MOTORMOUTH RADIO EP. 31

Yusef Lateef

LISTEN

Woodward Avenue - Yusef Lateef

Ginseng Love - Wendell Harrison

Blue Bossa - Joe Henderson

Ah - Theo Parris (feat. Ideeyah, Marcellus Pittman)

Get Up And Move - Carolyn Crawford

Sweet Sherry - J.J. Barnes

Eniac - Octave One

Cigarette Lighter - Japanese Telecom

Skyway - Infiniti

Gratiot - The Detroit Escalator Co. 

SHOW ME LUV - TMT

Doin Too Much - Kash Doll

A.M. Track - Robert Hood

Expo 2000 (DJ Rolando Remix) - Kraftwerk

MOTORMOUTH RADIO EP. 30

Ectomorph (Erika & BMG)

LISTEN 

Wandering Mountain - Erika

Goliath - caitlin c. harvey

mourn - cryingfossil & Infant

Galena Virgae - Maro Kariya

High - ZDBT & Supercoolwicked

Don't Leave - Zelooperz

Sprinting in the Dark - Anjelic

Strings In Space - Thomas Fehlmann & Terrence Dixon

Credit Card - BMG & Sal P

Expo 2000 (Underground Resistance Remix) - Kraftwerk

Low Life - Robert Hood

8 Miles Wide - The Plan

I'll Stay - Funkadelic

MOTORMOUTH'S TOP 5 JUAN ATKINS TRACKS

I'm generally not a fan of ranking an artist's songs, especially when the artist at hand has had a massively influential career. It often feels like a fool's errand, pitting groundbreaking songs against each other. For instance, when The Guardian ranked Kraftwerk's 30 greatest songs, I struggled to understand how they could possibly rank some of the most influential songs in future-pop history-- "Trans-Europe Express" or "Autobahn"? "The Model" or "Computer World"? Clearly, songs of this caliber shouldn't be hierarchically ordered. And yet, I find these lists captivating, often devising my own. 

Lately, I've been reflecting on Juan Atkins' vast discography and the landmark releases scattered across his four-decade-long career. Atkins, one of the pioneers of techno, has a body of work that spans numerous aliases and styles. I've wanted to write about what I believe are his top 5 songs, but instead of focusing on the order I'd like to prioritize this electro-archictect's evolutions and mutations. I'd invite readers to see this list as a way to conceptualize 5 landmark moments in Atkins' storied career. Each track represents a different phase in his artistic journey, illustrating his versatility and innovation. 

I've selected only one track per Atkins alias, mapping out a sonic trajectory that reverse-engineers how he has evolved and transformed his sound over the years. So, let's put aside the objectivity and dive into 5 of the greatest songs from this originator of techno.

5. Lightyears - Borderland (2016)

Juan Atkins had been friends with German techno titan Moritz Von Oswald since the 1980s when the latter visited Detroit looking for vintage gear and great records. Their friendship, spanning across the Atlantic has led to several fertile collaborations. Namely, their 3MB project with Thomas Fehlmann, where Atkins was repping his "Magic" Juan alias. Atkins and Von Oswald also collaborated on 1995's "Starlight", a magisterial record that found Juan putting his own spin on the dub techno sound that Von Oswald was pioneering with projects like Maurizio and Basic Channel. 

Their friendship and artistic collaboration continued into the 2010s with the founding of Borderland, a project that finds two old masters boiling their sonic contributions down to their finest distillations. Like an aged wine that begs to be appreciated by a developed palette, the Borderland records are exercises in subtlety for the deeply appreciative techno connoisseur. The apotheosis of this is the ambient, dubby thump that is "Lightyears," the magnetic standout track from Borderland's sophomore release on Tresor, Transport. For those who know Juan as a more straight-to-the-point, iconic electro producer, this track will challenge preconceptions in the best way. 

4. Track Ten - Juan Atkins (2004)

Released under his own name, "Track Ten" finds Atkins utilizing breakbeat to brilliant effect. The single inaugurated his Back to Basics series, and as that name implies, this single features synth-pad flourishes that recall the earliest days of Atkins' Detroit techno glory. The track sparkles and glistens, perhaps recalling the work of one of Juan's greatest disciples-- James Stinson of Drexciya. One of Atkins' most iconic cuts, Track Ten remains a staple as it sits at the intersection of techno's electro-influenced past and its atmospheric, blissed-out future. 

