fun is that there are usually i) artists whose music I know fairly well and am excited to see,
ii) artists that I'm not so familiar with, but know I should be, and iii) artists "unknown" to me that I get to "discover." One of the latter for me at DEMF was Robin Judge. I had the chance to meet Robin after her set, and she graciously agreed to answer a few questions in a subsequent email interview.

Robin Judge performs at Movement 07 - May 27th, 2007

You have described your recent sound as “soundscape meets dance-floor occasionally.” Do you perceive any particular trajectory to your musical evolution? If so, do you have a sense of where you are heading next?
I want to continue making all kinds of different music. Whatever mood I’m in, whatever I feel like bringing to the table on that particular day. I love so many styles of music – so many sounds - that I have a hard time picking just one direction. Music can express so many different concepts, emotions and ideas - it is an expansive universe of thought that can forever be explored. . . I’m currently working on some minimal techno tracks and some ambient sound scape works.

I listened to your performance/interview broadcast on Art of Beatz, and understand that you became involved in composing and performing out of your involvement with the dance scene, fascination with the music and eventually wanting the make the music as well. How long have you been composing, and what software and equipment did you initially use? What was your learning curve like? What tools are you using today?
From the first moment I heard electronic music I was hooked on the sound. Whether it was dance, ambient, experimental or pop-electronic, I just couldn't get enough of it. In 1997-1998 I started messing around and learning how to make music with a friend on an old Atari running Cubase with loads of gear. I feel very grateful having had exposure to the instruments in that studio such as the vintage LinnDrum, Juno-106, SH-101, TB-303, TR-727, TR-808, TR-909, JP-8000, R-8, and the MicroMoog, to name a few.



Nothing ever came of the creations I made there, but it was good fun and educational. For the next few years I researched computers, computer music, and audio as a whole, in my spare time while attending art school. At one point I even contemplated dropping out of my studies and abandoning my degree in graphic design to enroll in audio production at a music school, but in the end, I decided to finish what I had started and obtained my degree and continued to pursue music in my spare time.

In 1998-1999 I built my first music studio. I built the computer myself from parts that I ordered, I made it as fast as I could by adding 7200rpm SCSII hard drives (which only professional recording studio's had at the time, nowadays that speed is commonplace in desktop computers) the first version of the Intel Pentium chip running at 233Mhz, running Windows 98 with Cubase. I had a pair of Alesis Monitor Two's, the Event Gina sound interface, Korg Z1 synth, Yamaha A3000 sampler, and the Yamaha 01V Digital mixing console. I was also getting heavily into VST's and VSTi's and expanding into various software programs. I spent years learning and playing around before ever making something significant.

In 2000-2001 I was very much in to software based music creation. I built a faster more powerful computer and stripped my studio down to just an RME Hammerfall sound card connected to the Yamaha 01V digital mixing console via fiber-optic-lightpipe.

In 2001-2002 I really started focusing my energy and nurturing my ideas. Those closest to me really pushed me to complete my tracks and see my ideas through to the end. In 2002 my first release came out on Mille Plateaux. Since then, I have added items such as a condenser microphone and Hi-MD recorder to my studio. I have added more software, even faster computers and still continue my quest to learn more audio production techniques and methods.

You’ve made several recordings with Tomas Jirku. What brought you together? And can you describe the collaboration process that you use with Tomas?
Over the years Tomas and I have had similar visions and similar musical aesthetics. We have a lot of fun working with one another. We work back and forth on tracks; he makes one part, I make another part and we do this moving from one track to another track. Usually joking around with working track titles along the way (no one ever sees those titles except for us) but they can get pretty silly. Hahaha.

I enjoyed seeing you at Mathew Jonson's set, and I noticed that many artists turned out to listen to one another throughout DEMF. What were your highlights from Movement 07?
I think that it was an amazing event. The Paxahau team strives to create a top-notch environment that showcases the music in the best possible way – and they succeed at it. There were so many great sets and moments at the festival and at the after parties, that it would be impossible to choose.


Robin performing in front of Robert Rich's analog patch panel "thing"

What music are you currently recommending to friends? What is on your turntable/ipod now?
About a 100 different things at the moment, but let’s see:
> Mathew Jonson – ‘Far Away’ Remix of Mlle Caro & Franck Garcia
> Frivolous - ‘Midnight Black Indulgence’
> Luciano - ‘Drunken Ballet’ on Shut Up And Dance Updated


What question do you wish I had asked you? And how would you answer it?
You could have asked me ‘why is the universe expanding and where is it expanding to?’ … and I could have responded by saying 'there are many theories, most of which are too lengthly to discuss in this interview'. :)

I do want to hear more about the expanding universe, but I guess we will have to wait until our next interview!

Robin will be playing this Saturday 11:00 pm at Tini Martini in Chicago with Kate Simko. Catch this show if you can!

Recommended listening: Jirku-Judge, "Private Eyes"

myspace: http://www.myspace.com/robinjudge
web: robinjudge.com

Who's Afraid of Detroit?

