The Detroit Techno House

I made it out in the depths of the night this weekend to enjoy Detroit’s electronic hey day re-visited. I am speaking of the PKU reunion party (Dec. 3, 2011).  Let me tell you, it didn’t disappoint. With the spirit of where it started, PKU stood tall and showed its beautiful silhouette, if only for a night… It was fun to see people pack out the often-maligned “Works” for a better cause than it has seen in a while.

The place packed out quite early, I can’t remember the last time I saw a line at 10:45 on a Saturday night. Slammin’ music, mostly from Detroit, played with an old-school passion that needs to be infused in this new school era. Wow, I almost forgot Jungle existed! The positive and unique attitude of the night was so obvious it was shocking. It was amazing to see so many old school heads back together again. Smiles replaced blank stares, dancing replaced staring at the floor, and soul replaced machine on this special night. Not that there wasn’t a fair share of stumbling aimlessly going on, but most of it was followed with a polite “sorry” if you were bumped into. It was awesome.

I caught the end of Lori Hi Fi, and all I can say is… bangin’! She set the stage off with some hard techno, and even threw in some old school epic breakdowns to make the crowd go crazy. After Lori came Woodward vs CDX. It was a sight to behold, and Woodward dropped some old tracks that took me back.  Lastly I saw a man named Harley from Detroit spin one of the more proper sets of the night. He wove real Detroit Techno in and out on the Technics, and he did it with precision and passion. I also found out that he does an electronic music radio show on Sundays called “Burst Radio”, and apparently they stream electronic music 24/7. I actually visited the studio and it is a legit set-up with some real professional work going on there…Check them out at BurstRadio.net.

All in all it was an impressive night. I saw Detroit come together in a way that I haven’t seen in quite some time, and it made me proud to see that there was still some good left in the electronic music community. My hat is off to the PKU kids, and all the people involved with this show. Well done, I hope to see more events with this old-school vibe in the future. In fact, I hope that some of the values that once infused the Detroit scene can once again be brought back to the forefront of this artistic endeavor.

Here’s a mix just for the PKU party by Detroit’s own Whistleboi, hope you enjoy:
  Whistle-Boi PKU Reunion by whistle-boi