3. Skyway - Infiniti (1998)

By the late 90s, Atkins' techno godfather status had been solidified, and with the second wave of techno musicians-- Underground Resistance, Drexciya, Octave One-- blazing more militant and conceptual trails, it would have been easy to chalk Juan's status up to "Old Legend No Longer Capable of producing the future-shocks that made him such potent force in the 1980s." But, in actuality, nothing could have been further from the case. 

Toiling away in zenned-out focus with Terrence Dixon, Atkins returned in 1998 on Tresor with Skynet, a record that reflects the Soma-fueled blitz and brilliant architectural aspirations of a sleek, cyberpunk society. Here, the future is present in skyways and electric circuses, while the old creature comforts of sipping on a cup of joe, Edward Hopper Nighthawks style, at a coffee shop in Detroit are still part of everyday life. 

From within this postcard from the future arrives the dialed-in album opener "Skyway," a gritty, detail-oriented techno diamond in the rough, complete with a dirty, blown-out kick. No doubt, this Tresor touchstone would influence future wiz prodigies like Ricardo Villalobos, Marcel Dettmann (who played the track on his DJ Kicks mix), and Mathew Johnson to name only a few.

2. No UFOs - Model 500 (1985)

The greatest bassline in techno history? It's arguable. 

This is it folks. The song that, perhaps more than any other, crystallized techno as a force that was both epochal and distinctly Detroit. Brimming with intergalactic aspirations and social realist despair, this is industrial speed rush at its finest. A zeitgeist-defining track that can still kick a party into overdrive 40 years after its release, it remains disorienting and exciting with its chant-worthy hook, if you can call its resplendent robo-vocal repetitions a hook... "No UFOs" challenges the idea that there is no longer a future, while also addressing the Reagan-era austerity that left Detroit depopulated, but a Metroplex all the same. 

Ubiquitous in Detroit upon its release, danced to on the public broadcasting program The Scene (if you haven't seen this you must), the song was no underground novelty, but a bonafide hit that took the city by storm. If you wanted to know where the future was being born all over again, you needed to look no further than the burned-out core, the auto-capital of the world. But now, instead of cars, Detroiters were ready to be whisked away on UFOs to a world more brilliant than the sun. 

1. Clear - Cybotron (1983)

Sure, this slot could have been allotted to Cybotron's Detroit-update on Kraftwerk, 1981's afrofuturist masterpiece "Alleys of Your Mind", but it wasn't until 1983's "Clear" that Atkins and Rick "3070" Davis blew the whole thing open, locking into place the sonic machinery for a cultural revolution. Providing a soundtrack to the cyberspatial future awaiting humanity, this was music inspired by Alvin Toffler's Future Shock, music that one could imagine the cyberspace cowboys in William Gibson's prophetic Neuromancer partying to. Or perhaps this is music that the replicants hunted in Blade Runner would compose if tested to make music: human, but not quite. 

If any one song remains Atkin's most time-tested and true, it is "Clear". Remixed and sampled a hundred times over, its bouncing bass still drops on the dancefloor like a bomb. It sits among the greatest electronic songs of all time, alongside tracks like Kraftwerk's "Numbers" and Donna Summer's "I Feel Love". This is the company Juan Atkins sits with, Detroit's number one producer and all-time greatest. When the originator comes through, clear the way.

Thank you for your service, Mayor

from Detroit Techno Foundation & UMA's "Respect the Architects" exhibit

A week ago, as the grand finale to Tec-Troit 2024, techno trailblazer Claude Young came out of retirement to deliver a truly touching final DJ set for the Detroit locals and fellow DJs that shaped his career. 