In it's 7 year history, stretching back to '99, this is the first time I've had the pleasure of attending Detroit's annual electronic music extravaganza. I haven't been as active in the party scene as of late and was curious to see how electronic music was getting by with out me. While the scene migrated from empty buildings on the south side of chicago, $15 bucks to get in, dance till 5am, best music in the world to smoke-filled nightclubs, $25 cover, $10 drinks, 21 and over, get bumped into by a bunch of drunken idiots until bar close; I lost interest in the music. Well, not my interest in the music, just my desire to participate in the culture that accompanied it. I wonder if this is the normal course when underground music becomes more mainstream or is this just my transformation into becoming a boring adult. What ever it is, over the last few years I've found myself preferring the isolated comfort of my own home instead of the club scene. However, this weekend I decided to give my old scene another chance and see what the fair city of Detroit had to offer.






I've seen Richie Hawtin play everywhere from Even Further Festivals, Crowbar in Chicago, to a cramped afterset in riverwest Milwaukee. I've seen him pack a club wall to wall on a wednesday night and completely turn the place upside down. And when Richie played DEMF this year, he certainly brought his A-Game. No surprises there. What completely blew me away was the reception he received and the energy in the room. Halfway through Luciano's set (who was on directly before Hawtin) you could feel the temperature of the tent rise as people crowded in to fill every available space. The backstage area and platform directly behind the turntables were filled with a mass of people made up of the shows promoters, other world renowned DJs that had played during the weekend, and too many cameras and HD video recorders to count. As Richie took his place behind the decks, the crowd erupted into cheers and applause and what followed was something I hadn't seen in a long time. For almost three hours (a normally short set for Richie Hawtin) every head underneath the tent was locked into a rhythmic nod that progressed with the bass, people were swinging from the light trussing, and superstar DJs alike were getting down. It couldn't have been better.

After two hours the event staff told Richie to wrap it up, for which he politely acknowledged yet kept on playing. When he finally stopped, the cheers from the crowd seemed like they wouldn't end. The crowd was screaming for more and was not giving up. Within minutes he started up again and played another half-hour until he was finally shut down. If this were the only thing I saw the entire three days of the trip it would have been well worth it. The energy from the audience and Richie's obvious enthusiasm and appreciation was alone worth the 7-8 hour drive to Detroit. More importantly, my faith in the electronic music had been restored. In truth, Richie played a killer set but what made his show so amazing were the people there listening to it and contributing to the collective vibe. When it was over most were drenched in sweat, completely exhausted, and left with a large grin spanning ear to ear.





I can't speak for it's past years but going by this years experience, D.E.M.F. is probably one of the best single events I've ever been to. Richie's set was only one set in a sea of amazing performances. I'm usually only used to catching one or two headliners in a single sitting at most. The volume of high-quality talent was so large it was exhausting. On Saturday I saw Guido Schnieder followed by my personal favorite Claud Vonstroke. After little sleep on Saturday night, I got down to Misstress Barbara, Bad Boy Bill, Steve Bug and Hardfloor on Sunday during the day. Sunday night, I caught Misstress Barbara again and another earth-shattering set from Claud Vonstroke at an afterhours. I ended up falling asleep at 6 AM for a couple hours only to wake up on Monday to see John Aquaviva, Richie Hawtin, and finally Jeff Mills. It was really hard work enjoying that much good music. I'm never going to miss this festival again.

Rustin

Report from new guy

Some people say that you should never see sausage produced because it will make you realize what goes in there. Now that I’ve had my first electronic music festival experience, I can ecstatically say that electronic music is nothing like sausage. Why not? Well, for most of the time we were in Detroit, we constantly saw exactly what went into this music, and it was good. At DEMF and the packed, intimate afterbar parties, we gazed at the vinyl from a few feet away while some of the best DJ’s in the business (and some assorted technicians of other instruments) deconstructed beats and put them back together in different and better ways. As someone who has seen precious few live DJ’s, and ocassionally bobbed his head mockingly to a techno beat while at a stoplight, it was a mind-opening music experience.

The bonus for me, new as I am to this world, was the people scenery. All types of people floated around Hart Plaza looking for other members of their given tribe. The result was crystalline - sharp as a tack, not dulling like other sun-soaked music events might be. Add in the otherworldly experience of being in central Detroit, and you get a weekend that may be as stimulating as any you can have in music. Consider my brain, like the beats, taken apart and put back together again. In a different, better way.

Anyone for WEMF or Sundance?

new guy

DEMF - Great Value or the Greatest?

This weekend was an epiphany for me, and I feel as though I’ve been well and truly initiated into the full pleasure and appreciation of live electronic music.

It was just this past March that I experienced my first all-night dance party; and it was on my first trip to Amsterdam, and my first trip to Europe, and it was celebrating the Spring Equinox. So you can see that for me, it was an event of some note. It was a great party too: in and outdoor, North Sea beach on a calm night, two stages and nine artists, playing progressive- and trance- for 12 hours. So Movement 07 was just my second such experience – and what an awesome time it was!

