+1 on the underground sound system and visual layout, it sounded AMAZING compared to previous years. That said, I felt there was a bit too much soundbleed between the Electric Forest and Red Bull/Main Stage areas, honestly. And while slightly less so, some soundbleed was still noticeable between the RB/Main area and the Made in Detroit stage setup -- which also kind of shocked me with the sheer amount of house music that was played throughout most people's sets. It created a sort of cognitive dissonance for me, based on the talent booked this year and what I've come to expect from the Made in Detroit area at previous festivals.
Now, I'm an old-school and now-reformed househead who has no trouble singing along with 99% of the anthems (it's a soul thing, a body, thing, et al), but that's totally NOT what I'm flying to Detroit to listen to every year. I was kind of disappointed that there wasn't nearly as much minimal or even militant-sounding techno as I'm used to being exposed to -- especially from new (or at least undiscovered-to-me) artists -- at this year's Movement. Nicole Moudaber's set was one of the standout surprises for me; hearing a set like hers that blows me away and I instantly fall in love with is one of my favorite things about the festival, and for that, I'm extremely grateful. To hear a woman playing such a hardcore, relentlessly banging set made me both proud and hopeful that the whole "female DJs are just gimmicks" mindset will eventually fade out of the public's musical consciousness, though how long that'll take is anyone's guess...DJ Minx had her audience on lockdown as well, but I thought Magda's festival set was kind of "meh" this year (though her afterparty set delivered everything I'd hoped to hear earlier that day, so I really shouldn't complain...). Despite having tickets to the "Bass Ain't on The Boat" afterparty (because hey, The Upbeats! They flew all the way from NZ - when am I gonna get THAT opportunity again?), it got relocated to a less pedestrian-friendly spot than the original boat setup had been, so the only one I actually made it to was the Life and Death Detroit gig on Sunday at St. Andrew's Hall.. and oh my GOD, so glad I had my earplugs in!! Nothing can compare to being massaged from my scalp to the soles of my feet by a well-engineered wall of sound in the wee hours of the morning. It took me a couple hours to realize there was a different stage setup downstairs, and I was pleasantly surprised at the level of sound distinction/speaker muffling between the two (even moreso because one was essentially stacked right on top of the other, with the venue above packed to capacity with people dancing and everything that wasn't tied down vibrating along with the beat). Cheers to all the sound engineers, artists, volunteers and talent bookers who pulled this year's level of professionalism off -- especially the massive sound, camera and lighting rigs, nicely designed visual set-ups, streaming video/sound recordings via be-at.tv, Red Bull software/hardware demo room near the Underground stage, etc. Plus, everyone booked at the festivals and the only afterparty I went to seemed to be playing during their assigned slots, and each artist's gear looked like it got swapped out in a timely and safe manner between sets. There weren't any last-minute schedule changes due to talent not being able to get into the country or missing a flight (that I'm aware of, anyway), which I know has caused some headaches for Paxahau in the past. All of the stuff mentioned above requires massive amounts of coordination, party-throwing experience and teamwork to pull off seamlessly, and I know from personal experience how hard that is... especially by day 3, when everyone's sleep-deprived and hungover to the Nth degree. :) Didn't see any people passing out from heatstroke this time around, and the crowd seemed a bit smaller than it was during my last visit in 2011, which was... what, nearly 100k attendees? Curious to know how many people actually went this year... at any rate, it was a vacation well-spent! On Mon, Jun 10, 2013 at 11:39 PM, Darnistle McKuik <darnis...@gmail.com>wrote: > I know this is long overdue, but I felt an obligation (misplaced, no > doubt) to post something about the festival. > > First of all, I think Paxahau should be commended for having improved > the sound quality at the Underground Stage. The area had already > begun sounding less and less murky each year, but this year I was > quite surprised by the degree of aural clarity. I did not go down > into "the pit" this year, but the quality of the sound near the > walkways (behind the soundboard and near the bathroom) was very > impressive. > > Second kudos to Paxahau for altering the orientation for the Electric > Forest stage speakers, which worked very well. Though I wasn't keen > on any of the music I heard from that stage all weekend, the sound was > very full and rich, much more than previous years when the speakers > were facing the water and the revelers had to stand on the grass. > Dubstep bass sounded very large and powerful, which was quite nice. > Too bad the dubstep itself wasn't in the style that I wanted to listen > to. It'll be nice when perkier 2-step syncopation makes it way back > into dubstep... > > Also, I'd like to thank Andrew Duke for some fabulous mixes that > helped me make it through the interminable drive through > Pennsylvania... > > Noteworthy sets from the festival itself: > > Alton Miller - surprisingly fun and thankfully not too jazzy > Terrence Parker - He really kept the vibe going. His track selection > was energizing and got my hopes up for a fun weekend > Moby - I was running between stages during his set, but I really liked > what I heard. I do hope he played "Next is the E" > Daniel Bell - a very good, groovy set. Not as starkly minimal as I've > come to expect from him, but very good nonetheless > Cajmere - Loved the