The resulting set was a triumphant 2-hour celebration of dance music's eclectic history. The techno architect poignantly capped off a multi-decade career, touching on various subgenres with a sense of cohesive finesse. Weaving a rich tapestry, Young connected the dots between Jean Luc Ponty, Kraftwerk, Surgeon, and Kate Bush in a way that only a true master of the craft could (I also thought I heard the industrial thunder of Nitzer Ebb and the dubby Porter Ricks in there, but can't reliably confirm the track IDs). Though I knew Young would deliver a great set, I could not have foreseen just how special and truly moving the experience would be. Perhaps the most touching moment was when he dropped the needle on one of his most iconic tracks, "Ancelyn."

In the days since his set, it's been difficult grappling with what Young leaving the scene means. As an individual, few DJs had as much heart and enthusiasm for their craft. Additionally, as a selector, Claude brought a totally idiosyncratic vibe to his sets-- one that was by turns experimental and highly danceable. But on a broader level, Young's decision to stop playing reflects more macro shifts and rising concerns in the techno scene. After all, Claude lost joy in DJing because of his growing dissatisfaction with how the scene now prioritizes hype, social media clout, and trendiness over skillful mixing techniques and unique selection. His discontent is valid, and it's something that we wish to combat in our coverage here at Motormouth. His retirement begs a sorrowful question: what other architects will we lose due to the music's commercialization and the talent's commodification? 

We are truly grateful to Young for gracing us with one more reminder of his unparalleled genius. As Tec Troit's Moses Malone noted in an interview, "He's doing this because it's Detroit, for Detroit, and he wants to give his hometown one last show before he officially stops playing out. He's turned down other events but made an exception for us, which makes us feel special." Indeed, it made us feel special too. Claude's charismatic 120 minutes on the decks made for one of the best sets of the year, one we aren't bound to forget any time soon. 

This past week when we recorded episode 29 of Motormouth, we ended the episode with Young's "Dream of Another Time". It was challenging to sum up his legacy, and impossible to overstate his influence. From working at the highly influential Record Time alongside Dan Bell to founding Frictional Records with Anthony "Shake" Shakir and developing the minimal techno sound, to emerging as one of the most technically skilled DJs in the world and establishing himself as a key player in the UK (Glasgow specifically) and Tokyo, his career was immense. 

Still struggling to come to grips with the immensity of Young's departure in a way that does him justice, I'll just leave it at this: 

Thank you for your service, Mayor. Enjoy a peaceful retirement, Claude, you earned it. 

MOTORMOUTH RADIO EP. 29

 

LISTEN

Bikini Sunset - The Volcanos

Motor City Squeeze - Duende & David J

Just Can't Win - Laughing Hyenas

Tightrope - The Volcanos

In My Dreams - Habibi

Telephone - Diana Ross

Taurus - DJ Holographic

Sunrays - The Other People Place

So Superb - Slum Village, Cordae, Earlly Mac

Boppin - Jahari Massamba Unit

BYOF - The Fantastic Four

Fountain of Life - Terrence Dixon

My Simulacra - 2Lanes

Waiting In The Dark (DJ Stingray Remix) - DJ 3000

Come on Baby - Electric Soul 

Dream of Another Time - Claude Young

MOTORMOUTH RADIO EP. 28

 

LISTEN

First Light - Cam Spacely

NOTHING TO SAY - FEN FEN

SUNSHINE - 208

Aquarium (Belle Isle Acid) - Rebecca Goldberg

Kash Kommandments - Kash Doll

Bad Days - Icewear Vezzo & DJ Drama

SF1 - DJ Bone

Dog Food - 42 Dugg

Steak N Lobster - Babyface Ray

Molecules of Madness - DJ Godfather

Whole Lotta Choppas - Sada Baby

Run-Ins - Boldy James & The Alchemist

Fight The Future - Blak Presidents 

Transmutation - Huey Mnemonic

Cosmic Slop - Funkadelic

In The Night-Time - Michael Henderson

SHOW REVIEW: TRESOR 313

Welcome to Techno City

For many Detroiters, Memorial Day weekend is the most exciting holiday of the year. This is, of course, entirely due to the legendary Movement festival and all that comes with it: the best international talents flying in to play, local legends presenting masterclass sets in DJing, an influx of partygoers from all over the world uniting as a global techno community, the fashion, and electronic music everywhere you go. During this inaugural weekend of Summer, Detroit fully lives up to its Cybotron-dubbed nickname Techno City. 