Charles Webster works his magic

But I don’t think that it was only my “newbie enthusiasm” that made this such a great personal experience. Props have got to be given to Paxahau for the incredible quality of this production. My traveling companions are the true audiophiles, but I thought the sound was outstanding. I’ve got some good (not great) quality earplugs, and I try to always remember to have them on hand at a show. But I rarely felt the need for decibel relief at DEMF– despite the fact that the beat was loud enough to create a deeply visceral experience.

Oh, Canada!

Hart Plaza is a great setting too. The views are really interesting all around, and its always great to be on a waterfront. I was a particular fan of the Beatport stage, and I really liked the configuration of the room; the low stage; and the overall “club” feel there. (Although I do think that a wider tent would be better.) The Main Stage was more majestic in scale, but during the early sets it was still real easy to freely dance up close.

Richie Hawtin

There is an element of magic and theater to the performance of a good electronic artist that has to be seen to be understood. Here the artists were all world class, and even legendary. But I was particularly drawn to the unpretentiousness of many of the artists. They showed obvious pleasure while playing their sets, and also danced at other artists sets. The early morning hours would find them still performing at the plethora of after parties in the area. To be sure, Downtown Detroit was bumpin.


Heidi. . . in the running for most upbeat, joyful artist

So the cost is $40 for continuous music on 4 stages for 3 days/12 hours a day. As Stephen Colbert would ask, “Movement 07. Great value or Greatest?”

So Long Detroit

Well the party at DEMF is over for 2007, and we're about to hit the road. The boys and I are planning to make a tradition out of this event. It's just that much fun.

On Monday, I got to killer sets by Theo Parrish, John Acquaviva, Luciano, Richie Hawtin and Jeff Mills. They were all great - but Richie's set was completely unhinged.




I now count myself as a fan of many artists that I heard for the first time this weekend. That's been a real pleasure. . . Again, we'll get pictures and more commentary up after we get home - and maybe take a nap!



Cheers,

Mr. Bill

A Brief Report from the DEMF Front

We've been having a great time here at Movement 07 - the Detroit Electronic Music Festival. Nice vibe, awesome artists, excellent sound, great crowd and a cool venue. How can you go wrong with this?

Ankur, Rusty and I arrived in Detroit a little later than planned, but we got checked-in to our hotel and over to the fest in time to catch Delano Smith. Over the next 8 hours, I also witnessed impressive sets from:
> Losoul
> Aux 88
> Charles Webster
> King Britt
> Guido Schneider
> Kerri Chandler
> Claude VonStroke
> Kerry Chandler
> Marco Carola.

The sets here have all reinforced my belief that a great music performance can be a holy experience. The artists here succeed in tapping into our deep tribal collective consciousness. The beat is so natural, it just feels good to be moving with the music. Some of us might just be bopping along with the groove, while others dance up a storm - but the crowd seems to literally throb. And I've never seen so much energetic dancing at a show - including some fantastic break-dancing. After the last set at DEMF, we found our way to an after party at Club 150, where the party was still going strong when we left at 3:30a.

On Sunday, Tim joined us (to celebrate his 40th!) and we made our way over to Hart Plaza where I enjoyed sets by:
> Milieu
> Lee Curtis
> Robin Judge
> Kate Simko
> Heidi
> Mistress Barbara
> Monolake
> Bad Boy Bill
> Mathew Jonson
> Steve Bug

Again, we went to an after party featuring Mistress Barbara and Claude VonStroke, and made a late night out it. Ankur, Rusty and I have all been carrying our cameras and have gotten lots of fantastic photos. (Thanks to the cool folks at Paxahau for helping us with photo access!) We'll put them up soon, and some more reviews, of course. In the meantime, stay posted!

Ciao for now!
Mr. Bill

Movement 2007... Getting Ready for The Detroit Electronic Music Festival

Motor city. The home of Motown and the city where John Lee Hooker got down to boogie. It is also the home of techno - what I call 'Detroit Electronic'. Think Carl Craig, Derrick May, Theo Parrish, Richie Hawtin/Plastikman (he's from Windsor from across the river/border but we don't believe much in political and geographic boundaries), Kevin Saunderson, Juan Atkins... the list goes on.

Thanks to my buddy Jason for introducing me to the music back in '99 and with whom I got a taste of DEMF first hand in 2000. And then made a trip back in 2001 when I was joined by Tony, Ashwini, Ms. Fox and Luis (crazy Spaniard cousin of Tony's who did not speak a word of English and flew in from Madrid just for the show). I don't remember much from those trips but do recall some spectacular DJ'ing by Stacey Pullen and then a marathon spin session by Laurent Garnier at an after party at the City Club(?). In any case, it is time to refresh those brain cells and head back for some kick ass, booty shaking music. My homies Bill, Rusty, Tim and I get on the road to Detroit on Friday evening and will keep you posted on the weekend happenings. Have a good weekend and catch some live music!