Movement

Detroit electronic music festival Movement promoters Paxahau have announced that techno Music legend Carl Craig has been named Creative Director for Movement 2010.

“Movement is already a great festival and a successful brand,” says Craig, “it is an honor to be involved with Movement in this new capacity.”

Craig will be involved in various creative aspects of Movement including artist bookings and the festival’s brand image. He will also serve as an ambassador for the Movement festival as he travels the globe performing for throngs of electronic music enthusiasts.

“Detroit is such a wonderful music town,” Craig continued. “With Movement we have such a great opportunity to remind people from around the world and those that are right here in our own backyard that electronic music in Detroit is very powerful and that our annual festival is the best stage for showcasing the most talented artists of this musical genre.”

The annual Memorial Day Weekend festival has gone through several reincarnations since its beginning in 2000. Paxahau earned the right in 2006 to produce the festival.  Paxahau is credited with bringing financial stability to the festival, but some feel they’ve whitewashed the Detroit electronic music festival in the process.

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…

One of the interesting stories to come out of this year’s Movement 08 is the story of Grandma Techno, Patricia Lay-Dorsey.

She’s not a biological grandma – though she looks the part. She’s in her 60’s, gets around in a mobility scooter – and she rocks. She’s a social activist, a blogger, an artist, she’s got an awesome tattoo – and she loves that techno music.

“They call me Grandma Techno,” she explains. “I’ve been coming to this festival every year since the beginning, and I love the music—it’s just fantastic.” Read more…

Here’s a roundup of some of the coolest images from Movement ‘08, the Detroit Electronic Music Festival.

If you’ve posted images from DEMF, add a post in the comments!

Read more…