The stretch of construction down Detroit’s Woodward Avenue is a symbol of the city’s rejuvenation. Stretching from the central business district, through to Midtown, past a few universities, and into the city’s North End, the seemingly never ending line of orange barricades is the future path for the M-1 Rail. Still difficult to totally avoid distressed buildings in most any part of the Motor City, this 3.3 mile stretch is now base to numerous boutiques, galleries, clubs, cafés, and of course, the corporate run eatery. A monumental fiscal undertaking, the project is being hailed as a grand achievement in public/private/philanthropic partnerships.
This collaborative mentality is shared by the multiple entities that have shaped the character of the city’s Movement Electronic Music Festival over the past decade (when Paxahau officially began producing the event). In that time, the likes of Red Bull Music Academy, Electric Forest, Beatport, and Moog have all fueled the steady, organic growth of the techno-focused event. With the 2015 bill featuring Method Man, People Under The Stairs, and !!! (Chk Chk Chk), plus Snoop Dogg (aka DJ Snoopadelic) closing down the Main Stage on Monday, Movement has certainly evolved beyond its techno roots.
This continuing sonic expansion, combined with an international increase in the appreciation for techno, meant some growing pains during the festival’s 2015 edition despite the influx of Memorial Day electronic music events. As dusk began to settle in Saturday night, social updates regarding the length of the will call line began building — an issue exacerbated by a new ticketing partner. Quick to address the situation, Paxahau’s public statement did little to calm some of the voices that had been waiting in VIP lines for as long as three hours. Not a long wait in Bonnaroo standards, but a concern throughout Hart Plaza nonetheless. Once inside, it was the rhythms of the 808s, 303s, and 909s that settled the frustrations.
Looking out into the crowd during Dog Blood’s Sunday night headlining performance, this growth was palpable. Not only did the collaboration of Boys Noize and Skrillex pull the biggest crowd of the weekend, they likely packed the Movement Main Stage more densely than anytime in its history. Even those with deep roots in the scene left Sunday night exhausted from the duo’s acid-meets-bass clinic. The same cannot be said about the cold response to the Snoop experiment — which appeared to many like a grab towards the celebrity DJ ranks. Now with the inclusion of the aptly titled Sixth Stage, there were even more options to evade Snoop’s Top 40 mix. Joris Voorn, Ben Sims, and the pairing of Kevin Saunderson and Derrick May kept it grooving until the closing moments Monday night.
These many curatorial partnerships have greatly impacted the overall look of the festival. Since the rise of fellow Michigan-based Electric Forest, there are an ever-increasing number of hammocks and totems to avoid. And, as the underground rises to conquer some massive main stages, the broad brims, dark palette, and round spectacles have become an easily obtained fashion statement.
The online banter between the groups is arousing, but after about four hours in the beats and the capacity crowds, all walls just erode. Given the intimate footprint of Hart Plaza, where one might show up with their #fam, exploration is easy (and essential). If one was looking for a quick reprieve from the suffocating basslines of Cell Injection, Rødhåd, Nina Kravitz, or Matador in the Underground Stage, KiNK, Maya Jane Coles, and Hot Since 82 were ready with the tech-house and fresh air at the sun-drenched Beatport Stage. And few festivals pay tribute to the legends like Movement, who once again worked alongside Sauderson to book the originators and establish an immersive throughline for all the new techno converts making their first voyage to Detroit.
The growth of Movement has been relentless, yet controlled. As a new wave of dance music builds, Movement and Paxahau continue to find new means to draw fresh ears into their fabled techno story. With Hart Plaza now densely packed from 3 p.m. til midnight, a new evolution of Movement is taking shape. The festival’s back cover revealed a fall 2015 edition, the first for the festival. More details to follow…
For now, here’s a journey through some of the innovators likely still recovering from the weekend.
–Derek Staples
Senior Staff Writer
PHUTURE
During this set, I overheard one fan ask a buddy how long this group had been around. And that is why the world needs Movement. Back in the mid-’80s, PHUTURE (then Phuture 303) invented the acid sound and the genre still holds true to most of their original Roland TB-303 stylings. Despite regular hiatuses, the pair of DJ Pierre and Spanky remain a machine behind their live setup. Even when a minor technical difficulty had Spanky speaking into a microphone three feet above the stage (mighty low for a man of his stature) while simultaneously tackling some of the digital controls, he didn’t miss a single distorted syllable. Attesting to the ability of the new Roland AIRA modular set-up, the pair have made the switch from a purely analog set. While the technology has changed, the acid is just as menacing. To celebrate their time on stage, the pair unearthed one of the scene’s more inspirational quotes, pulled from Fat Boy Slim’s “Song For Shelter”: “Well if house music was air/ And Doctor love would be my song/ And I would only take deep breaths/ And fill my lungs with the rhythm or the bass.”
