Kraftwerk Tribute Party
Spot Lite
2905 Beaufait St #4
Detroit
March 26
Kraftwerk holds a special place in Detroit’s musical lore.
As the story goes, their innovative German pioneering electronic sound was broadcast through the city thanks to Electrifying Mojo, a legendary and mysterious radio host who’s talked about like a god today (and rightfully so). It was picked up in the basements of folks like Juan Atkins, who would go on to be considered a godfather of techno – an original brand of Black electronic music born in Detroit but forever in debt to Kraftwerk (and Mojo’s choice to play them).
When Kraftwerk returns to the city, there’s something in the air the week leading up to their arrival. And after they play (this time at the Masonic Temple), it’s not shocking to see them at music venues and afterparties in the city because the love really is that mutual between us and them.
So being invited to DJ at an event in tribute to Kraftwerk leading up to their concert in Detroit was a huge honor for me – and a nerve-wracking one.
I call myself a “baby DJ.” There’s a big gap between playing music on the radio, which I do for a living as a “disc jockey,” and playing music at a venue like Spot Lite (which I’ve written about for Midbrow before), which is a hybrid of art gallery-music venue-record store-club-third-place-etc.
I was paired with major hitters like Liz Warner, who has more musical knowledge in a single fingernail than I may ever encompass, and Scott Zacharias, who is regularly credited as one of the best and most oddball selector the city has to offer. They’ve also got decades between them of playing DJ sets to people trying to get on a dancefloor.
So let me tell you that when I kept upwards of eight people on the dancefloor for close to 20 minutes … it was one of the greatest highs of my life.
Everything we were playing was inspired by Kraftwerk, so imagine a lot of bleeps and bloops and electro-synth bass lines and angular, rigid yet smooth rhythms. Early new wave punksters the High Units and ESG made it into my set as well as acid house versions of Talking Heads’ “Burning Down the House” alongside a slightly sped-up, drum-heavy remix of The Cure’s “A Forest.”
There’s such a shift from playing music in a studio and talking into a microphone when you can’t see anyone. I don’t know how your day is going or what mood you're in. I just hope the music gets to you in some way, hopefully sticks to your ribs and maybe tugs your heartstrings in one way or another. That’s the beauty, mystery and anonymity of radio, to be sure.
But when you’re playing music for people who want to move and dance -- directly in front of you, no mystery about it -- it’s a whole different drug.
I don’t know what qualifies someone to be a “baby DJ” or a “grown DJ” or how you make that transition at al. But after this experience, I’m going with “adolescent DJ” moving forward.
