by Jean Johnson DetroitTechno Militia are making a lot of headway, particularly due to theirrecent transition from DJs to producers. “We did it for ourselves, andfor all our DJs to play out,” T.Linder says. “All the responses havebeen 100 percent positive; I haven’t heard a bad thing. It’s beeninspiring getting the positive feed back.”
Expect DTM 03’srelease this fall. Recently, Dave Clarke took a shining to T.Linder’s“Respect,” off DTM 03. It’s Clarke’s No. 3 on his chart this summer; heeven debuted it at the Monegros Desert Festival in Spain. The label isa sub-label of local Cratesavers Muzic. “Cratesavers is integral in ourrecord launch,” T.Linder explains, “We are able to deal directly withpeople who’ve inspired us; not a lot of people get that opportunity.We’ve been lucky.”
Haven’t checked out DTM, yet? This Friday istheir Northern Lights Lounge monthly. There’s a huge party on Thursday,Aug. 30, at Exodos Lounge. It’s a DTM video-shoot of six DTM DJs(T.Linder, DJ Seoul, Darkcube, DJ Psycho, Neil V. and others) onfive decks.
Check out detroittechnomilitia.com for mixes by the Militia, as well as a link to T.Linder’s featured mix on Dave Clarke’s radio show.
Tonight you can catch DJ Seoul (Detroit Techno Militia/Bang Tech 12) on HD
Radio from 10pm - 12am EST! They will be featuring his mix Ich Bin Ein
Detroiter! After the show tonight, the mix will be available for
download on the Detroit Techno Militia website!!
We had such a blast in Toronto. Techno is alive and well in Clubland thanks to the tireless efforts of Jofus and Sara. Just say the word and we'll head back up there. Thank you to everyone that came out and supported the night (Vergel & crew) - especially the fans who wore DTM shirts like this guy:
Here are some of the other pictures from the evening here:
(click any of the pictures to go to the gallery)
Much love and respect the the dirty T crew!
-DTM
Tonight - DTM in Toronto!
DTM on Dave Clarke's White Noise Radio
The Detroit Techno Militia has been getting a ton of support from
international DJ extrordinaire, Dave Clarke on his weekly radio show,
White Noise. On March 31, 2007 he played Ippon off DTM001 on the
Electro/Ghetto Tek Special installment, and T.Linder's "Wolfpack" and
"Wolfbeats" off DTM002 have made a few rotations since. On June 2,
2007 Mr. Clarke gave two of T.Linder's yet-to-be-released tracks,
"Respect" and "Depth Stalker" their international debut.
Here's a new DJ mix that T.Linder recently recorded for Dave Clarke's
White Noise Radio. It's mainly Techno/Electro with a handful of
unreleased material.
“Similar to the
restoration of historic architecture, we are not tearing down and
building anew. Rather, (we're) using the existing structure as a basis
for our own endeavors. Detroit has always had much to offer musically.
It is our mission to make it known to the rest of the world for
generations to come.” Thus is the vision of the Detroit Techno Militia,
a grassroots collective of electronic artists and enthusiasts concerned
with keeping Detroit techno alive and well, honoring its past and
helping shape its future.
“DTM is an amalgamation of all the
things that have inspired us, both on the music end and the business
end,” says Angie Schwendemann, owner and label manager of DTM. “We’ve
been able to work closely with the people we look up to and develop DTM
into more than just a DJ crew.” Schwendemann and her partner, Tom
Linder, combined a basic idea and visual direction to make the idea
into reality. Enlisting the talents of close friends as “soldiers,”
DTM's roster of DJs and producers is impressive, with several enjoying
tour dates, special guest spots on Internet radio shows and a worldwide
community of supporters, brought together through DTM’s interactive Web
site, DetroitTechnoMilitia.com.
Now
DTM proudly presents DTM001, the first release on its own label. The
three-track disc features new music from DTM soldiers abroad: Belgium’s
The Mercenary, North Carolina’s Loner.9, and an additional artist. The
Militia celebrates the release on Saturday night at McCarthy’s Pub,
keeping the cover charge non-existent (that’s free, people!). Snag your
copy of the new release along with DTM002, the first solo release from
T.Linder featuring the tracks “No Retreat No Surrender” and “Wolfpack
& Wolfbeats.” The party will feature a live set by Loner.9 and
selections by DTM DJs T.Linder, Darkcube, Dan Lucas, Neil V, DJ Psycho
and DJ Seoul.
“We believe in what we do, and take pride in
contributing to a tradition that has deeply inspired us,” Schwendemann
says. “Detroit Techno Militia soldiers work to maintain and preserve
the significance of techno made in our native city.”
DJ Seoul is bringing a hot electro mix to kick the weekend off. DJ Seoul will be preforming at this years DEMF on Saturday. Make sure to catch his preformance on the Detroit Stage from 12pm - 2pm
Felton Howard is one of Detroit's legendary multi-genre DJs. His diverse style is rooted in his appreciation for Gospel music and uplifting House, as well as Garage, Disco, and of course, Techno. He is one of the few DJs in Detroit that had the opportunity to meet the legendary Larry Levan, at the Paradise Garage, as well as visiting the hallowed Better Days nightclub in New York City.
