Paxahau has announced the initial DEMF lineup 2012 (Movement). Detroit’s electronic music festival will again take place in Hart Plaza, Memorial Day Weekend, May 26-28, 2012 in Detroit, Michigan, the birthplace of techno. This is only the initial DEMF lineup 2012, just as the DEMF 2011 schedule was released. Take a look below for the initial DEMF lineup 2012 with headliners Public Enemy, Lil’ Louis, and Jeff Mills and also techno acts such as: Carl Craig, Claude VonStroke, Juan Atkins, Kevin Saunderson, Lindstrom, Loco Dice, and Marco Carola. There is also, of course, the extensive DEMF 2012 after parties schedule which will be leaked out slowly throughout the next few months.

(Update) On March 14th, Paxahau has announced 58 new acts to the DEMF 2012 Lineup including: Actress, Chris Liebing, Derek Plaslaiko and our good friends Project 313. Check out the full list below.

(Update) Check out the DEMF Schedule 2012.

Leave us comments on what artists you like, hate and think should have been included in the Movement 2012 lineup.

DEMF Lineup 2012:

Actress Adam Jay Adventure Club Andres araabMUZIK AvA Benoit & Sergio Bok Bok Brenmar Brian Gillespie Busy P Calico Carl Craig Carlo Lio Camea Cassy Chris Liebing Clark Warner Claude VonStroke Damian Lazarus Daniel Andres Danny Daze Davide Squillace Derek Plaslaiko Derrick Carter Dillon Francis DJ Godfather DJ Psycho dOP DJ Sneak Dopplereffekt Droog Dwayne Jensen Dru Ruiz Earl Mixxin’ McKinney Eddie Fowlkes Erno The Inferno FaltyDL Filsonik b2b Patrick (NY) Greg Wilson GRiZ Heidi Hot Natured (Jamie Jones & Lee Foss) Ian Pooley Jesse Rose Jimmy Edgar John Arnold Josh Wink Joshua Harrison Juan Atkins Keef Boxx Kyle Hall b2b Jay Daniel Lil’ Louis Lindstrøm Loco Dice Maceo Plex Major Lazer Malik Alston Marcellus Pittman Marco Carola Mark Farina (Mushroom Jazz set) Mathew Jonson Matias Aguayo Matthew Hawtin Maya Jane Coles Michael Mayer Michal Menert Mike Huckaby Minnesota MK Monty Luke Mr. C Mykel Waters Nadastrom Nic Fanciulli b2b Joris Voorn Nina Kraviz No Regular Play OktoRed Phil Agosta Photek Pirahnahead Project 313 Public Enemy Pursuit Grooves Radio Slave Rick Wilhite Roni Size Ryan Richards Salva SBTRKT Seth Troxler b2b Guy Gerber Slow Hands Stacey Pullen Steve Bug Subb-an Tale of Us The Martinez Brothers The Wizard aka Jeff Mills Tiger and Woods Todd Terje Tony Ollivierra Two Fresh Wolf + Lamb Zeds Dead

Twilight Frequencies Podcast via iTunes

Download Twilight Frequencies Podcast 023 | Steven Sweet

This month’s free music podcast comes from Steven Sweet of Fort Worth, TX and this ones a slamma. Steven may currently reside in the American Southwest but his roots are deeply planted in the heartland of techno. Steven grew up in Michigan not far from techno’s birthplace, Detroit, and his high bpm, slammin style incorporates Detroit’s past as well as heavy influence from European hard techno. Enjoy

Tracklisting | Twilight Frequencies Podcast 023 | Steven Sweet

1. Lewis Fautzi – Connections
2. Calculus – Silurus (Patrick Siech Amnesia Mix)
3. Mr. Bizz – Onward
4. Mr. Bizz – Ordinary
5. Mr. Bizz – Exit
6. Gary Beck – Funk up High
7. Mike Maass – Blind (Snello remix)
8. Snello – Walking on a Cloud
9. Andres Gil – Out of Space (Snello rmx)
10. M.I.D.I. – The Bein ( Snello rmx)
11. Dacido & Meta – Save My Slut
12. Ruzhynski – Psychosis (Klinika rmx)
13. Pucet – Grey Sky (Deh-Noizer)
14. Worda – Ljubav
15. Worda – The Feeling
16. xpansul & Alessio Mereu – Moldy Oscillator ( Sasha Carassi rmx)

FREE DOWNLOAD – “Voices”, the first single from the album Awakening (due in April 2012): A pounding kick and effected rhythmic samples that constantly change throughout the course of the song. Vocal samples and layered organic drums build to a peaceful yet dark interpretation of electronic music.

