Detroit Electronic Music Festival
Is anyone going? Interesting lineup this year; I’m contemplating this but I’ve never been and don’t know anyone going. Any info from someone who’s been before on hotels and transportation to the venue would be much appreciated too…
This will be the third year I’m going. From the area so feel free to pm me if you have any questions.
First, if you know you’re going – book your hotel early. Like now. There are many hotels around Hart plaza where the festival will be at. The most desirable (and often expensive) hotels are right around the area within walking distance. If you have a group go in on a room it’s a good deal and there are usually discounts for the festival. However, staying at a hotel room a bit further out, for cheaper or if it’s your only option is still a good option.
Parking immediately around hart plaza is difficult – it’s a really busy area. However, you can usually find parking some place down town. I didn’t pay for parking at all the past two years, so long as you spend a little time looking for street parking and don’t mind the walk.
The festival is great, but also look into the afterparties. There’s a lot of good ones each year put on by different production companies and are well worth going to.
im going 
haha hotels wont be a problem for me cuz ill be living pretty much 10 min from DT Detroit 
if you see a guy with gloves doing lightshows thatll hopefully be me X)
I’m seriously considering it. I need to get on deciding whether or not to go. How bad are food/drink prices?
At the festival usually things aren’t too bad. I ate sparingly inside the festival, believe I had some bbq sandwich around 5-6$ so not too bad, though drinks are as expensive as they typically are at sporting events… 3$ waters, 7$ beers, 5$ energy drinks or something… Outside of the festival, in the area things are fairly priced. 3-4$ for cheaper beer at clubs/bars, food priced average… it’s Detroit after all, so you can find a lot of cheap places to eat if you look around and avoid some of the downtown chains.
DEMF is great… it’s became one of my favorite festivals to go to. The whole atmosphere, vibe and image of being in downtown Detroit and partying next to the river has been quite memorable.
Ya dude, go if you can. DEMF is one of my favorites events to go to, try and get a hotel ASAP cuz they fill up quick. The lineups are always solid and like Spiz said, the vibe is great, kinda an old school feeling to it if you get my drift. Good times!
I would love to go, but the last time I went tickets were free! Now they’re getting more and more expensive every year 
[quote=“spiz, post:5, topic:40974, username:spiz”]
drinks are as expensive as they typically are at sporting events… 3$ waters, 7$ beers, 5$ energy drinks or something.
[/quote]Uhh…IIRC the last time I went to UMF, water, red bull, and heineken all started at like 8 or 10 bucks.
The only reason we didn’t die of dehydration was because I was abusing my press pass to steal backstage water for my friends.
[quote=“spiz, post:5, topic:40974, username:spiz”]
DEMF is great… it’s became one of my favorite festivals to go to. The whole atmosphere, vibe and image of being in downtown Detroit and partying next to the river has been quite memorable.
[/quote]The lineup looks weird. A few people I was hoping would be on it (zabiela, hawtin, etc.) didn’t seem to be there. But it’d almost be worth the trip just for Mr. C and Jeff Mills IMHO……and I know a lot of the names I don’t recognize are probably awesome.
That’s exactly what I’d be hoping for. I just need to see if I actually have the money (and whether any of my friends want to go…not driving all the way to detroit by myself) that isn’t being spent on other things.
Then you’ll find the prices here much more better. I’m not exact, but bottled water was 4$. You could bring in empty bottles/camelbacks or refill bottles in the bathrooms. Redbull is usually like 4-5$, I believe they usually sponsor it so might have something to do with the price. Bud light/miller light drafts are 7-8$. So not too bad if you were expecting ~10$ waters.
It seems like afterparties are starting to come out… Anyone hear of any good ones yet? Looks like a decent list started here : http://www.blakeandrewmusic.com/blog/2012/03/01/demf-2012-demf-movement-afterparties/
DEMF has always leaned ore towards the deep/techno/underground side of things from my few years of going and following it. If you’re not really sure who to check out here’s my personal suggestion on who I would go there to see myself.