vibe! Where are the kick queens when you need them? > Derrick May & Kevin Saunderson - Excellent, as always! Who else could > have inspired me to dance in the rain and cold for so long? > > As is true every year, the after-parties are overwhelming in their > number and variety. There weren't any mega-events for me year, where > so many people I want to hear will be playing at a single party that I > don't really make plans to be anywhere else. That made deciding on > which parties to go to harder, but it also meant I got to explore more > of the after-party scene. Plus, there's always something to be said > for a night of quality party-hopping. > > Friday night, I went to the House Headquarters party @ L!V Resto. I'm > not sure who was playing when I got there, but I did hear Gary > Chandler (fun, but very disjointed) and DJ Assault (Lordy be!!). As > always, I missed DJ Godfather. I think it must be written in the > stars. > > Saturday night, I went to TV Lounge for the first time. Every year, I > mean to go there but end up somewhere else. The music was pretty > good, for the most part. Not sure who I was listening to in the > separate rooms, but it was all enjoyable enough. To tell the truth, I > don't remember much about the music, but I liked the club itself quite > a bit. I'll have to make an effort to go there again the next time > I'm in town. > > After TV Lounge, I went to Club Waterfalls to hear DJ Minx et al. > Unfortunately, I didn't realize until the night was over that there > was more music happening on the second floor. DUH!!! Sadly, no Minx > for me. The music I did hear on the main floor wasn't bad at all, > though the sound system was painfully shrill. I almost left several > times because the treble was so sharp and loud that it hurt my ears > (not even listening to old Whitehouse is so harsh). However, I > persisted and eventually got to hear a DJ whose set really caught my > attention. I asked him his DJ name and he said "DJ 50 Meal" (??). > What a strange name for a DJ. > > Sunday night, I was at Club Waterfalls again to hear DJ Bone and Shawn > Rudiman. I didn't get to hear Shawn, but DJ Bone's set was truly > invigorating and I danced the entire time I was there. Unfortunately, > I had plans to be at the Echospace/Terrence Dixon party that night as > well, so I couldn't stay as long as I would have liked. It was very > difficult for me to leave, but it had to be done. > > Echospace's set was easily the most memorable point of the entire > weekend for me!!! I went there expecting to be bathed in their > evocatively meteorological techno-dub, but instead was engulfed in a > throbbing kaleidoscope of sound, all still on the meteorological tip. > All of this in a truly gritty, grimey warehouse setting. What more > could I ask for? I danced and danced and danced and danced and > danced, and even indulged my inner speaker-whore for most of > Echospace's set. Their rhythms were much more energetic than on their > recordings and though it retained their trademark > variations-on-a-Basic-Channel-theme, there were several points where > the music morphed into something surprisingly reminiscent of late-90's > minimal psytrance (dense layering of aural particulate and relative > independence of constituent bass lines). Ah, what I would have given > to have been on acid for their set!!. I get all wet and gushy just > thinking about how aurally sumptuous that was!!!! To top it all off, > they were giving away copies of "Soundtrack for Silent World". > > I'm not sure who played after them. The music was good, but > Echospace had sent me so far out into orbit that I spent most of the > next set I spent trying to return to earth and regain my senses. > > Then there was Terrence Dixon.... I'm not sure what that set was all > about. I was really very confused by the whole affair. Who were the > two guys with him and why did the one cover his face with a bandana? > What were they contributing to the music? And what was going on with > the music, which seemed very out of whack and disjointed? I'm not > sure what they were trying to achieve but it didn't quite gel, at > least not in my opinion. Funny, because Terrence was one of the main > reasons I went to that party and I was left feeling very perplexed by > I'd heard. I'll cut Terrence some slack, though, since his new album > is fantabulous. > > Afterwards, I stopped by The Works around 6:00am and heard Silent > Servant. I was surprised that their set was as good as it was, since > their album had left me unimpressed. It was engaging enough to give me > enough energy to make it to the party at Old Miami. > > The Monday morning party at Old Miami is always very refreshing, > though by that point in the night/morning I'm fading fast. > Regardless, I do love a morning party even though it was much too cold > outside for me to be willing to stay very long. Cassy showed up > shortly before I left, which was a nice surprise. She's very cute in > person. I lasted until about 10:00am then headed back to the hotel to > sleep. > > Needless to say, I got to the festival very late on Monday (alas, no > Ellen Allien). The cold and rain really started to bother me, so I > left the festival for a while to go to Motor City Wine (loved the Carl > Craig cremant) then Forans for my traditional first drink of the > weekend. > > Since I had a 10 hour drive home on Tuesday, I promised myself I > wouldn't stay out past 1:00am Monday night. I went to The Works to > hear Ben Klock and ended up staying until 3:00am. It is always so hard > to leave a club when the DJ is playing a really good set. Pity I > couldn't have stayed longer... > > All in all, it was a very enjoyable festival this year. I think next > year, I'll have to rearrange my non-festival daytime activities so > that I can catch more of the artists I want to hear who are scheduled > early/mid afternoon, then come back later in the evening. >