Awakening will be first available via Bandcamp April 2012. Look for more tracks (and free downloads) on soundcloud and visit the electronic music producer‘s website for updates.

The album’s genres can be tough to pinpoint but Awakening definitely has a dark, electro-techno-industrial sound. The tracks wouldn’t be considered ‘dance floor anthems’ by any means, though most of the tracks have deep, pounding beats with undeniable techno roots. Awakening also pans into stretches of ambient, hip hop and electronica.

“The creation of the album truly was an awakening for me. Not necessarily with the production of the music, but with myself, life and who I am really. I experienced some major changes from the pre to post production of the album and I think those changes are reflected in the music.“

I awake to a pop and immediately think a gunshot in the not so far off distance. It’s pitch black and cold. Flakes of light snow flurry around me. I feel the dampness as they melt on my face yet cannot feel their cold. My fingers and hands sting trembling uncontrollably. I cannot feel them as I touch my face and arms. I raise my head and notice I lie between a wooden fence and a building that seems to create a tunnel to the outside world. I’m completely lost yet have a deep pit in my stomach that I’ve been here before. My vision is blurred and my eyes continuously go in and out of focus. I hardly make out distant shapes as white trails from snowflakes seem to hang indefinitely. My heart drops as a wave of panic consumes. I hear a faint siren in the distance.

I make it to my feet, light headed, leaning to the fence as the blood rushes through my body. I can feel the warmth of the blood travel from my face. My instinct is to run but I can hardly pick my feet out of the snow. My bones are lead as my legs move dragging my feet. My throat feels crushed and my mouth dry with an overwhelming metallic taste. The siren is growing closer.

I break my way into the opening of the tunnel flooded with lights from an overwhelming structure. The only thing familiar is a fresh, white blanket of snow. I turn to get away from the structure, the sirens, the gun. I can hardly hold my head trying to gain a footing on where I am, where I should be going. Footprints in the snow give me a sense of direction, a sense of hope. I follow the tracks using every ounce of strength to lift my head and make my way out. Suddenly I’m faced with two bright, perfectly round, entrancing circles beyond the wall. I can’t help but drag my body closer, desperate to escape into the unknown. I cannot evade these two bright eyes gleaming in the distance, coxing me closer into the darkness. The sirens are nearly here.

Teaser video for the new techno industrial album entitled Awakening from BlakeAndrew. Video features the tracks “Reconnaissance” and “The War Within” off the album. The album is due for release in April 2012 and will first be available exclusively through Bandcamp. Tracks will be available to stream soon on Soundcloud as well as a few free downloads. Visit the website for updates.

You can also check out the first Awakening album teaser video featuring “Deepening”

PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

The video above discusses the Senate version of the House’s Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). In the Senate the bill is called the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA). SOPA has gotten more attention than PIPA because it was moving faster in the legislative process. But PIPA is just as dangerous, and now it is moving faster.

PIPA would give the government new powers to block Americans’ access websites that corporations don’t like. The bill lets corporations and the US government censor entire websites and cut sites off from advertising, payments and donations.

This legislation will stifle free speech and innovation, and even threaten popular web services like Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook.

The bill is scheduled for a test vote in the Senate on Jan. 24th: We need to act now to let our lawmakers know just how terrible it is. Visit http://fightforthefuture.org/pipa/ to act NOW!

Still Not Clear on SOPA & PIPA? Click on the below Infographic with Simple Explanations

Teaser video for the new album entitled “Awakening” from BlakeAndrew. Video features the track “Deepening” off the album. The techno, electro, industrial album is due for release in April 2012 and will first be available exclusively through Bandcamp. Tracks will be available to stream soon on Soundcloud as well as a few free downloads. Visit the website for updates.

Electronic music producer BlakeAndrew is releasing his debut album and at least one track off the album will be available as a free download. Leading up to the release of the album, entitled Awakening, one track will be leaked each week on BlakeAndrew’s Soundcloud page. The album is scheduled for release in early April 2012. Some tracks will be available as free downloads on Soundcloud and Bandcamp, where the album will first be available exclusively. To inaugurate the album, BlakeAndrew also has a freshly designed website and free desktop and mobile wallpaper downloads. Genres for the album can be tough to pinpoint but Awakening definitely has a dark, electro-techno-industrial sound. Awakening also pans into stretches of ambient, hip hop and electronica. Read the entire press release.

BlakeAndrew Awakening Tracklist

1. Awakening
2. Reconnaissance
3. The War Within
4. Cryptic Tale
5. Deepening
6. Can’t Find a Way
7. Interpretations
8. Voices

We recently reported that the techno record collective Sandwell District has called it quits. They have released a statement clarifying the reasons for the end.