The parties rock around the clock. During the sunny days, the vibe is certifiably carnivalesque, as techno barbeques, block parties, and house-inflected garden events simultaneously run parallel to the festival, which remains the epicenter of festivities in the historic Hart Plaza. When night falls and the neon signs switch on, every club and warehouse opens its doors as psychedelic-industrial beats possess partygoers until sunrise. These afters are often just as special as the festival, and there is no shortage of all-nighters to choose from.

This year, on Saturday, many ravers were forced to make some seriously hard decisions as there were four particularly stacked afters of note: Marble Bar's Liquid party featuring Luke Vibert & Soundmurderer, Texture's event featuring a highly anticipated set from Skee Mask, and DVS1's Wall of Sound party featuring Wata Igarashi & Rrose among others. On any other weekend, any of these options would have made for a special night out, but for the  Motormouth crew, one option was the clear standout: Interdimensional Transmissions' Tresor 313 party at Tangent Gallery.

Tresor 313: A Portal Between Detroit and Berlin

As noted in our last show review, we are big fans of Interdimensional Transmissions, the party promotion service and record label run by Detroit techno stalwarts Erika and BMG (AKA Ectomorph). For this first night of their legendary Tangent Gallery takeover, Return To The Source, the IT crew curated an event conjoined with, half-hosted by, the iconic German record label & club, Tresor. As a result, this annual afterparty functions as a historical merging of techno's two most significant cities, cities with haunted pasts and Phoenix-like spirits, cities that united forging sounds of The Future, repurposing industrial space to dance at The End of History.

Photo from the DJ booth of the original Tresor Club in the 1990s

As I noted in my last IT show review, the crew had given Tangent Gallery an "oceanic ambiance", while this time it felt more like we were dancing within the chambers of a volcanic cave, magma flowing and cooling above us. As usual, the sound was immaculate in both rooms. From any vantage point, you were comfortably engulfed in warm-- but nonetheless hard-hitting-- sound without the volume ever approaching a painful level. Outside, vendors offered nourishing and healthy meals deep into the night- something we'd love to see at more shows. 

All of these factors coalesced to set us up for our show of the year. And that it was.

Alien Landscapes: Batu

Kicking off the night, my partner and I arrive as AZA is passing the decks to Batu. Launching straight into a non-repetitive, rhythmic cascade, the Timedance owner dropped us straight into the unfamiliar, left-field territory he's garnered such a reputation for exploring. Though he hails from Bristol, Batu's set evoked an alien landscape, with the sounds of bird calls from extraterrestrial species and percussive hits from warped metals punctuating the elaborately syncopated groove that-- for the first 40 minutes of his set-- refused to let up. 

Finally, as my chest nearly burst open from anxiety, he released us into ever-so-slightly more straightforward territory. Remaining firmly in a future-oriented techno pocket, Batu began the night with a sense of the experimental and bold, which is precisely what I love about the talent that IT brings in.

Throwing Down (Detroit Style): Huey Mnemonic 

Slipping out of Batu's set, me and my partner were on the way outside to greet Motormouth founder Weona Ryder and their partner/Motormouth zine designer cellulost when we were stopped in our tracks by Huey Mnemonic in the gallery room throwing down a mix of Jeff Mills' immortal techno classic "The Bells". 

We'll be coming back to this in just a moment I think to myself. 

Eagerly bringing the Motormouth squad into the room, there's a sense of recognition that this-- a no-frills set of hard-hitting Detroit-styled techno-- is precisely what we needed. After they had attended a disheartening series of flop events the previous few nights, Weona Ryder reflected on the feeling of walking into Huey's set saying:

"Finally, I'd been placed in good hands. It was a huge relief."

Good hands indeed.

The Electric Entourage: Model 500

For the magnetic highlight of the night, Juan Atkins was to take to the stage, playing a set using the alias that he pioneered techno throughout the 80s with-- Model 500. Taking to the stage with two assisting band members to play the tracks live using drum machines and synthesizers, his trio resembled a cyberpunk-styled Kraftwerk. Shuffling up to the front, I notice DJ Godfather is on the scene watching. Real recognize real.

