- Movement Festival carries more baggage with it than most festivals of its size. Its well-documented beginnings as the Detroit Electronic Music Festival over a decade ago have resulted in what's become one of the Motor City's electronic music landscape's most prominent fixtures, with a colourful history to match. Six years ago, however, Movement ceased being an exclusively Detroit-based occasion, stretching out for a sister event in Torino and what stood as the brand's first foray outside its hometown's borders. The Italian edition features lineups largely constructed around the sound that made Detroit so important, and 2011 was no different. Featured US luminaries Carl Craig, Derrick May and Rick Wilhite stacked up this year against fellow Michigan natives Visionquest and Kyle Hall, all while hosting appearances from a variety of Europe and UK-based artists.
Sunday evening's main pre-Movement event featured slots from headliners Lil Louis and Steffi, the latter of whom took the techno route and subsequently spun one of the best sets of the weekend, despite battling with a faulty mixer for several hours. The party was unfortunately a sign of things to come. On the surface, all the ingredients were seemingly in place for a successful night—a small roster of relatively interesting and dependable artists, left-of-field space (this one was held in a building that normally operates as an auto museum) and a Sunday night crowd with no work commitments the following day. The cavernous venue, however, gave way to an unfocused crowd, most of whom seemed unsure whether to stand at the bar or at the base of a six-foot high stage. The layout of the space was not conducive to fun, and, despite the obvious efforts of those in attendance to commit to the great music on offer, the lack of direction overall was blatant.
The same could almost be said for the Movement main event, held on a Monday night across the Stadio Olimpico di Torino. Individually, the performances themselves were solid. Carl Craig's resurrection of his 69 guise proved to be the night's highlight. The Planet E head dished out a surprisingly tough set with tracks like "Desire" and "Jam the Box." Earlier on, Visionquest kept a heaving mass of teenagers happy with their trademark druggy tech house, while Detroit veteran Rick Wilhite—though forced to play with just one working turntable and CDJ for close to an hour—admirably kept the young crowd on its feet with a series of throwback Detroit cuts that would have been at home in a rough 150-capacity London club. Damian Lazarus went on to close the third stage with 90 minutes of groove-led house, finishing the night with a house edit of James Blake's "Limit to Your Love."
The problem clearly wasn't the music programming. It was the festival's organization. At a micro-level, things that are perhaps more important to the average attendee were left grimly lacking—around the stadium, food and drinks lines remained seemingly unbearable for much of the night, while the lack of any (obvious) free water dispensaries meant that there were victims of overheating around every corner. When it's all said and done, the event is testament to the fact that simply placing three stages, ten bars and food stalls in a mega-complex doesn't result in a pleasant experience for those in attendance. The big things were done right. Next year, let's hope they focus more closely on the details.