10 years of movement. It’s was 10 years ago when event production company, Paxahau, adopted Detroit’s beloved celebration of techno and electronic music, which has now become a heralded global festival thats attracted DJs, producers, artists, and fans from all over the world. Accompanied by numerous afterparties that go until the sun rises, the entire city showed an unwavering dedication to its techno roots that truly encompassed the artistic spirit of the city itself, where creativity in music and art can thrive no matter the time or age. It didn’t matter if you were a Detroit/Movement native or an all out newcomer, the festival and city welcomed you (back in most cases) to birthplace of techno.
All hands were on deck to maintain and share the city’s prestige, history, and safety. San Francisco-based record label, Dirtybird, played a heavy hand in getting Movement attendees more familiar with Detroit’s downtown area, landmarks, and popular tourist attractions with their #NotAfraidOfDetroit scavenger hunt. The Architects of Techno hosted numerous after parties including Detroit Love by Carl Craig, where one could easily take an audio and visual journey to past Detroit’s influential sounds and evolution of techno.
The 10-year celebration weaved together the sounds of legends and local Detroit natives to party into the early AM for each day of the festival. Notable performances by Day 1 headliner, Kraftwerk, brought their highly anticipated 3D showcase to Detroit for a performance unlike any other. Those who were not able to squeeze into the main stage arena could have their senses blown away by 2014 Award-Winning Essential Mix producer’s Caribou, who also brought their own live show filled with sultry house basslines and euphoric sensation.
Our personal favorite set of the entire weekend came on the festival’s second day, where Sci+Tec record label frontman, Dubfire, performed his live Hybrid experience that took the visual and audio experience of techno to new heights unimaginable to us. Those looking for a different flavor of dance music may have found themselves in the Underground stage area, where Skrillex’s (a previous Movement performer under Dog Blood) OWSLA crew hosted quite a raucous of trap, dubstep, and all around bass music.
Movement attendees may have found themselves in quite a frenzy with all the showcases and headliners on the final day of the festival. An Acid showcase featuring Nina Kraviz and Boys Noize, PLAYdifferently’s Prototypes tour featuring Joseph Capriati and Danny Tenaglia, Kevin Saunderson’s Origins:Elevation with an all-star lineup of MK Marc Kinchen and Detroit natives, not to mention Chris Liebing, John Digweed, and Modeselektor LIVE at the main stage, your options were wide and exceptional all around.
The party never stopped when the festival days came to a close, as each night was lined up back-to-back with countless after parties in a city that truly never sleeps. Drumcode, Dirtybird, Detroit Love, and many other Movement official and nonofficial afters kept the city’s nightlife up and entertaining into the early morning. We’re saddened to have left such an iconic city, not only for its influence on dance music, but its strong dedication to the art and creative culture that keeps our souls youthful no matter what age. Until next year Movement.
Cover photo by Stephen Bondio
GDE photos by Jamie Wolfe
Review conducted by Johnathan Wan
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