I've been lucky enough to see Atkins live several times: as Cybotron, under his own name, and back-to-back with his daughter Milan Ariel (who also joined Model 500 for a few songs at the end of the set). Of all those times, this techno jam band-style set, complete with lasers and projections, was easily The Originator's strongest performance yet. (Though he would outdo even this the next day with Moritz Von Oswald as Borderland, but that's another story). Dialed in and playing with raw energy, Atkins ignited the already lit party with a series of Model 500 staples like "Starlight",  "Sound of Stereo", and "Night Drive". Yet, nothing could compare to the Big One, 1985's club classic techno-starting hit "No UFOs". We found ourselves shouting out:

They say there is no hope

They say no UFOs

Why is no head hung high

Maybe you'll see them fly

Perfect. I was sober but could have been convinced that someone injected ecstasy straight into my veins. And that feeling of euphoria and excitement didn't dissipate as we moved to the next set of the night.

All I Ever Wanted: DJ Bone

How do you compete with Model 500 playing simultaneously in the room directly next to you? DJ Bone knows. 

Popping over to his set for a few minutes while my partner was using the bathroom I find him spinning a high-tempo mix of Depeche Mode's "Enjoy The Silence" (like this on 1.25 speed) to an incredibly warm reception:

All I ever wanted 

All I ever needed

*cuts the beat allowing the crowd to shout it out*

Is here in my arms 

Words are plenty unnecessary, but allow me to regale you. 

Returning to the closing end of Bone's set after Model 500, the squad is entreated to a remix of-- I'm still in awe-- "Mercy" from Kanye, 2 Chainz, Pusha T, and Big Sean. Putting a hard-edged club beat over the 2014 party rap classic was one of the most fun moments of the weekend.

Next time Bone comes around, no matter who else might be playing at the same time, I will be there giving him my full attention.

Out of the Darkness: DJ Stingray & Akua

In the wee small hours... 

It's 4 in the morning, and the party is still going strong, and somehow misty-eyed ravers are still flooding into the space. The late-night dancers are enraptured, and yet another anticipated set is beginning, a back-to-back from Akua and DJ Stingray, the latter my favorite working DJ, easily. 

How would Stingray fare when paired with another DJ? His solo sets were so uncompromising, so uniquely his own, that it was hard to imagine what the Drexciyan might do when sharing the stage. 

Luckily, the duo was a fitting enough pair, absolutely pulverizing the crowd with an unrelenting mix of speedy techno and electro-ragers. Some tracks were clear Stingray selections, like Godfather's "Jit or Die", while others were the more hypnotic hard techno that Akua specializes in. The high-energy set carried us to the closing ceremonies. 

It's A Brand New Day: Daniel Bell's Sunrise Set

Outside, the darkness was giving way to light, the desire for sleep was starting to come on, and the legs were starting to give out... but it's not a Tresor 313 party without hearing Daniel Bell poetically usher in the sunrise.

In Tangent Gallery's alleyway, it's always amazing just how packed the space is at 6 in the morning. But, here we all are, in this crisp morning chill as the first rays of sunlight pierce the sky. 

Daniel Bell, one of the first minimal techno pioneers back in the early 90s as Cybersonik and DBX, is doing his thing in the garden. He's keeping things on the level with a straight-ahead, barely bouncing groove that helps us all stay dancing, while also signaling that, finally, it's okay to head home and sleep. 

So that's what we did. Sort of. Still amped, I laid in bed, eyes wide open, excited to do it all over again. 

A Final Word

In the weeks since the Tresor 313 party, I've continually thought back on just how special of an event it was. On a personal level, I had one of the most exciting nights of my life with my girlfriend and closest friends. But on a broader level, the party reflects just how enduring the spirit of the Detroit-Berlin connection is, and just how impressive it is that DJs working locally remain, arguably, some of the best in the world. From the birth of techno (Model 500) to the spotlighting of the new guard (Huey Mnemonic), Detroit is clearly here to stay. 

Next year, the afterparty decision won't be a difficult one to make. Assuming IT returns for another year of Return to the Source, I'll be back at Tangent, this time with a whole weekend pass.