Sampling Culture http://samplingculture.posterous.com Most recent posts at Sampling Culture posterous.com Mon, 01 Jun 2009 17:44:50 -0700 My DEMF Review http://samplingculture.posterous.com/2009/06/01/my-demf-review-for-beatportal http://samplingculture.posterous.com/2009/06/01/my-demf-review-for-beatportal
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I’m not witnessing stadium rock or stadium love, like pop band Metric’s new song depicts in their newest album. No - Instead I’m witnessing stadium techno. It’s Saturday night, May 24th 2009 in Detroit, and Carl Cox is playing some pounding techno anthems to a crowd of fans with their hands in the air, fists pumping, feet moving and heads bouncing. It’s infectious and the crowd from the stage looks like a human mosaic, moving in synch, separately chaotic yet bodily as one. Dancing to Jeff Mills ‘The Bells’, and other now-classic tracks, was what electronic music fans were up to this past weekend at the annual Movement festival. This year’s Movement marked the 9th year of the Memorial Day Weekend festival that started in 2000. Since 2006, after undergoing several incarnations, a local Detroit promotions company called Paxahau has produced the first-class event. To read the full article visit: beatportal

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Wed, 27 May 2009 23:31:33 -0700 Videos from Movement, DEMF 2009 http://samplingculture.posterous.com/2009/05/27/demf http://samplingculture.posterous.com/2009/05/27/demf You might want to turn your speakers down! The sound is really distorted in these videos, sorry. The need for some earplugs (which I had) and a proper recording device is evident. However, if you're interested to know what the Detroit Electronic Music festival was like, this is an alright sampling of a few sets I caught. Steve Bug [wpvideo frEJBJ53] [wpvideo wDMut0cR] [wpvideo oQYsvnyP] [wpvideo Lq706uSn] [wpvideo 8cH2Jx7f] [wpvideo yYG55dFs]

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Wed, 13 May 2009 04:38:09 -0700 Planning a trip to Detroit http://samplingculture.posterous.com/2009/05/12/planning-a-trip-to-detroit http://samplingculture.posterous.com/2009/05/12/planning-a-trip-to-detroit I'm looking forward to seeing Detroit again, for all its deserted downtrodden streets and buildings just steps from the techno festival that transforms it for one weekend each year. It's not just that I crave techno music... I enjoy the discordant contrast between the vibrant international musical scene and the nearly abandoned city that hosts it each year. It's not without some thought that I wander looking for a restaurant each year during quiet moments of the festival. This city and the people here gave so much to the techno scene, as many of the originators came from here. But this city also seems like a ghost of its illustrious past, and it reminds me of the failings of large unsustainable economies and previous recessions that have taken their toll on the human and ecological life that are struggling to survive.
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This year's Detroit Electronic Music Festival (May 23, 24, 25) seems almost as good as previous years with over 70 DJs and producers ranging from hard techno (Marco Carola) to electro (Anthony Rother) to newer acts like The Glitch Mob and one of Detroit's classic techno DJs, Derrick May.
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On April 29th, 2009 Detroit Mayor, Kenneth V. Cockrel, Jr. and Paxahau event promotions group announced a new international partnership between Movement Detroit and the Movement Torino group who are throwing their own Movement festivals in Italy. So the brand is going global. As for Detroit ticket sales, the official Movement press release tells me that they are more than double the number they were at this time last year. And, according to organizer, Jason Huvaere: “We are pleased that despite the tough economic times facing our country, people see the value in spending their Memorial Day Weekend in Detroit...” Very optimistic when you consider all of the lay-offs that have happened in and around Michigan. But, I guess it's not all that surprising considering that many people who come to the festival from places like Toronto, New York, Chicago, and other parts of the US, and even Europe. If you've ever doubted that techno music culture is still a phenomenon today - there's evidence that it is still popular. Last year nearly 80,000 people passed through the turnstiles at Hart Plaza, according to Movement's official press release. I remember the excitement and the mix of people that came out. My blog post on the festival last year can be found here: Amanda's beatportal.com blog [photos taken by nyex.org]

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