Two stages dominate my Detroit electronic music palette for the first day of Movement, Saturday, May 29th 2010. The Vitamin Water Main Stage is a safe bet throughout the entire day and a great place to start; especially since Matthew Hawtin (12-2), brother of Richie Hawtin, has the only set starting right at noon. It should be an interesting 2 hour set for an artist mostly known for his minimalistic visual art and texturous ambient sets. The Movement Torino Stage is also well stacked and has some great talent and sounds.
The Rhythm & Sound (2-5) set directly following Matthew Hawtin should range from chilled out reggae grooves to deeper house and techno: Von Oswald and Ernestus’ Rhythm & Sound recordings are much more dub-influenced and less techno-orientated than the duo’s previous, and more legendary, dub-techno recordings as Basic Channel and Von Oswald’s solo work as Maurizio. Ah, great way to spend a sunny Saturday afternoon in Detroit.
Picking up the Scion (5-6:30) live set after that is a perfect transition. This duo, René Löwe from Potsdam and Peter Kuschnereit from Berlin, started this experimental platform nearly 15 years ago though without much released material. After solo projects Scion live performances have been reintroduced and promise to bring serious dub techno.
Next I could catch Woody Mcbride (6:30-8) or make the short trek over to the Movement Torino stage and catch the tail end of long time Detroit resident Kenneth Thomas‘ (5-6:30) set. Only on the assumption that his set will go more progressive to techno and not trancy. Remember Kenny it’s the D.
More than likely I’ll travel riverside to the Red Bull Academy Stage to catch Martyn (6-7:30) and get my dubstep fill for the weekend. DZ (4:30-6) , the previous set at this stage, pulls some good dubstep but I just don’t care for MCs over Drum & Bass and Dubstep sets these days. I may also stick around for the Exclusion (7:30-9) set, depending on where the crew is at. Typically half are the die hard drum & bass fans all closely nestled together, bumping shoulders and staking claim to their spot a top the spiraling concrete stoop adjacent the (one) stage dedicated to their chosen genre. The other half can move freely, stretching our legs and scenery while bouncing from stage to stage, experiencing the lush sounds from Detroit techno, deep house, minimal and just plain bangin techno.
Following Kenneth on the Torino stage is Kirk Degiorgio (7:30-9) who has some solid techno releases on Planet E and ART. My inclinations point towards a groovy tech house set.
Next is Marco Carola (9-11), one of the world’s premier techno DJs. With a vast array of production credits and a whole host of labels under his belt (Design, 1000, Zenit, Question, Do.Mi.No) Marco Carola has emerged in the last decade to be one of Italy’s most influential exponents of techno and electronic music.
I may get a sudden rush of Detroit soul and check out Theo Parrish (9-11) at the Made in Detroit Stage. Though it’s the underground stage, known for its horribly echoing sets with bass kicks ominously tapping your shoulder throughout this concrete cave. Plagued by incredibly high humidity created from a dense haze of human moisture that starts to pick up just as the night falls. Though Made in Detroit has worked with Paxahau to redesign the stage and improve sound quality for 2010. Well overdue.
The highlight of the evening takes us back to where we started at the Vitamin Water Main Stage. The return of Plastikman live (11-12). This set promises to bring back much of what made the infamous early Detroit Plastikman parties great with an integration of new technology, audio, visual and crowd participation via the Plastikman SYNC app.
Break downs of the Movement 2010 stages on Saturday:
Vitamin Water Main Stage: Big names and a nice mix of genres and performers. Lives sets and one not to miss: the return of Plastikman live in Detroit, we’ve been waiting a long time for this…
Beatport: Three years ago I could hardly leave this stage, then dominated by Minus label artists and zeitgeist minimal. Last year Ellen Allien poised her set as my favorite for the weekend. This year (for Saturday at least) it’s the techno-pop stage. Instead of pool side in Ibiza it’s riverside in Detroit.
Made in Detroit: Deep, House, Minimal and Detroit. Theo Parrish to close it out. Should be nice.
Red Bull Music Academy: As last year, Drum & Bass and MCs dominate this riverside stage. This year also sees the introduction of Dubstep to Movement.
Movement Torino: A solid groovy day here, seems like a hand picked sets from the Innovator Derrick May. Starts off progressive, moves into Tech House and Techno.