Madison Music Review

This year’s Movement Electronic Music Festival is already lining up to be an epic event. With a partial lineup of over 70 artists announced yesterday, and more to come, the challenge will be to catch all your favorites. This 10th year anniversary event has Inner City, Model 500, and Richie Hawtin’s live Plastikman performance on the partial list of artists announced by Paxahau, hosts for the Memorial Day weekend party in Detroit.

An alphabetical listing of the more than 70 performers announced today is as follows:

Acid Didj, Agoria, Anthony “Shake” Shakir, A-Trak, Cassy, Chris Liebing, Claude VonStroke, Dan Bain, Derrick Carter, DJ Dick, DJ Godfather, DJ Hype, DJ Koze, DJ Pierre, DJ Sneak, Francesco Tristano – Live, Hudson Mohawke, Ida Engberg, Inner City, ItaloBoyz, Jamie Jones, Jennifer Xerri, Joel Mull, John Acquaviva, John Johr, Josh Wink, Kenny Larkin – Live, K-HAND, Kid Sister – Live, Kraak & Smaak, Kyle Hall, Larry Heard, Luke Hess – Live, Magda, Mark Ernestus (Rhythm & Sound), Martin Buttrich – Live, Martinez Bros, Martyn, Matthew Hawtin, Minx, Michael Mayer, Mr Scruff, Model 500, Onur Ozer, Paco Osuna, Phat Kat & Guilty Simpson with Will Sessions – Live, Pretty Lights – Live, Punisher, Radioslave, Recloose, Rex Sepulveda, Richie Hawtin – Live (Plastikman), Rick Wilhite, Rob Hood – Live, Rolando, Ryan Crosson, Scion – Live, Secrets – Live, Simian Mobile Disco, Stacey Pullen, Starski&Clutch, Theo Parish, Woody McBride.

Discounted weekend passes for the Movement Electronic Music Festival in Detroit are on sale now until 12:01 a.m. Saturday, April 3 for only $40. The price for weekend passes increases to $50 after the discounted super early bird promotion ends. Weekend passes can be purchased exclusively at www.paxahau.com/movement.

Purchasing a weekend pass provides fans of Techno and electronic dance music access to a premier outdoor urban venue in the heart of Detroit Saturday, May 29 through Monday May 31 to experience 36 hours of music being performed by some of the most recognizable names in electronic music. Gates will open at noon each day and close at midnight each night.

Movement Electronic Music Festival is an all-ages event. Youth under the age of 12 years receive free admission and families are encouraged to attend.

About Movement Electronic Music Festival

Since 2000 electronic music fans from across the globe have made the pilgrimage every May to Detroit—the city where Techno music was born. 2010 marks the 10th anniversary of the electronic music festival in Detroit. In 2009 the Movement Electronic Music Festival recorded its best attendance figures to date since becoming a ticketed event in 2005. Some 83,322 people filled the outdoor venue last year. An international partnership was also forged with promoters from Torino Italy to create Movement Torino. The Movement festival has won several “Best Event” awards from the likes of Real Detroit Weekly, Metromix.com, URB and Resident Advisor.

About Paxahau Event Productions

Paxahau is now in its fifth year as producers of the Movement Electronic Music Festival after first establishing itself in 1998 as an online resource to promote both Techno and electronic dance music. Since then the team at Paxahau has earned the respect of their peers and formed a very strong network of alliances throughout the music industry. Today Paxahau Event Productions is recognized across the world by artists and industry executives as a premier event production and promotions organization. To learn more visit: www.paxahau.com.

Watch out for more news and goodies from the techno front as MMR gets ready for the best electronic music festival of the year!

You heard it here first! Plastikman Live is back… Richie Hawtin is donning his Plastikman alter ego and is going to be headlining the opening night’s festivities at this year’s Movement Electronic Music Festival in Detroit May 29 -31.