Seth Troxler back to back with Guy Gerber could possibly be the highlight of the weekend in my opinion. Two guys who are on top of their game and who would compliment each other very well. Regardless of if you’re into house, techno, tech house, deep house and so on this is one everyone should go see. Should be mind blowing, plus your dancing shoes will get a good work out.
If you’re into the DC10/Circoloco scene there’s plenty to choose from. Davide Squillace is an obvious choice. Deep, drugged out organic techno at its best. His set with Matthias Tannzeman at WMC was ace so I don’t see him slowing down any time soon. Tales of Us and Beniot & Sergio are also an excellent choice. Still a drugged out deep house affair, but a lot more hooks and lyrics if that’s what you’re looking for. Regardless, both of them are worth checking out (even more so if they are live PA’s). And then you have Loco Dice. The man should need no introduction at this point. One the original “ambassadors” for DC10/Circoloco from all those years ago who is still going strong. Can’t say enough good things about him, if you’re digging what everyone else is doing this is a no brainer.
BUT, if you’re more into that new deep house sound at the moment, there’s plenty on tap to see. Obviously on the main driving forces behind this “movement” (no pun intended 
), Damian Lazarus should be on your list of acts to see. He’s the man behind Crosstown Rebels and is mainly responsible for catapulting Mace Plex to where he is at the moment. The man has vision and is always one step ahead of the game, so if you want to take a peek into the future then stop by and check him out. And then you have the reigning DJ of the year (according to RA at least), Jamie Jones and label partner Lee Foss performing as Hot Natured. Should be a sexy, bouncey, gritty affair with enough funk to keep those hips moving and the girls dancing. There’s a reason these guys and their label is one of the hottest at the moment, no reason not to at least see what the hype is all about. Also on the line up is young gun Danny Daze. He showed he wasn’t a one trick pony after his hit You’re My Everything by immediately following it up with If This. This kid is the real deal and is a shinning example of the new deep house sound. Haven’t seen him live yet, but all his mixes I’ve heard are well balanced and always keep your toes tapping. And then the big gun at the moment, Maceo Plex. This guy has been the hottest DJ/Producer/Artist over the past 12-18 months. And he’s still delivering the goods. If you somehow have missed out on him, you definitely need to check him out. Hands down one of the must see shows of the weekend IF you haven’t seen him before.
There’s plenty more to mention on that list, Radio Slave, Nina Kraviz, Carlo Lio and Carl Craig all getting honourable mentions, but the above acts are really making waves and seems to be the next generation of the underground. And for that reason you owe to yourself to see what’s happening and check them out.
[quote=“spiz, post:9, topic:40974, username:spiz”]
Then you’ll find the prices here much more better.…
[/quote]Awesome. I’m bordering on broke at the moment, mostly because of expensive hobbies. It’s going to depend mostly on priorities (upgrading to PT 10, possibly switching from SSL to TSP again depending on some specifics of 2.5, buying an analog synth, etc., and a lot on how many people go to me and whether my GF and I can figure out whether to go to that or some other festival in New Orleans around the same time.
[quote=“JasonBay, post:10, topic:40974, username:JasonBay”]
DEMF has always leaned ore towards the deep/techno/underground side of things from my few years of going and following it.
[/quote]Oh, I’m aware. I didn’t get into that side of the underground all that long ago, and a lot of the names are vaguely familiar but don’t really stand out yet. It hurts that I suck at remembering producers’ names.
I like that scene in general, though a lot of the local stuff in Atlanta is kinda hit or miss. Some of the locals are really enjoyable and very good…some of them have been spinning deep house in one form or another since I was a kid…and there’s at least one Detroit native that’s made a big name for himself in the barely-underground but smaller because it’s not top40, hip hop, or one of the big EDM sounds (trance, electro, dubstep) scene. I forget his name. There’s really only a couple places doing it……only a couple production companies……and while most of the guys are great (especially if you’re not into it for a DJ with a big name) some of them really suck.
Really helpful. I’ll check them out whether I go or not.
