Every Memorial Day weekend, tens of thousands of electronic music enthusiasts make a pilgrimage to Hart Plaza in downtown Detroit. They come from Berlin, Tokyo, London, and across the United States to experience Movement festival, the annual celebration of Detroit techno held in the genre’s birthplace. The connection between Movement festival and Detroit techno runs … Read more
Paradise Garage was a legendary New York City discotheque located at 84 King Street in SoHo, operating from 1977 to 1987, renowned for its revolutionary sound system and resident DJ Larry Levan. It wasn’t merely a nightclub. It was a cultural phenomenon that fundamentally transformed how we experience dance music today. In this guide, I’ll … Read more
Picture this: a cramped London warehouse in 2010, a webcam duct-taped to the wall of an actual boiler room, and a DJ playing to a handful of ravers while thousands of people watch online. That single, scrappy broadcast launched what would become one of the most influential forces in modern electronic music culture. What is … Read more
The Sub Club is a legendary underground nightclub located at 22 Jamaica Street in Glasgow, Scotland, opened on 1 April 1987 and recognized as the world’s longest-running underground dance club. Nestled in a 3,500 square foot basement beneath the city centre, this intimate 410-capacity venue has shaped UK dance music culture for nearly four decades … Read more
Learning how to make trap music and program triplet hi hats changed my productions completely. The hi-hat is one-third of your drum pattern and the most fun part to program once you understand the fundamentals. Whether you are using FL Studio, Logic Pro, or Ableton Live, mastering these techniques will give your beats the bounce … Read more
I remember the first time I connected a MIDI keyboard to my computer. I pressed a key, saw the little red light flash, but heard nothing. I spent 20 minutes checking cables and volume knobs before realizing a fundamental truth that every beginner learns the hard way: MIDI does not make sound. This confusion is … Read more
I still remember the first time I hit record on my DJ controller and realized nothing was happening. The button was greyed out. After 45 minutes of mixing, I had nothing to show for it. That was three years ago, and since then I have tested every method for recording DJ mixes at home, from … Read more
The Belleville Three are three American musicians – Juan Atkins, Derrick May, and Kevin Saunderson – who are credited with inventing the Detroit techno genre in Belleville, Michigan during the early 1980s. Their collaboration transformed electronic music forever, creating a sound that would influence dance floors across the globe for over four decades. In this … Read more
On August 7, 1995, a debut album dropped that would permanently alter the trajectory of electronic music. Goldie’s Timeless arrived through FFRR Records and immediately established itself as the defining statement of what would become known as intelligent drum and bass. I have spent years studying the evolution of jungle and drum and bass, and … Read more
Larry Heard (born May 31, 1960) is an American DJ, record producer, and musician from Chicago who pioneered deep house music under the alias Mr. Fingers. He created “Can You Feel It” in 1986, widely considered the first deep house track ever made. When you listen to modern electronic music, you are hearing his influence. … Read more