It’s gonna be a big night in the Spanish capital. Madrid sees how its electronic scene grows year after year and this is just another big step in that process. La Riviera, well-known throughout the country for having hosted great nights of concerts starring some of the best bands and groups on the international scene, will become the place to be on the night of March, 29th. La Riviera will become a nightclub to welcome the Detroit Love party, one of the most acclaimed worldwide by techno and house fans, the one that arrives without interference or contaminants. In short, the sound of Detroit.
There, in the northeastern United States, the capital of Wayne and the largest city in the state of Michigan, famous for being the world’s automotive hub, witnessed the birth of an alternative music movement that broke with all the schemes of dance culture. The famous trinity formed by Juan Atkins, Kevin Saunderson and Derrick May found the key to develop a new and perfect sound for the dancefloors of those small halls of the city that sought to move away from the usual, to separate themselves from the politically correct and give free rein to the hedonistic imaginary of the incorrect, the hidden, the uncontrolled and, in short, the most naturally human.
The Birth of Detroit Techno
Thus was born what we now know as techno, that music style which is known for its repetitive, intense, dark, intimate, psychedelic, mental and intimate pattern, which defends individualistic dance, introspection and experimentation of the union of body and soul with music as a means of connection, with the DJ as a cornerstone. This musical genre didn’t take long to reach London, first, and the rest of Europe, later, finding in Berlin its best home due to the circumstances of the German capital. However, this European techno sound was impregnated with new influences, sometimes moving away from the original concept born in Detroit.
That’s why Detroit techno‘s ideology keeps its aura, its unique personality, magic in each of its artistic expressions. After the holy trinity, new talents emerged in the city, using the sounds of the pioneers as references. One of the most outstanding DJs of that second generation of Detroit artists is, without a doubt, Carl Craig. From an early age, Carl Craig left evidence that he was one of the great disciples of the genre. Carl Craig has made jazz, drum ‘n bass, house and dance music, confirming himself as one of Detroit’s most versatile and eclectic artists and the one who has best adapted to the requirements of the new times without abandoning the classical sound with which he grew up.
Detroit Love; spreading techno around the world
His passion and love for Detroit led him to direct the Detroit Electronic Music Festival, a 3-day musical odyssey that drew 1.5 million people to the city before he embarked on this new adventure: Detroit Love. The party aims to bring the origins of one of the most demanded and followed electronic music genres to different neuralgic points of the European continent. Madrid couldn’t miss this list and La Riviera has been the place chosen by Carl Craig’s team to host this sonorous journey to techno’s birthplace.
Carl Craig won’t be the only Detroit artist playing in La Riviera. Enigmatic (he never offers interviews), singular and with an incomparable personality and charisma, Moodymann has become in recent years one of the most iconic and beloved artists of this second generation of Detroit artists. His sessions offer a hybrid between techno and house, with samplers and groove always present, as well as American soul and jazz influences. His vinyls are one of the great claims of Planet E (one of the labels created by Carl Craig) and he knows it, so he always mixes them during his sets. The night will be completed by Idriss D, who can boast of having performed on numerous occasions in clubs such as Cocoricò Riccione or Amnesia Milano, two of the most historical clubs in Italy. Madrid is more than ready to grab a little piece of Detroit’s essence. The event promises to be one of the best in the electronic spectrum of the capital in 2019.
(Cover Image: © Alec Donnell Luna)