“We stopped Sandwell District the same way we started it — through intuition. It’s what anyone with a passion or half a brain would have done. It will never get old. No one will be able to impose their clean values on it. We will all continue to work together. Nothing has changed but everthing has shifted. It was a glorious death, not a mercy killing, as is so often the case in these situations.” (Via FACT)

Twilight Frequencies Podcast via iTunes

Download Twilight Frequencies Podcast 022 | Mountain Range

This month’s free music podcast is a short and lush mix composed of all original music from Mountain Range: Born from a love of Post Rock bands, endless mugs of tea, romanticizing Iceland and watching ‘Youtube’ videos of ‘Baths’. Shropshire born musician Stuart Thomas started writing music under the moniker of ‘Mountain Range’ in the summer of 2010. Blending washes of guitars and electronic beats, over the past year he has started to develop a small following in various pockets of the internet.

Twilight Frequencies: Tell us about the podcast, what was your overall direction in making the mix?

Mountain Range: I’ve never done this before, so to be honest, it was just a case of ordering the tracks in a way I thought flowed quite well, I’m just learning as I go really! As I write more stuff I can start to be more selective with various kinds of sets.

TF: You’re original music has such a cerebral feel to it, almost a perfect score to so many different things. What do you believe is at the heart of the sounds coming from your material?

MR: I started writing music that reflected things in my life that make me feel less uncomfortable/safer. I really got into Post Rock about two years ago, and that’s just stuck with me really, everything about the genre is so peaceful, it surrounds you as you listen to it, but it’s still got those aggressive parts, the dynamic really appeals to me. I’ve only just started to tap into writing that really slow, evolving quality of it and want to build on that. The electronic aspect gives it me that element of complete freedom, there are no constraints or rules, matching the two genres up is the goal! And I probably wouldn’t write anything if it wasn’t for Sigur Ros.

TF: If you were to be contacted to do a soundtrack, what do you think that movie would look like? Who would be the ideal director for this film?

MR: I love Wes Anderson, but I don’t think my stuff would work so well with him. The film would I hope be quite Happy, and quite slow, with lots of still cameras on things, like grass and trees. Shropshire basically. Something that could make you cry but in a good way. Like Wes Anderson films.

TF: Other than Mountain Range, what else do you spend your creative energy with? Is there other work you’ve made that comes through similar to the music, i.e. photography or poetry?

MR: I tried to teach myself photography last year with this old SLR I brought, but it really didn’t last very long, I want to pick it back up at some point for promo stuff, I use a friends photos at the moment that work really well. Other than that I used to draw a lot, but again, not very well, I’d like to tie things like that in.

TF: If you were walking through the woods blindfolded, what would your mind imagine in front of you?

MR: An armchair and mug of coffee. Boring I know. Worrying. Should I have said something more meaningful? A reassuring Deer then.

TF: Pick a color that best fits your sound, and then pick one thing to go with it.

MR: Dark Red. And a wooly knitted jumper.

TF: Is there an album in the works?

MR: I’d love to put out an EP, but I’d wouldn’t really be able to market it, and Soundcloud has the online side of stuff covered, so maybe when I get some more gigs going it’d be nice to have something people could take home. I’ll just continue writing and writing and see what people think, that might then become an EP.

TF: What would be the coolest thing to happen with Mountain Range?

MR: Every summer I spend hours watching festival coverage. I love festivals but never get to go to any, so playing at any festival really, at any time, to anyone. Thats my single aim of Mountain Range for the next ten plus years.

Tracklisting | Twilight Frequencies Podcast 022 | Mountain Range

1. Pylons
2. With Skates
3. The Secret Message (Mountain Range Remix)
4. Bears
5. Sky Chatter
6. And I Will Dance In Your Rays

All music written by Stuart Thomas, aside from track 3, written by Ori.

Sandwell District has called it quits. The techno record label / collective from the likes of Regis, Function, Silent Servent and Female has apparently decided to go into a new direction and possibly cease to release music all together. Beatportal and FACT have also recently reported on the matter.

On December 30th, 2011 Sandwell District first posted on their Tumblr account there would be a new Sandwell District release from Rrose out soon. The same day they also posted the following message (below) which stats that “regular audio communications from Sandwell District will cease.” Which sounds about as mysterious as their regular audio communications… Sounds to me like they are taking a break to see WhereNext? Maybe they’ll release something here or there or book some live events or some of the core members will part and something new will emerge. The label seemingly started to take a different path after the release of their full length album Feed Forward with a new (yet still mysteriously unknown) addition to the roster, Rrose. You could also sense the implosion of the collective from this recent Wire article. To top off on December 31th, 2011 they made a new Sandwell District mix tape available for free download.

R.I.P Sandwell District 2005-2011