10 Artists To Name Drop At Movement Detroit 2015

You can draw a lot of conclusions about a person just by learning that they've bought tickets to Movement Detroit. Think about it: They could have spent that same kind of money going to any of the numerous festivals whose lineups are packed with chart-topping names - but unless they're some kind of serial festivalgoer, they opted instead to attend a massive dedicated to techno, in the obscure genre's gritty birthplace no less. This means one of two things: They're either a seasoned dance music purist whose discerning tastes have been steeped in cramped ‘90s warehouses with sweat dripping from the ceilings, or they're a recent EDM generation transplant ready to eagerly dive down the rabbit hole that is the electronic underground. Since the former wouldn't be caught dead reading anything other than Resident Advisor or Mixmag, we'll take the liberty of assuming that you're the latter. Never to fear, music snob in training, because We Got You Covered has got you... well, covered. As we talked about last week, Movement has released each of its stages’ slot-by-slot lineups and we've been dying for an opportunity to tell you which artists you're supposed to like. Since techno all probably still kind of sounds the same to you (which you definitely shouldn't admit out loud anywhere on or around the festival grounds, by the way), we even sprinkled a few other musical styles into your agenda! The following ten artists are slated to perform sets that you absolutely can't miss if you plan to check out the 2015 edition of Movement Detroit from May 23rd-25th - lest you pass up all the sweet, delicious street cred that taking part in the festivities entitles you. 10) Richie Hawtin When: Day 1 at 10:00 PM Where: Movement Stage If you’re walking into Hart Plaza on the first night of the festival, Richie Hawtin A.K.A. Plastikman will play as good a set on the Movement Stage as any to kick off your musical journey into the heart of Detroit techno. His name became all but synonymous with the second wave of the genre in the early ‘90s, and his ENTER. events continue to expose new generations to its delightfully dissonant sounds. Just don’t make the rookie mistake of confusing him with Emma Hewitt (who won’t even be playing the festival, silly) - it’s happened to all of us at some point, and it’s hard to recover from it. 9) Carl Craig and “Mad” Mike Banks When: Day 1 at 10:00 PM Where: Thump Stage If you wander over to the Thump stage next and hear somebody reference “Sandstorms,” know in advance that they’re probably not talking about “Sandstorm” by Darude (or as we like to call it, the “Freebird” of dance music). The former track is a timeless release by the legendary Carl Craig, another second waver who will be joined behind the decks by Underground Resistance label founder “Mad” Mike Banks. 8) Tuskegee (Seth Troxler B2B The Martinez Brothers) When: Day 1 at 10:30 PM Where: Beatport Stage Even though his particular brand of techno might sound especially sterile to the untrained ear, the amount of time Seth Troxler spends bashing the mainstream gives him more underground credentials than the longest, rattiest beard ever could. Besides, the sexy house sensibilities of Brooklyn-based Martinez Brothers will provide a perfect counterbalance since the two acts will trade off song selection as their group side project, Tuskegee. 7) Maya Jane Coles When: Day 2 at 7:00 PM Where: Beatport Stage Get to the festival grounds before sundown on the second day, because deep house goddess Maya Jane Coles’ soothing set on the Beatport stage will prepare you for the barrage of clicks and chirps that all the techno selectors will blast into your eardrums over the course of the night. Coles represents a younger segment of the underground, hailing from London where proper house never goes out of style, and her set will definitely be worth catching. 6) Dog Blood (Skrillex and Boys Noize) When: Day 2 at 10:30 PM Where: Movement Stage If you’re the kind of elitist who opens listicles like these just to pick one bullet and tear it apart in the comments, then congratulations! This is the entry you’ve been looking for. Yes, we’re going to tell you to go out of your way to see Skrillex at a festival full of off-the-beaten-path techno producers - and the reason for that is that he’ll be accompanied by none other than OWSLA mainstay Boys Noize. Long before good ol’ Skrilly Vanilli ever resigned himself to the big, farty trap music that he and Diplo put out as Jack Ü, he brought some electro heat to the techy, breaksy mixes that made Boys Noize famous under the stage name Dog Blood. Trust us, you'll be missing out if you don’t make it to Movement Stage before Midnight on the second day to catch their set. 5) Matador When: Day 3 at 7:00 PM Where: Underground Stage If you’ve already been at this festival for two days and this is the first time you’re actually making it over to the Underground Stage, then you should be ashamed of yourself. Get over it quickly, though, because you’re gonna want to devote your full attention to what Matador’s fixing to throw down. This Minus record label signee saw early support from the aforementioned Richie Hawtin for his particularly avant-garde style of German techno and promises to be a name to look out for in the years to follow. 4) Maceo Plex When: Day 3 at 8:30 PM Where: Movement Stage Few contemporary techno artists command the kind of respect that the name Maceo Plex does in the underground dance music community, and for good reason - the visceral quality of this Cuban DJ/producer’s mixes make each set a memorable experience. 3) GRiZ When: Day 3 at 10:00 PM Where: Movement Stage Before you let our last two masterminds carry you home, make sure you break away from those edgy techno grooves one last time to catch GRiZ’s set on the main stage. This self-proclaimed “crunkstep” producer made a bold departure from his usual style to put out the most infectiously funk-infused bass music album we’ve heard in a while. It’s safe to say all of those songs will end up in his set on the third day since the album came out so recently, so check him out while they're still hot off the press. 2) Joris Voorn When: Day 3 at 10:30 Where: Beatport Stage While still certainly an up-and-comer in the North American scene, Dutch DJ/producer Joris Voorn has quickly made a name for himself overseas as one of the most innovative emerging names in techno. His unique, dreamlike production style incorporates elements of deep house while still managing to sound like nothing else on the market. 1) Kevin Saunderson & Derrick May When: Day 3 at 10:30 PM Where: Thump Stage If you disregard everything else on this list (which would mean that you’ve actually completed your training and are now a full-fledged music snob), the single DJ set that you have to see in order to understand what techno truly is will be the one performed by Kevin Saunderson and Derrick “Mayday” May to close out the Thump stage on the third and final day of the festival. The two members of the “Belleville Three” most widely credited with developing the style of music that the third, Juan Atkins, would later call “techno,” May and Saunderson’s rhythms have reverberated throughout the concrete jungles of Detroit since the late ‘80s. As the video above firmly proves, May also commands prodigious skill as a turntablist - making his live sets a spectacle all their own.