Dancing Astronaut’s Soundtrack to Movement Detroit 2015Movement Detroit

Dancing Astronaut’s Soundtrack to Movement Detroit 2015

The curation and history at Movement Detroit ensures the highest level of quality control: a blissful mix of the latest unreleased tunes alongside older foundational tracks from as early as the ’80s.

Movement’s lineup was, as usual, jam-packed. As such, there were some truly heartbreaking decisions to make when choosing which stage to be at.

Of the 100+ DJs across six stages and three days, Movement 2015 delivered countless amazing musical moments — here’s a dozen of them that were magical during Movement.  

1. Mark NRG – “Brain is the Weapon” (Eats Everything Re-beef)

Eats Everything is an absolute beast of a DJ and producer. The Bristolian big man’s dominating set at the Red Bull Music Academy stage was filled with countless custom edits that had the crowd on tilt for many fist pumping moments of joy. Thank you to Eats for personally sending me the track ID on this one after I asked him what the “brain is the weapon” track was. His version is a beefier less speedy of the 1995 thumper.

2. Josh Wink – “Denial” (Eyes Closed Mix) [Ovum Recordings]

This was literally the only track that I heard more than once (twice to be exact) at Movement. Dixon dropped Wink’s latest single deep into his crushing and methodical extended main stage set, with the crowd erupting when the bass thumped over the repeated echo of “live in the future”. Josh Wink also played it on the main stage the next afternoon during his performance.

3. Clouds – “Chained to a Dead Camel” [Overlee Assembly]

Joseph Capriati dropped this aggressive 2013 piece of menacing techno towards the end of his closing Sunday set at the Beatport stage with dramatic flair. He recorded and posted his set as well, which you can check out below to re-live the moment.

4. Yvan Genkins – “Flying High” [Hive Audio]

Hot Since 82 delivered some bass to the hyped crowd for his Sunday set at Movement. A highlight of his set was when he dropped this new track from Zurich-based label Hive Audio. The hypnotic and bouncy buildup had the crowd in a frenzy when it finally hit.

5. Tophat and Art Alfie – Crab At The Green Hunter (Loco Dice Remix) [Karlovak]

Many proclaimed Loco Dice’s set to be the weekend’s best, as he hammered the main stage with full-throttle blasting techno before Dog Blood closed out the main stage on Saturday. His remix here was definitely a highlight of his set, as captured in the video below.

  

My favorite festival… A special shout out to the entire Movement Electronic Music Festival (OFFICIAL) team for…

Posted by LOCO DICE on Tuesday, May 26, 2015

6 & 7. Moodymann “Dem Young Sconies” & “Lyk U Used 2” (feat. Andres) 
The Detroit legend didn’t officially play Movement, but his tracks were all over other DJs’ sets throughout the weekend at Movement. Here are just two of Moodymann’s tracks that were memorably played this year.
“Dem Young Sconies” [Planet E]

In a rousing main stage set, Josh Wink peppered the crowd with Detroit classics such as Cybotron’s “Clear”, Afrikaa Bambataa’s “Planet Rock”, and this acid techno chugger from Moodymann.

“Lyk U Used 2” (feat. Andres) [KDJ]

Soul Clap closed out their funky set on river-side Beatport stage with this slow and soulful one from Moodymann’s brilliant self-titled 2014 album.

8. Barnt – “Chappell” [Hinge Finger]

Chappell has been one of the most impactful and widely discussed tracks since its late 2014 release. As BBC radio 1 host Benji B said, the track “makes the club sound like the world is ending.” Skrillex and Boys Noize sent the crowd into a roar when they dropped it during their closing set on the main stage, then dove into the Jauz remix of Tiga’s “Bugatti”.

9. Dave Angel – “Airborne” (Carl Craig Remix) [Blunted]

Nina Kraviz spun a moody and powerful vinyl set at the Underground stage that had a lot of people at Hart Plaza buzzing. This eery 1995 track was an emotional standout from her set, after which she blasted into some 90s techno bomb that I couldn’t get an ID on.

10. Butric – Up [Sei Es Drum]

The Polish label bosses dealt some of the first real standout moments of Movement with their opening day afternoon set at the Beatport stage. About a half-hour into their set, they dove into their trademark booty-bass sound with their new single “Killing With Kindess” featuring Detroit rapper Phat Kat, to which you can hear the crowd roar in their posted set below. The duo then followed it up with this deliriously fun hands-in-the-air techno builder from Butch and Ricardo Villalobos titled “Up,” which does in fact only seem to go up.

11. Brodinski feat. Bloody Jay – “US” [Bromance Records]

The RBMA stage repped the most varied styles and sounds beyond techno throughout the weekend. Brodinski was the perfect booking to fit this genre-melding curation, and he absolutely killed it. He closed out his set with his own celebratory rap anthem that had the crowd jumping in the air chanting the chorus “Us!”

12. The Sounds of Blackness – “Pressure” (Frankie Knuckles Classic Mix) [Perspective Records]

Detroit-born techno luminary Robert Hood had one of the most memorable sets of the weekend, delivering a fast-paced gospel-tinged set of hard hitting funky techno as the first day transitioned out. The marked increase in tempo to Hood’s set immediately grabbed the crowd by the reins and took them for a frenetic ride through joyous body-moving music. The signature piano twinkle from Frankie Knuckles on this mix was definitely special when Hood dropped it very close to the beginning of his set.

Movement was amazing – you can listen back to some of the sets the DJs posted, but you really have to be there to take in how magical these tracks are when they’re played over the booming sound systems at Hart Plaza.

Read our full review here.

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