I guess you are wondering why someone is submitting a review of a bunch of Electronic Acts? The answer: If I don’t, who will? So, Friday 10/24/03 I do a set at the 3rd Annual Transmissions of Binary Sound Codes Festival at The Detroit Contemporary. I want to stay to check out the other Friday Acts of the Two-Day Festival, but I got Tickets to the Motor Reunion, so I pack my stuff and split. . . Click "Read More" below.
Get to Motor in time to check out Kevin Saunderson (Detroit Techno Legend) spin a set of Euro-Techno. Saunderson gets and keeps the crowd jumping from mix to mix. Some people do not think DJ’ing is an art form, well taking two tracks and mixing the Bass, Mid’s and Treble together into an ever-changing cross-mojo-nation is no easy task, and the crowd at Motor knows when a DJ has skills. Kevin has skills, ever time the opening synth-lines of “Good Life” or “Big Fun” from his “Inner City” days are dropped, the place erupts. As soon as you figure out what is going on, in comes a new track without missing a beat.
There are three rooms of fun at Motor, 12 Piece Funk Band “You” is playing in the 2nd Room and Minimal Techno is being spun in Room Number Three. How do I know this, cause I was looking for some friends who were already there, but the Main Room is where the real action was Friday Night.
So who can follow a Detroit Legend on the turntables? Josh Wink can? The Beats are harder but the Mix is just as seamless as K.S. This is not the Techno you hear on a Radio Station Club Night. This is the Techno that DJ’s scour record racks to find, and press their own tracks to Fade in and out of the mix. Say what you will, but I never saw the crowd stop dancing at the Motor Reunion.
Saturday, after work and sleep, I head back to the Detroit Contemporary to check out Day Two of the Sound Codes Festival. This is not A Club Techno Fest; this is an Experimental Electronic Show. Think Avant-Garde Jazz-Fusion on computers, keyboards and whatever else the Artists of the night can find.
SidVector was playing a set that sounded a lot like Cocteau Twins on Steroids. No Singing accompanies a bubbling drum and bass line, keyboards flying in and out, and a heavily echoed free flowing guitar line weaving through the mix.
Oh No The Modulator did a quick set of noisy chaos that ended with the destruction of a Computer keyboard. Farmer In The Sky was an electronic hybrid of Pink Floyd and John Coltrane, no you can’t imagine it, you have to hear it with an open mind.
Last but not least, the organizers of the Fest, W-Vibe dropped a set on the crowd, and the crowd loved it. Imagine Punk Rock, played with Prophet 600 Keyboards instead of Distorted Guitars. With the aid of a Live Drummer, The W-Vibe interacted with the crowd with a mix of Electronics and Comedy.
Do you like Atari Video Games? Comic Books? Technology's Golden Age? A Break from the commercial norm, then the Transmission of Binary Sound Codes is the Festival for you? Check it out next year. Back to your regularly scheduled program…