Sampling Culture http://samplingculture.posterous.com Most recent posts at Sampling Culture posterous.com Sat, 14 Nov 2009 04:23:35 -0800 Speaking in Code http://samplingculture.posterous.com/2009/11/13/speaking-in-code http://samplingculture.posterous.com/2009/11/13/speaking-in-code Here's my interview with the director of a new film called Speaking in Code: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x92cKU-oLB4&hl=en_US&fs=1&] Documentary film director Amy Grill has just completed a new film called Speaking in Code. It's a documentary about the world of techno music that follows a series of characters over a few years. The film audience gets a cinema  vérité slice-of-life perspective of what it is to be a participant in the music industry. While Grill does not portray the typical electronic music fan's experience - and could thus be charged as portraying techno's elite – she does capture an authentic energy in her film. What really connects the music producers she profiles (Monolake, Tobias Thomas, Wighnomy Brothers), the music journalist DJ (Philip Sherburne), and the event promoter and music section editor (David Day) is their love for music. With a background in broadcast, Grill is a Producer-in-Residence at Emerson College in Boston. At the same time, she had a very personal connection with the subculture and the musicians she portrays. She's a long-time fan of electronic music and used to throw events in Boston with her ex-husband. She and her then-husband became characters in their own film. As a result of the film, Grill's own life journey has changed immensely. Now she's touring the new documentary film. This video interview was done prior to a Speaking in Code screening in Toronto at the Royal Cinema in November 2009. For more information  about the film you can visit: www.speakingincode.com/

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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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