In 1976, Howard solidified his commitment to becoming a professional DJ by becoming the first mobile DJ in the city of Detroit. He owned Technics 1200 turntables, a Bozak mixer and a huge Cerwin Vega sound system. This sound system later became the tool of many of artists that were starting to make names for themselves in the Motor City. The equipment was fitting for a work schedule that made Felton the first DJ in Detroit to perform four nights a week. In the 1980s he was the first DJ to create the twelve-hour, non-stop music parties for packed crowds (1500+) as the resident DJ at Climax2. During this period, Howard had the opportunity to compete and play alongside several other seminal Detroit artists: Ken Collier, Stacey Hale, Duane and Tyrone Bradley. At this time, he learned how to outfit a club with proper audio equipment from his time spent working with Ed Duncan of Duncan Sound Systems, the audio supplier to all of the city's major clubs until the late 1980s.
In the 1990s Felton Howard took his many years of club experience and opened up a late-night underground venue, Club Better Days, named after the club in New York. At Better Days, he opened up the booth and crushing sound system to other DJs, and resided over one of the few afterhours multi-cultural dance clubs in the Detroit at that time.
In 2001, Howard's love for technology directed him to become one of the first DJs on the planet to use the Final Scratch turntable/laptop interface. With this new tool he was able to use it to its full potential, performing DJ sets comprised almost entirely of his own remixes and edits.
After Better Days closed, he returned to his first passion as a DJ, he has maintained a hectic performance and touring schedule ever since. His 30+ years of experience has proven that time has enriched Felton Howard's intimacy with the many facets of electronic music. In his own words, "House is not dead. It just moved to a different location."
DTM Represent!
Our good friend Tiger at the ancient ruins of Bet Sh'ean - Israel.
Wizard Mixes Anyone?
A discussion on the UR forum prompted one of our members to digitize his Wizard mix collection. In all, he digitized 7 sets ranging in time from 13 - 50 minutes long. He also included 7 of his own tribute mixes to pay homage to the master. I would like to personally thank Needlz for taking the time to do this. We have been dying for new Wizard sets. Please keep in mind they were recorded from tape.
I was born in Toronto Canada, but I was raised in Grand Rapids MI. I had a serious musical background my mother played guitar and sang the blues in bands for years. Always loved music and never knew anything else. My mom always had Aretha Franklin or the pointer sisters or Taj Mahal or Patty Labell playing in the house. Stuff like that, so groove was introduced very early to me.
When I was 13 I started breakdancing and couldn’t get enough of that new street sound, you know? Then it happened, when I was 14 my friend came back from Detroit and had a tape of the wizard and we were breakin to it. That’s when I became more interested in the music we were listening to. I asked him "what is this?" He said this is the wizard on WDRQ-before WJLB and that was it.
I stopped dancing and began trying to scratch on my moms fold out turntable. I used to hook the microphone up by the speaker of the fold out turntable, play a record on the stereo-system turntable and scratch threw the mic. It was awful, but it worked. Later I got equipment at pawn shops and started to make tapes.
My mom was a teacher and about 4 times a year she had to go to Detroit, so I started going with her to record the Wizard who by this time was on JLB. When I started to get good around the age of 16, I met this guy who rapped and we ended up getting a contract at 4-sight records. We flew down to Miami and made a 12-inch called Mega Jons Bass Backed w/ Dance Transformer. The music business back then was even worse than it is today, as far as actually trying to make it. I just wanted to make people happy with my mixin’. I didn’t, and still don’t, care about cash…its just not me.
The Wizard influenced me threw all of this, I would listen to his mixes and be like man I wish I could do that. That is what influenced me to make the tribute mixes. Over the years my scratchin’ has developed immensely so it was hard to do those because I had to put myself in the mind set of about 20 years ago. It was a blast and I look forward to doing more, you know I used tape decks to do those mixes, that’s it!
The Needlz tribute mixes are only out of total respect for Jeff. I did my best to make them true and remember they are 87 style. I think you guys who love the wizard will like them they are all me, not pieces of Jeff’s mixes, the wizard mixes are a variety from 86-89.
Intel Reports 
Tonight you can catch DJ Seoul (Detroit Techno Militia/Bang Tech 12) on HD
Radio from 10pm - 12am EST! They will be featuring his mix Ich Bin Ein
Detroiter! After the show tonight, the mix will be available for
download on the 
By Amy Hubbarth 
Our good friend Tiger at the ancient ruins of Bet Sh'ean - Israel.
A discussion on the UR forum prompted one of our members to digitize his Wizard mix collection. In all, he digitized 7 sets ranging in time from 13 - 50 minutes long. He also included 7 of his own tribute mixes to pay homage to the master. I would like to personally thank Needlz for taking the time to do this. We have been dying for new Wizard sets. Please keep in mind they were recorded from tape.