Jeff Mills announces a new sub-label from Axis Records
Jeff Mills has launched a new sub-label, Str Mrkd, from his own Axis Records.
The Detroit techno pioneer has named Str Mrkd after his 2014 track of the same name, and the label's accompanying, as-yet unreleased four track 12" will also bear the title. The label has promised that the four techno cuts will be "new thinking for a new time". Record shops have claimed that the EP is arriving soon.
Fresh Kicks 89: DJ Holographic
“I’m living my favorite love affair with music right now and want to shout it out to the universe!”
DJ Holographic describes herself as “a one-woman funk machine born and raised on Detroit Music”. Her mission, she says “is to serve a mix of musical cuisine that contains consuming house beats, passionate R&B, and unreserved nu-disco.”
Corley’s background in DJing is, as you might expect, steeped in the history of her hometown. The artists, venues, DJs and promoters that inspired her are the ones that helped mould the city’s legendary culture into what it is now, while being able to count the likes of The Black Madonna as a friend and mentor has meant her determination is always forward looking.
Premiere: DJ Bone ‘Rosedale Park’
DJ Bone will release his second full-length LP of 2018 on 7th December.
Set for release via his own Subject Detroit label, ‘Beyond’ is the second part of a trilogy of albums, with a third set to land in early 2019. The albums were all written upon the longstanding DJ and producer’s return to his home city of Detroit in 2017.
You can hear that in every corner of ‘Beyond’, an 11-track album stacked with classic Motor City sounds from the propulsive, defiant beats to the otherworldly electro melodies and hooks, all weaving through its impeccable techno foundation.
Shuttered Detroit club, The Works, launches fundraiser to find new location
DJ Stingray is the future-focused selector at the helm of the electro renaissance
There are many ways to frame the story of Sherard Ingram’s unique rise and stature as one of techno and electro’s most consistent, authentic and trustworthy DJs. He has limitless chapters entrenched in the entire lifetime of Detroit music culture; multiple aliases and collaborative projects that place him in the Venn overlap of so many genres, from electro to downtempo, even drum & bass. He has numerous personal interests and ideologies.
"Did I feel like a stingray? Never. But I wasn't going to argue with James Stinson. I felt it and I understood what he wanted, because I understood the Drexciya legacy. I was Stingray from that day on."
Mask fully down, there’s an instant switch from Sherard to Stingray. He’s smiling underneath the mask, but you’d never tell. I didn’t ask him if he played poker, but he alludes to a game when we use a table as a prop in the photo shoot, and you get the canny feeling he’d clear the table with you if you did. His slightly hooded, watchful eyes give absolutely nothing away. Not his mood. Not his energy levels.
HD Vinyl strikes deal with one of the world's largest record pressing plants
HD Vinyl has struck a deal with GZ Media, one of the major vinyl record pressing plants, amongst a number of other major partnerships.
HD Vinyl is an innovation that hopes to boost audio fidelity of vinyl records by 30%, while expanding the amount of music that can be played on a single side from 22 minutes per side to half an hour.
GZ and HD Vinyl are teaming up, for GZ to retrofit HD’s laser-cut stampers to select machines, revealed at the Making Vinyl conference in Detroit this past week.
10 hidden techno gems released between 1998-2008
Techno's four decades evolution and ubiquity can make it tough for anyone to feel truly knowledgeable. With literally thousands upon thousands of records released, creating any kind of brief anthology is a fruitless, unnecessary task. That being said, it never feels like a bad idea to present a list of just some tracks we think deserve some reflection… So here you go. 10 superb techno tracks from between 1998 and 2008 featuring the likes of Omar-S, Juan Atkins, Silent Servant, The Other People Place and more! Dig in...
Premiere: Marshall Applewhite ‘Destroy The Silence’
Marshall Applewhite describes his sound as “Detroit Sludge”.
Crafting a style that is indebted to his hometown’s bassy and industrial electro legacy, the illusive DJ/producer has released under numerous monikers (OktoRed, Cocky Balboa, Star Machine and Secret Shower) on numerous labels including Detroit Underground, How To Kill and Clan Destine. With a slew of releases on his own labels YoSucka! and Junted as well, the producer has been nothing if not prolific in recent years, always delivering with a style that is harrowing, hypnotic and irresistable.
Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul, dies aged 76
Aretha Franklin, the “Queen of Soul”, has died aged 76.
In a statement released today on behalf of her family, it was announced that Franklin had passed away this morning (16th August) at home in Detroit after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. She was surrounded by family and friends.
The legendary Detroit-raised singer is globally celebrated for her many hits including ‘Respect’, ‘(You Make Me Feel) Like a Natural Woman’, ‘Chain of Fools’ and ‘I Say a Little Prayer’ to name but a few.
Campaign starts to rebuild one of Detroit's most famous techno sound systems
A Detroit-based non-profit is seeking to rebuild one of the city's most famous sound systems from the ‘80s.
The Detroit Sound Conservatory, a non-profit started with the intention of preserving Detroit’s musical legacies, launched a Kickstarter campaign with the hope of rebuilding the sound system from the iconic venue Club Heaven.
