Dancing Astronaut’s Soundtrack to Movement 2017
Dancing Astronaut's Soundtrack to Movement 2017
With countless amazing DJs in town for the annual pilgrimage to Detroit, we were kept busy dancing around the clock for Movement at the gorgeous Hart Plaza and many afterparties throughout the Motor City. Shamelessly Shazam-ing and draining our phone batteries down to low-power mode, we attempted to capture as many of the magical moments and tracks as possible. Over the hundreds of hours of music and literally thousands of amazing tracks, these were a few tracks that caught our ear and created big moments out in the “D” for Movement weekend.
Words by Chris Burrell.
Featured Photo by Peter Liu / WKDU.
Floorplan - Baby, Baby
Detroit’s Robert Hood is a man that wears many hats: not only is he a founding member of seminal techno collective Underground Resistance, but the ordained minister also makes uplifting house music with his daughter, Lyric, under his Floorplan alias. Hood’s tracks were ubiquitous throughout Movement weekend, making it hard to choose pick just one from the weekend. For his live set on the Pyramid Stage overlooking the Detroit River and Windsor, Ontario, Hood crushed it using an electribe, drum machine, and one CDJ deck. Bringing his classics to life in improvised fashion, “Baby Baby” with its fortified sub-bass and kicks was a euphoric moment for the crowd.
Photo by Aaron Eschenburg / Paxahau.
Bjarki - I Wanna Go Bang
Since it’s release on Nina Kraviz‘s label Trip, this Dinsoaur L sampling techno smash has been rinsed around the world several times over. Ben Sims & Truncate dropped this to a rapturous response during their b2b set at the Underground Stage.
Photo by Phil Conners / Paxahau.
KiNK - Chorus
Although not on the festival lineup himself this year, Bulgarian hardware wizard KiNK‘s presence was definitely felt all over Hart Plaza and the Motor City. Minus one technical glitch which he had nothing to do with, Kerri Chandler was in dominant form for his set — even accounting for his usual level of amazing. Working the crowd back and forth between soulful house grooves and harder tech-y jams, Chandler layered his classic “Back To The Raw” with “Chorus” to create a peak moment in his set.
Photo by Steven Pham / Paxahau.
Moodymann - Shades of Jae
What would a weekend in Detroit be without a little Moodymann? Cajmere had the entire crowd rocking with his signature jackin’ Chicago sound and even did a little dance-off during his classic, “Percolator”. When he dropped KDJ’s groovin’ “Shades of Jae” the crowd roared over the timeless vocal murmurs and organ riff.
Photo by Nick LeTellier.
Loco & Jam - Ramesis
Adam Beyer‘s powerful Main Stage set on Sunday was a favorite for many festival attendees. This track from Loco & Jam was one of many poignant moments along the way.
Photo by Peter Liu / WKDU.
Octave One - Blackwater
Classic, uplifting, timeless Detroit goodness from the Octave One gents. They worked this into their live set and once the immediately recognizable strings came through, the crowd lost it.
Photo by Steven Pham / Paxahau.
Arjun Vagale - Wippersnapper
India’s Arjun Vagale has become a worldwide techno phenomenon, earning consistent nods of approval and support from the biggest names in techno. Carl Cox dropped this one during his powerful Main Stage closing set, moving the crowd into a frenzy.
Photo by Bryan Mitchell.
Nina Simone - See-Line Woman
Louie Vega had everyone grinning ear-to-ear and grooving in happiness out on the back patio of TV Lounge for his set at Soul Clap’s House of EFUNK. Originally slated to go until 4 am, Louie kept the vibes pumping until somewhere around 7 with flawless selections, such as his and Kenny Dope‘s remix of “See-Line Woman”, which was a perfect mood-setting jam as night turned to day. Earlier in the night, Josh Wink laid down a groovy set of disco classics including this uptempo version of “See-Line Woman” by The People Movers.
Photo via Jack Kenney/Hulton Archive/Getty Images.
Isaac Tichauer - Higher Level (Bicep Remix)
Having somewhat of a breakout year at Movement, German duo Mind Against‘s set at the festival and Repopulate Mars afterparty had everyone buzzing. Their cerebral blend of dark techno, IDM, and moody house naturally creates memorable moments on the floor, with this Bicep remix being one of them.
Photo by Katie Laskowska / Paxahau.
Prince - I Wanna Be Your Lover (Dimitri from Paris Re-Edit)
Rest in peace, Prince! The Purple One loved Detroit and Detroit loved him back. Famously introduced to the Detroit market by legendary radio DJ The Electrifying Mojo, Kerri Chandler kept Prince in everyone’s hearts and minds by dropping this classic re-work during his set.
Photo by Platon Antoniou.
Honorable Mention: Classic A Capellas
Maybe recent political shenanigans have something to do with it, but this year was definitely big for rolling out the uplifting, politically-tinged, classic a capellas for Movement artists. It was amazing to hear so many newer songs re-contextualized with these timeless vocals layered over top. Played by several DJs throughout the weekend, Josh Wink rinsed this one early on the first day of the Main Stage and immediately got everyone’s hands in the air for a spiritual moment. Just a few of the other a capellas that appeared throughout the weekend were Fingers Inc’s “My House (A Capella)” and Sweet Pussy Pauline’s “Work This Pussy (A Capella)”.
Photo by Jacob Mulka / Paxahau.