To repay in kind, I saw Mr. C (Richard West) play in Atlanta a year or so ago…on the last night before that club switched to top40 (was in the works already…not because he screwed up) and it was incredible. The guy was involved in the rise of Acid House and Rave, the frontman of the Shamen, and really knows what he’s doing. It looked like he was playing games with the dance floor…trying to send specific groups into/out of VIP or to/from the bar with his tracks. Based on what he appeared to be watching while he was mixing, I’d be really surprised if that wasn’t what he was doing.
He still tends a bit more towards those older acid/rave sounds…in a slightly dubbed out/laid back way, but he also played up front dubplates along with original pressings of house anthems in a way that made absolute sense. If you get a chance at DEMF, go see him. I think he’s coming back to Atlanta in a week or two, and I’m definitely going.
Heh…the only downside of that night was that Mr. C didn’t play the after party…he only brought vinyl and they didn’t have turntables. I mean…it was in some guy’s kitchen and they were basically out of space, but still. Weird. I’ll have my tables in my trunk when I go see him next just in case.
If I remember correctly, isn’t Habersham from ATL? Damon Fonooi is his real name I think. Guy was making sic tracks in the early to mid 2000’s, and then suddenly stopped (something about having to run his parents restaurant or something like that).
Yeah, he is. He also ran a small digital music shop that had a lot of good prog breaks and progressive releases, along with a lot of the more dubbed out stuff that I did enjoy around '05-'07. It went under at some point. I still miss it, mostly because Proton is the only label I remember liking from that era and my files aren’t tagged correctly because I was using CDJs.
I don’t remember him having to quit, but at any rate he’s spinning and doing live PA stuff again. Not sure about recent releases, though, because……
I hate saying this because he’s a very decent guy, but he’s one of the guys I kinda dread seeing. Maybe I’ve only seen him on really off nights, but it’s never been enjoyable. Which sucks because he plays alongside some really good people a lot of the time, and I often can’t get my friends to stick around when his set is before someone I want to see (like Delic). Maybe just a difference in styles too. Or just badly planned nights: that happened at least once. A promoter thought it was a good idea to have a pair of after hours mainstream Prog House guys open up for him. They were all competent at what they did, but it effing killed the night. I felt bad for the guy, but I almost fell asleep because of the drastic drop in tempo/energy at the wrong time. And he was playing a live PA set (I think…he was using Live) so it’s not like he could just play a different set.
Funny story…when the Prog House guy got off, Habersham bumped the USB cord to his sound card (he was running Traktor)……which caused that evil “an NI card was just unplugged” buzzing sound. The only response from the crowd, when it got turned off a few seconds later was some guy shouting “aww…I love dubstep.”
To be honest, never heard a mix/set from him so I can’t say anything on that front. BUT if he’s still doing the same thing from 2005 I can see why no one would dig it.
And the online shop your thinking of was EDM Digital I believe. Was competing with Beatport at the time, and we all know how that worked out -_-
Cue story about the USB cord, at least some one has a sense of humour.
I honestly don’t remember the shop. And I do have a track or two of his on vinyl that I liked back then.
Damn. Still can’t believe it but I just bought tickets. And airfare and reserved a hotel, so it looks like I’m all in.
The lineup looks great to me. I’m really interested in the old timers like Juan Atkins and Kevin Saunderson and Derrick May. Josh Wink, Mr. C., and Nic Fanciulli also appeal to me. Definitely interested in checking out Damian Lazaruz, Maceo Plex and Maya Jane Coles among others. Lots of other stuff appealing there, Mr Oizo, DJ Sneak, Carl Craig, Claude von Stroke, The Martinez Brothers, Major Lazer, Roni Size, and yeah probably a ton of the people I’ve never heard of will be fantastic as well.
Thanks for that afterparties link, I will be keeping an eye on that page as well as this one!
You’re excited about major lazer?
wouldn’t necessarily use the word excited but yeah I’m pretty sure he can rock a show.
VIP Passes ready plus a ton of presales, finished work for the day and flying out tomorrow afternoon. Ready to party my ass off.
Looks fun, I wanted to go but couldn’t convince anyone to spend the money to go with me and I wasn’t about to fly to detroit by myself.