“It has always fascinated me how sound, lighting, visuals and human interactivity define and deepen a concert experience. By focusing on my own unique Plastikman sound I hope to find new freedom and explore the extremes of where these elements converge, challenging our senses, stimulating our memories, and creating an experience of physical and mental intensity that can be only Plastikman” – Richie Hawtin, January 2010

More details on the festival coming up… this year is going to be special. It is the 10th year anniversary for Detroit’s Electronic Movement Festival… with Carl Craig at the helm as Director of this year’s event, I am looking forward to the complete lineup announcement and the Plastikman booking has got me smiling. This is going to be magic…

Pitchfork Festival seems to get better every year. This summer they will be featuring PAVEMENT!  Yes…the one and only Pavement will be in our area (kind of).  And if you thought that was amazing, check out the rest of this brilliant (and recently released)  line up for this summer’s indie rock hoe-down:

Friday, July 16:
Modest Mouse

Saturday, July 17:
LCD Soundsystem
Raekwon
Here We Go Magic

Sunday, July 18:
Pavement
St. Vincent
Lightning Bolt
Cass McCombs
Sleigh Bells

Pitchfork Music Festival is happening at Union Park in Chicago July 16-18, 2010. Tickets go on sale at noon Central time today at TicketWeb. Single-day passes cost $40, and three-day passes cost $90. (There are no two-day passes this year.) [from Pitchfork.com]

First it was 10,000 Lakes Festival to go on hiatus. And now it is Rothbury – the three day music camping festival extravaganza that for the past three years had become a summer music festival staple for all walks of music has been canceled for 2010! Here’s what popped into my mail box late last night:

“During the past three years, all of us involved with ROTHBURY have greatly appreciated the tremendous outpouring of support for the future of the festival. For 2010, we have had to make the tough decision to postpone our efforts. A contributing factor in our decision is that, due to various artists recording and touring schedules, we now believe that timing will not allow for us to assemble the cutting edge roster that everyone has come to expect from ROTHBURY. The result for this year is that we are not able to move forward with the integrity and high standards that we demand from ourselves and for the festival.

Despite the 2010 postponement, we intend to move toward continuing ROTHBURY in 2011. This event is something very special, and we are unwilling to potentially tarnish what ROTHBURY is, and can become, by working under conditions that will produce anything less than a magical experience. ROTHBURY is more than a festival. It is a mission intended to discover strength in community, and what it means to be a large-scale sustainable event in these times. Our efforts are certainly not coming to an end.

It is important for us to thank the people of Michigan, Oceana County, The Village of Rothbury, Grant Township, and the Double JJ Resort. Also, we thank our team members, volunteers, creative contributors, media partners, and sponsors. We have made many friendships that will last a lifetime. To all who attended the first two years of ROTHBURY we thank you for the soul you gave the event. Those times entered rarified air because of your energy. We hope you have a fantastic July 4th this summer.”

Sad news indeed. More so, as we had finally made plans and had cleared up my calendar to be part of this year’s Rothbury experience.

That said there is still light at the end of the tunnel… Coachella just announced a spectacular lineup. And then there is Movement coming up over Memorial Day weekend in Detroit. And we’ll look forward to Forward Music Festival right here in town this fall.

Needing to care for my 12-week puppy dog kept me from fully immersing myself in the Forward Music Festival this year. But over the three days, I still managed to see Richard Buckner, A Night in the Box, Gentleman Loser, El Valiente, Collection of Colonies of Bees, Cougar, This Bright Apocalypse, Maps & Atlases, Low and The Antlers.

The highlight for me was certainly the show at the High Noon Saloon by The Antlers and Low. There was a good size crowd and the sound was great.

I’m a fan of Low, have many of their recordings, and was anticipating their set since the festival line-up was announced. What proved to be a real bonus was the fantastic opening set by The Antlers. This band – composed of frontman Peter Silberman, drummer Michael Lerner and Darby Cicci on keys – expressed their sense of honor to share the stage, but I thought it was really an inspired pairing.

All three of these musicians have great chops, and their music is dramatic and dynamic. They pull it off superbly live. I was up close – in the “zone of participation” as we refer to it at MMR – so I clicked off a few shots with my little camera.

Hope you had a chance to see them! I’ve since been continuing to enjoy their most recent album – Hospice. It is recommended listening and re-listening.

See more MMR photo coverage from Forward Music Festival here.

More coverage of The Antlers at FMF and an interview by Seizure Chicken