Highlights of the weekend for me: 1. Seth Troxler's set finishing up for Visionquest on the Made In Detroit stage. I wasn't sure what to expect, but this set was pure FIRE. I have no idea what tracks he was playing, but it was pure Motor City funk, somewhere in between techno and house, and Seth was really channeling something--I think he gets to the level of a shaman when he's on. As far as I'm concerned, based on that set Seth is definitely the heir to the Detroit techno and house legacy... I especially remember how great the basslines were, they all had that Detroit funk edge. I also love the Prince vibe Seth has going, he pulls that off really well. He actually opened with the intro from Purple Rain and it was great.
2. Cassy at the Old Miami--very tight mixing and excellent track selection. Plus the vibes and crowd there are amazing, and you can sit under the trees or by the pond in back, which is a nice change from all the concrete! 3. Aux 88 live. I was pleasantly surprised at how tight they sounded and how good the sound was... I just wish they'd gotten to play on the Made in Detroit Stage, they were on the same stage as the dubstep acts and the crowd was kind of young and ravey, didn't see many heads there. Of course, putting them at the same time as 69 live was a poor programming choice in my opinion. 4. Delano Smith at Made in Detroit... I'm a big fan of Delano's music and I really enjoyed his set. A bit techier than I expected but still sounded great. 5. Matt Tolfrey at Brandon Burke's Floating Frequencies boat party. This party occurs on Saturday at 1pm just as DEMF is starting, and may actually be the most enjoyable party I've ever attended. Everyone lost it when he dropped Big Fun. Really good vibes from the crowd and just amazing to ride through tjhe water front on the top of a boat hearing great music. Of course, this party has a huge Chicago contingent, I'm sure I knew at least 100 people on the boat, so sharing the moment with great friends is probably a big part of what made this event so special (Old Miami is similar in this respect). Biggest regret: Not making it to the SHXT SHOW party... I just got stranded at Old Miami and it was too hard to get over there. I know they had some really good Deep House and Disco on their line up. Plus some sort of crazy petting zoo from what I heard... My only complaint about the fest itself is that DJ's always play "festival style".... even house DJ's play techier sets and really you don't get to hear any deeper and sexier music at a slower BPM at the fest. I'd love for Paxahau to program a day on stage that focused on house and maybe disco more in the 118-122 bpm range. Part of what makes Old Miami so refreshing is that ihe music is definitely slower and sexier then what you hear the rest of the weekend. As far as the programming, sure I disagree with a lot of their programming choices, but I think they've done about as good as you can do while still keeping the festival commercially viable. ~David On Wed, Jun 1, 2011 at 3:59 AM, Fred Heutte <ph...@sunlightdata.com> wrote: > Monday was a good day at the festival. I arrived in time to hear TP on > the main stage bring Strings of Life into a remix of Patrice > Rushen's "Haven't You Heard" (I like Steve Rachmad's "A Lot of Love" on > Spiritual/Outland more but this version was slower and more in line > with the mix). Terrence was in a vocal mood, singing along with several > tracks. And he played "Blow Your House Down." Couldn't ask for more. > > I liked DJ Three (Chris Milo) on the Beatport stage playing an > unhurried set of solid acid-tinged stuff. Boo Williams and GU were > unfortunately stuck in the underground stage; when will Paxahau finally > admit house just doesn't work in there? > > But I spent most of the day at the Made in Detroit stage. Just missed > seeing Franki Juncaj (formerly the friendly guy at the register at > Somewhere in Detroit and also a quite good DJ), but heard a lot > of District 909 (Tim Baker and HD Substance). Tim Baker has had some > interesting releases but I wasn't sure what to expect, and what they > deliver is basic stripped down live techno sliding back and forth > between really tough and cool and somewhat aimless. > > Next up was DTM on 5 turntables, that's right, count 'em, 5x5. It > could have been a classic pileup but actually it was kind of fun. First > up was Throw as the soundbed, which is the obvious way to get started > and it went from there. Layers and layers of tracks'n'scratches. > > Then DJ T-1000 or as known among these parts, Alan. You know what > he does and that's bring it up to a high level of intensity and lets > it roll. > > As good as AO was, Claude Young finally had the time, the space and > the crowd to really throw down -- nearly two and half hours worth. > Everyone I talked to including the man himself felt the inspiration. > It's not just about playing the great old records, as great as they > remain, or the great new ones, still fresh and not struggling against > familiarity. It is about playing great music with purpose and > precision. It's what Detroit techno at its best truly represents. > > ------------ > > And now some comments on the festival itself (I'll save my rant about > afterparties for another time). With a year away due to work > requirements last year, I have a little more perspective perhaps than > I used to, having been to all ten from 2000 to 2009. > > First of all, what's working right? Paxahau has a business model that > actually works. They are putting serious, serious cash into upgrading > the sound, the staging, the lights and all the little things needed to > make this work better every year. Even the underground. The big > improvement to me was the decision to get rid of the tents for the > Beatport and Made in Detroit areas and invest in real stages. > > The music selection is somewhat less adventurous than I suppose could > be imagined, but it is a pretty decent job for what it does. There are > too many overrated European superstar-or-wannabes on stage for my > taste, but they bring in a crowd (see "business model"). On the > other hand, I can complain about Fatboy Slim or whatever but they > also bring in Adam X who rocks the box. I didn't feel this year like > there were periods where nothing decent was on offer, which was the > case in previous years ago for considerable parts of the weekend. > > And I want to call Paxahau out for praise very specifically for one > thing: the strong commitment to live performances across all genres. > They not only book creatively on that, but they obviously put serious > effort into providing the staging and support needed, from equipment > setups to sound and lights. > > The ticket prices are reasonable given the size and breadth of the > event. The lines were better run this year, and amidst the usual > carney fare they brought in Slows -- epic win. > > The not so good parts. Well, obviously it's a white people festival > now. I'm not sorry to say it so bluntly. It is in the city of > Detroit, but it does not represent Detroit the city. Why? This gets > back to "business model." When the festival was free, the city did > come, and not just because it was free, but because the proportion of > known Detroit talent was higher. The organizing of the festival was > drama supreme in the early years, but out on the walks and in the stage > audiences, it was inclusive for all of Detroit and the region. > > So Movement has evolved from being a somewhat disorganized civic > celebration to being more of a destination event for the suburbs (see > "business model"). Give Paxahau credit, the Made in Detroit stage is > an explicit nod to where this all comes from and provides (some) space > for the various threads of Detroit techno and house for the last 30 > years -- but only some, and we aren't seeing much space at all for new > upcoming local talent. Much more has been put into the big and up-and- > coming talent elsewhere in the US and Europe. > > I look forward to seeing non-Detroit performers, and many are quite > good and really add to the general diversity and enjoyment. I'd > maybe never see someone like Ana Sia otherwise, and she was great. > > But Paxahau's specific business model does not flex much outside its > settled approach. There are two problems. First, they have swung the > pendulum too far away from Detroit (not just the city but the region), > and too narrow a range where they do go. > > Just for example -- where are the funk artists from Brazil, Angola and > elsewhere worldwide that have taken bits and pieces of 70s funk, house, > techno, and all the other genres in the exploding org chart of dance > music and mixed them all up with local sounds. There is fresh and > mindbending music all over the planet. The present and future of > electronic is not just spelled 'd-u-b-s-t-e-p'. > > I don't think for a moment that the festival should be all things to > all people. There are many things I would do differently (and I've > done my bit of event management at a smaller scale). But I'm glad it's > still happening, and still have some hope Paxahau will actually try and > broaden the event and the audience. I'll come back next year to see > how they're doing. > > fh > >
