MOVEMENT 2011… and the beat goes on!

Ankur | 2011-06-06 | FESTIVALS, Movement, REVIEWS | No Comments

Detroit, Day one on the dance floor: The beat was on and strong at this year’s Movement Electronic Music Festival, now in it’s 11th year and held in downtown Detroit’s Hart Plaza – an urban park complex on the banks of the Detroit river, with the Detroit Princess riverboat and glass skyscrapers forming a picturesque setting for unarguably the best EDM festival in the country (and dare I say the world). The festival presenters, Paxahau, as usual have kept up the good work from previous years, with improvements to stage layouts and additional facilities with the end result offering a lot more in terms of dancing space, shade and preserving the space.

On to the music… day one as we call it, started early with a stop at the Ghostly Records and Planet E stalls to do some compulsory vinyl shopping and after safely depositing the armful of records back in the hotel room, back to Hart Plaza and the Made in Detroit stage. Eric Johnson kicked off things with what I would describe as ‘soul-techno’ – Motown sound mixed with hard house. Other Detroit old-timers kept things spinning with Chuck Daniels and especially Mike Servito, dishing out some thick techno on the turntables. I did manage to get in a short trip to the Beatport stage to catch a bit of JPLS and a fun Ambivalent set. It had been a couple of years since I had last seen him live (Summerfest 2009, Milwaukee) and it was nice to hear the progression in his sound. A quick foray to the Red Bull Stage to see UK’s Hudson Mohawke in action before heading back towards the Made in Detroit stage for some more vinyl action courtesy of Michael Geiger. Wish I could get my hands on the setlist! There were some gems that I danced to and would love to get the tracks on wax. Aril Brikha‘s 90 minute set followed and had a packed crowd smiling along and dancing to hip shaking, melodic techno. Visionquest followed with a four hour live/DJ set featuring more 12″ grooves with Sean Reeves kicking off the quest in fine fashion. Ryan Crosson and Lee Curtis took over the controls a little over an hour, after a bit of technology rearrangement to escape the squally rain threatening to pour. Seth Troxler meanwhile was spotted chilling with fans and friends front stage.

Wanting to get a good spot to listen, dance and take some decent pictures of the Richie’s not-to-miss show, I was off to the Beatport stage, a quick 5 minute walk away, and had to skip the last of Visionquest. Richie Hawtin is an artist much admired by fans and peers alike for having embraced technology to create elaborate and spectacular sounding shows. After last year’s mind-warping Plastikman show at Movement main stage (Vitamin Water Stage), the Beatport setup was simplistic in comparison. Nonetheless, there were plenty of seizure inducing, blue green strobe lights, fog and tight, layered, chunky beats making it yet another memorable Hawtin set. It almost seemed too early when the music trickled to a stop close to midnight… headed to the exit, and a quick detour below ground I was surprised to find Monolake Surround still playing at the Movement Torino stage. Ableton co-founder Robert Henke and visual artist Tarik Barri together create a “a massive wall of sound which at the same time is highly defined and structured” which for the dancer translates to dub-techno ecstacy.

12 hours later and still on my feet, it was time for some TLC for the body before I rejoined the party. A quick break at the hotel room for some refreshments, a freshen up and some nourishment for the system and it was time to hit the Speedy J and Chris Liebing Collabs 3000 party at the Elysium… watch out for the day two report.