electronic music festivals

Movement 2009, the Detroit Electronic Music Festival, kicks off this weekend, and promises to be a blast for fans of electronic music.

Last year’s attendance reached close to 80,000 over three days at Detroit’s Hart Plaza, and this year’s attendance could be even higher, with some big names like Carl Craig & The Prodigy on the lineup.

DJ Count Zero raises some interesting questions about the state of the Detroit Electronic Music Festival, though, in the hands of concert producers Paxahau:

The population of the city of Detroit, Michigan is 80% black, 12% white.  Now, granted, it would probably be unrealistic for the ratio of white to black artists at the festival to ever approach the population figures, but you’d think that the idea would be to represent the character of the city pretty closely, right?  Well, for the first few years that was the case:

Year    % Black
2000    58.73%
2001    48.68%
2002    66.18%
2003    45.57%
2004    37.70%
2005    52.69%
2006    21.43%
2007    27.71%
2008    24.47%
2009    32.88%

From 200-2005 the percentage of black performers at DEMF never dipped below 37%, and usually was above 50%.  In 2006, though, something happened.  Paxahau took over the event and the number of black performers dropped dramatically, to 21%!  Why?  That same year the percentage of Detroit area performers dropped too, from 62% in ‘05 to 33% in ‘06!

What possible excuse could Paxahau have to take what was a succesful event regardless of who was in charge and turn it into a homogenous rave party with so little Detroit flavor?

Paxahau’s “excuse” is pretty clear.

They took a event that was financially failing and turned it around by featuring more and more mainstream electronic music artists, who are less a reflection of Detroit’s make up or music than a reflection of the world of popular electronic music.

DJ Count Zero makes a valid point, though – that Movement’s success comes at the price of an event that’s less black, less a reflection of Detroit, and, arguably, less unique in the world of electronic music.

For its part, Paxahau has announced that Carl Craig will be the creative director of the Movement 2010 Festival.

What do you think? What’s more important to the Detroit Electronic Music Festival – the Detroit, or the Electronic Music?

Concert promoters Paxahau have announced dates for Movement 2009, the Detroit Electronic Music Festival – May 23rd-25th 2009, at Hart Plaza in Detroit, MI.

Last year’s attendance nearly reached 80,000 over three days on Detroit’s Hart Plaza during Memorial Day Weekend, with fans enjoying 36 hours of their favorite electronic music artists and DJs performing on five stages and was named “Festival of the Year” by the readers of URB Magazine.

The Prodigy Invades Movement 2009

The Prodigy will play the official opening party for Movement 2009 at The Fillmore in Detroit on Friday, May 22. Chuck Flask, Paxahau Resident DJ and Evan Evolution will be performing in the State Bar. The doors open at 7 p.m. Early bird tickets for this all ages show are available starting at $20 by visiting www.livenation.com. VIP tickets are available.

“Every year our goal is to build upon the success of the previous year by bringing the best available local, national and international talent to Detroit in order to create a weekend experience unlike any other in the World,” said Jason Huvaere, president of Paxahau. “Our team spends a lot of time selecting artist and DJs that will appeal to electronic music enthusiasts. This year there will be a major Detroit presence at the festival as well as some performers that rarely set foot on stage in the United States.” Read more…

For one week each year, the Spark Festival of Electronic Music and Arts gathers creators and performers of new media arts from around the world to the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul (USA) to showcase their work to the public.

February 17 – 22, 2009
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN.

If you’re a Twitter user, you can follow the events on Twitter.

Details below. Read more…

Archaic game and home computer hardware is recast into the unlikely role of musical instrument and motion graphics workstation at the Blip Festival 2008, a four-day event showcasing nearly 40 musicians and visual artists occupying the international low-res cutting edge.

The Blip Festival takes place DECEMBER 4—7, 2008 at the Bell House, and is presented by Manhattan art organization THE TANK and NYC artist collective 8BITPEOPLES.

Minitek, New York’s electronic music + innovation festival, is scheduled for September 12-13, 2008:

for the first minitek, we’ve been lucky to get support from some of the most exciting electronic music talents from around the world. alongside the most sought-after artists who have a solid following in the US, you will hear top acts from abroad whose US debuts have been eagerly awaited for years and you’ll discover young emerging artists that are currently gaining tremendous momentum, some of which are home-grown new york locals.

we know that the genre of “electronic music” covers many other facets that you won’t find on minitek’s lineup, like progressive or drum’n’bass for instance. we chose the term because most artists can’t possibly be reduced to one single genre, and it leaves room for interpretation and development.

as for the innovation aspect of minitek, we wanted to bring some of the most ingenious projects and inventions from all around the world off the internet and right to your doorstep. we selected a range of experimental art and technology installations that you can discover and try out in the innovation pavillion during the day. and during the night, visual artists will fill the walls with their most unconventional projections.

Featured artists include: Richie Hawtin, Tiefschwarz, Audion (aka Matthew Dear), Troy Pierce, M.A.N.D.Y and Monoblock.

Lineup info, free podcast downloads and information on a remix competition are available at the Minitek site.

Image: Eric Hamilton