Okay, so Detroit is frequently ranked as the most dangerous city in the United States by various scaremongering listophiles. And it probably is, but godamnit it’s more exciting and real than living in some tedious neighbourhood-watch-infested hamlet your whole life.
Edge - that’s what Detroit’s got, in bucketloads. Plus, its cultural history has been pivotal in shaping the contemporary musical landscape of both the US and the wider Western world.
Giving us the low-down on the city’s cultural peculiarities and underground sounds is Deastro - Randy Chabot - a born and bred Detroiter whose melodic other-worldly synthpop exemplifies the complex and varied musical persona of the modern-day city.
This persona arose through a rich musical heritage established over the last sixty years: from a thriving Fifties jazz scene and the crucial rise of Motown Records in the Sixties and Seventies, to the birth of techno (largely via the ‘Bellville Three’: Juan Atkins, Kevin Saunderson and Derrick May) in the Eighties - running alongside a niche punk and hardcore scene - and then to the Nineties, where the city put out some crucial hip-hoppers - J Dilla and Eminem - before playing a lead role in the garage rock resurgence, with The White Stripes and The Von Bondies keeping Detroit firmly on the map.
Deastro takes influence from many of the above, fusing sounds from alternative rock, techno (“I heard techno when I was about thirteen”, says Chabot, “and I wasn’t allowed to listen to it, so I started making it myself on a pirated computer programme”), and the city’s thriving DIY electronica scene, resulting in an uplifting, space-drenched combination of numerous genres, and one of the most engaging electronic/rock crossover acts for some time. Check the deliciously proggy pop tones of ‘Get Frostied’ on his recently released ‘Mind Altar EP’ (inventively put out as a trippy art print with download by the ever-innovative Ghostly International), full of hazy vocals and mind-warping synth patterns.
Detroit’s music continues to evolve, as Chabot explains: “There’s so many weird bands here right now. Every day there’s people meeting up and jamming and starting new projects.” Many of these take shape through a self-built, anything-goes electronica scene, providing an invaluable source of creativity. “A lot of the good stuff is off the radar,” says Chabot. “DIY shows are still the main staple of what’s going on here. Especially if you’re into electronica, there’s a lot of good stuff to check out. You gotta be up late, but there’s some really cool stuff.”
In terms of the city’s wider atmosphere, Chabot is keen not to shy away from Detroit’s problems, but explains that residents’ sense of humour and easygoing attitudes are key to coping: “Everyone in the city’s a little bit sarcastic. On a daily basis, people in Detroit deal with a lot of stuff. There’ll be gunshots and stuff, but people are just like ‘whatever’ about it. They want to live here and that’s it. But people are pretty happy at the same time. Everyone’s trying to talk about new ideas and how we can figure out our problems. And that’s an encouraging thing and one of the reasons I live here - because of that discussion that seems to go on endlessly.”
“Detroit just feels like home”, Chabot concludes. “There’s not another place like it.”
Words by Tristan Parker
Barflys
“There’s a bunch of really great bars in Detroit. There’s The Eagle - on Sundays they have really cool DJ nights, and it’s kinda low-key but really cool. Then there’s the Painted Lady, which is really small and tons of great bands play there. The Trumbullplex is a good place, and is another good spot for the DIY scene. There’s some pretty random bars here, like The Belmont in Hamtramck, which is a bit gothier, that’s kind of a cool spot. There’s no lack of bars here, for sure.”
Feeding up
“There’s a really great place to eat, which is called Slows - a barbecue place. It’s so good. And there’s tons of really good ethnic food all over - Arabic food, Greek food, Canadian food… There’s a place called Aladdin’s in Hamtramck, which is right outside the city, and Bucharest Grill is pretty good. If you’re eating breakfast there’s a place called Byblos, which is an amazing Greek place. Anything in the Greek part of town is good.”
Oddball art
“The Burton Theatre is an art movie theatre that started up in an old middle school. It’s this crazy place where they do tons of cool stuff. Windy And Carl [ambient drone act] played there and they do a lot of weird visual art. It’s a very exciting thing for us and me and my friends go there as much as possible, mainly cos they show some really weird stuff. If anyone was going to check out Detroit, that would definitely be a place to stop.”
Clash's A-Z To Detroit
Cass Cafe
Art bar and restaurant that puts on free shows - ‘Cass Collectives’.
Division Gallery
An after-hours venue that hosts underground rock and electronic acts.
Juan Atkins
So many Detroit techno legends, but if forced to pick one it may well as well be ‘the godfather’, who started most of it.
Kiss
Pantomime rock extraordinaires, looking and sounding like glammed-up Mexican wrestlers.
LJ’s Lounge
Hip DJ bar for drinking and dancing, conveniently located next to the wildly popular Slows Bar-B-Q eatery
The Magic Stick
Former bowling alley which gradually evolved into one of the city’s most popular venues for live bands.
Moon Pool And Dead Band
Brilliantly weird band - Detroit techno version of Allez Allez doing Tangerine Dream.
