http://www.detroitnews.com/story/entertainment/music/2015/05/20/originator- kevin-saunderson-movements-past-future/27678797/
Originator: Kevin Saunderson on Movement's past, future The Detroit techno pioneer (and one-time festival producer) talks about Movement's history and his own Origins program Adam Graham, The Detroit News 9:08 a.m. EDT May 21, 2015 Kevin Saunderson is, in many ways, the heart of Movement. At this weekend's 16th annual event, Saturday through Monday at Hart Plaza, Saunderson marks his 14th appearance at the festival. In 2005, when the fest had no producer and its future was in jeopardy, Saunderson stepped up and acted as organizer (and hired Paxahau to produce a stage, paving the way for them to take over as producers of the festival the following year). And without Saunderson's contributions to techno music in its formative years, there might not be any Memorial Day weekend techno celebrations in the first place. At this year's Movement festival, Saunderson returns with his second annual Origins showcase, where he'll shine a spotlight on the past, present and future of techno music. His day of programming, Monday on the Made In Detroit/ Thump stage, includes Detroiters DJ Minx, D. Wynn, Dink & TK, Al Ester and Marc Kinchen; Chicago's Phuture and Lee Foss; Toronto's Greg Gow, and Saunderson's sons Dantiez and DaMarii Saunderson, who perform as the Saunderson Brothers. Kevin Saunderson himself will close out the day by teaming up with fellow Detroit techno pioneer Derrick May for a tandem performance under the banner of Hi Tech Soul. Kevin Saunderson's showcase is part of an adventurous three days of music that includes performances by sizzling hot English electronic duo Disclosure, Skrillex and Boys Noize's collaboration Dog Blood. Also featured are Southfield-bred producer-DJ-sax man GRiZ, Detroit rapper Danny Brown, Wu-Tang Clan rapper Method Man, Windsor techno godfather Richie Hawtin and West Coast rap general Snoop Dogg, who will close out the festival Monday night under his nom-de-DJ, DJ Snoopadelic. Earlier this week, we caught up with Saunderson at Hart Plaza to talk about Movement, his involvement in the festival and dance music in general. Q: What is the concept behind your Kevin Saunderson Presents: Origins showcase? A: It's bringing new artists together with artists that were influenced by me or Detroit. We had some great artists last year and a welcome turnout from the fans. It's important to educate. We have EDM and all these new divisions of music, so we want people to understand the history of our music and why it is what it is. We also like to celebrate it. It gives you a new kind of energy to do it for another 10 years. Q: How have you seen the rise of EDM affect electronic music culture? A: At first I think there was a backlash against it, and I didn't really pay attention to it. I did a show in Australia with Deadmau5, and I was like, 'Who is Deadmau5? He wears a mouse?' I had no clue. But he was really popular over there and I was like, 'OK, this is what they do.' But I think what happened is it helped give people more awareness of the underground. It made them realize that there was more music than just listening to Deadmau5 or David Guetta or Avicii. It started opening festivals to experiment more with the techno, more house, deep house and really giving a broad spectrum. So younger kids, they might have had no idea about who Kevin Saunderson or Derrick May or Carl Craig is, but they started finding out slowly. It started cultivating at festivals and events we were playing, and we started to get more awareness. So it brought that out, and it helped the club scene too. People go out to clubs more than they used to. And obviously festivals are just popping up all over the country now. So I think it helps, as much as people might slag the music. My son, believe it or not, he started out listening to people like Avicii. Q: How have you seen Movement grow and change over the years? A: This festival for me is one of the top in the world, and I've been to many. It's up there at the top. And everybody still wants to come to Detroit. When I say everybody, I mean every DJ wants to play in this city, because of what started here and how they've been influenced. And again, that still connects to Origins, because we have touched so many people around the world with our sound and our music that they want to come here and play. Also the production has gotten better. The guys from Paxahau care. I've seen many clubs, many promoters, they keep the same sound system, they don't upgrade, and they wonder in seven, eight years, 'What happened?' Paxahau doesn't do that. They put back into the production, they do things right, they change little things every year. And they're bringing talent in from all over the world. Q: What did you learn from doing the festival yourself? A: It was weird for me. I know I had the festival, the city wanted me to do it, and it was March or something crazy, so just to pull it off was good. Because I don't think there was going to be a festival if I didn't take it, to be honest. I don't know who else would have been a candidate to do it. I had to roll the dice and just make it happen. I learned not to do a festival in three months! I learned a little bit more about politics, because I had not-too-nice things happen to me there. I'm not going to go into details I try to keep it positive. I think the biggest thing I learned is I had to do it, and it's still going. So it was the right decision, even though it was tough for me to not continue. Also, I brought Paxahau in to work with me that year, and it helped them for the next year. They were actually on the grounds, they were part of it. So it helped them move forward with their planning, and not maybe make some of the same mistakes that were made. So that was an important factor. Q: What is it like to perform with Derrick May? A: We don't play together that much, maybe three or four times a year. So when we come together, you never know how it's gonna work out, but it always works out because we are fortunate where we connect. Maybe it's because of the history of the music that we've been through, and we feel like we're ambassadors to this music. So we find a way to make the magic happen. I'm kind of like the pilot. And Derrick is there, he does some amazing things. But I set the stage and he works off of me, and then we feed off each other. Q: Where do you see this festival headed in the future? A: I think it's going to continue. It's love and happiness, and people want to come here from around the world. And it's a great location. It's perfect for this, it's perfect for us. I think the future of the festival is secure. It should keep going. We should have new talent. We should start seeing younger kids coming up making music, producing, because they were influenced by somebody out here. And they want to go back and they want to get that drum machine, they want to get that keyboard, and they want to chase the dream too. And you're going to see that happen. You're going to see some more local heroes come out of this city and cultivate the sound even more. It's here, it's all connected.
