The Movement 2010 Electronic Music Festival in Detroit just got better! Yesterday, Paxahau announced that Ricardo Villalobos will be performing at the event, along with 31 other newly added acts like Booka Shade, Derrick May, Marco Carola, and Ghostland Observatory. Paxahau also announced the addition of a fifth stage, sponsored by Movement Torino.

Renowned minimal techno DJ/producer, Villalobos last performed in Detroit in 2002 when he played at the Paxahau Electronic Music Festival (PEMF), a four-day party that was held at the now closed Panacea Nighclub.

“Ricardo is looking forward to coming back to Detroit again after all these years,” said his agent Goetz Guse of Cocoon Agency out of Frankfurt, Germany. “His return to the United States and Detroit for the Movement Electronic Music Festival is exclusive to Paxahau. He isn’t booked to perform at any other venue in the States, and we don’t anticipate he will be this year.”

In addition to Villalobos, the contemporary dance music duo Booka Shade from Berlin has been scheduled for a live performance, along with electro, rock, and funk duo Ghostland Observatory who will also perform live.

“We are feeling very good about how this year’s Movement lineup has come together,” said Jason Huvaere, Executive Director of Movement Electronic Music Festival. “With today’s announcement of Ricardo and the other 31 artists, the response we are getting is extremely positive.”

To see the full, talent-studded lineup for the Movement 2010 Electronic Music Festival, go to www.movement.us. You’ll find 97 acts, including the likes of Richie Hawtin (Plastikman), Agoria, Cassy, Chris Liebing, Claude VonStroke, Derrick Carter, Jamie Jones, Josh Wink, Magda, Michael Mayer, Paco Osuna, and Radio Slave.

For tickets to this epic shindig, visit www.movement.us.

Eddie B

The RV Network has given me endless enjoyment since we launched it last year. One of my favorite job perks is randomly discovering good music on our site from DJs who are flying under the industry’s radar.

Back in March, a new mix in the RV Network caught my attention. It was uploaded by a DJ named Monochronic. The mix is titled, “Wide-eyed 001,” and I’ve really been enjoying it! As of now, it’s been downloaded 161 times and streamed 43 times, which means most folks haven’t even checked it out yet…just a nice little progressive gem resting in the RV Network treasure trove. I wanted to write this quick blog post to give Monochronic some props and to thank him for his contributions to our community.

I did a little research on Monochronic. His real name is Stoyan Dafov, and he was born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. He started listening to electronic music during the 90s, and his influences were artists like Jay Dee, Faithless, Funky Green Dogs and Sven Vath. In the early part of this decade, Monochronic developed a strong interest in tribal and tech house, especially in the artists Dimas, Simon & Shaker, Eddie Richards, and Mastiksoul. Since 2005, his primary genres of interest have been deep and progressive house music.

While I just discovered Monochronic in the RV Network, he’s actually gotten some visibility on dance music radio stations like friskyradio.com, PureFM, Tribal Mixes Radio, and Eilo.org. Monochronic is playing gigs in various clubs in his hometown, and he’s holding a residency on PureFM with his own radio show, “Stereotype.”

Monochronic’s profile page in the RV Network is loaded with good music, and I’d suggest checking out some of his mixes. If you want to hear the “Wide-eyed 001” mix that caught my attention, just go here. For those interested, I’ve provided the tracklist for the mix below.

01 Antix – Manta
02 Lank – Twinge (Quivver Remix)
03 Shabu Vibes – Obscene Calls (Dyno Remix)
04 Shiloh – Landmine Hopscotch (Cid Inc Remix)
05 16 Bit Lolitas – Personal Space
06 Greed feat. Lesley – Gentle Rain (Soliquid Remix)
07 Jay Lumen – Surface Reborn feat Panoptic (Ormatie Remix)
08 Inkfish – Traser (Strings of 95 Mix)
09 Quivver – Sludge (Final Mix)
10 Innate – Parabolic Curve (Beat Factory Remix)
11 Eelke Kleijn – The Way That You Are (Davi Remix)

Eddie B

Back in 2006, I came across a mix Hybrid created for John Digweed’s Kiss 100 radio show. I had never heard of the group before, but their mix changed my relationship with the breaks genre. I went through a bonding experience with the mix (as is my tendency with quality dance music sets). Over the years, I’ve watched Hybrid evolve and flourish – putting out new releases, playing premier gigs, and enjoying their fair share of the industry spotlight. Now, roughly four years after my first exposure to Hybrid, I’ve had the opportunity to interview them and to ask some interesting questions. This interview comes in conjunction with the release of Hybrid’s new album, Disappear Here. Enjoy…

Q: This is a fascinating time for a Hybrid interview. First off, you recently made a big change by adding Charlotte [James] as a member. Can you all talk a bit about how and why this came to be?
A: This was the next step for us to get some really good songwriting talent on our music. We really wanted to show ourselves and the fans how much more we can do with the Hybrid style, and adding Charlotte was the missing link for us. Ever since the days of Wide Angle, we have been looking to get some real songs back into our music. With Charlotte on the new album, we really think we’ve done something that will stand the test of time and be looked at as something much more than dance music…

Q: I trust you’re all excited about the release of your most recent album, Disappear Here. How would you compare and contrast the album with your previous works?
A: This album really pulls together all the great work we have done over the last 15 years. From the film work and the orchestral side, to the crazy twisted sound design and the darker underground club style, this album sums up all of those things in one package. We feel as if we’ve really turned a corner with our production, and the balance of everything we’ve learned shows itself on almost every track here. It almost feels like this should be our last album ever, our finest work, but we also know this is the start of something else…something new and exciting for us…and by the look of it, exciting for everyone else as well. Come on album 5; we can’t wait to get started and see where that takes us!

Q: What role did each of you play in the development of Disappear Here?
A: [Charlotte] Where a track starts and ends varies from one to the other, but all the tracks use our combined skills to get to the end result. For example, on “Disappear Here,” the track started out because Chris had messed about with some strings and created a gated beautiful set of four chords. I snatched them from the palm of his hand and sped off to my studio to write the rest of the song on piano and guitar and add the lyrics. Mike then took those parts and ran back to his studio adding the drum programming and additional production and then we all stood around Mike’s computer debating on how the arrangement should go and what should be where…. Generally, I do live instruments, songwriting and write strings. Mike produces, does drum programming, arranging and writes strings. And Chris creates the quintessential “Hybrid” soundscapes…three sides of a quite demented triangle.

Q: It seems that you forged a distinct new Hybrid sound in your new album. Do you think this will be a lasting new sound, or should your fans expect more artistic shifts in the near future?
A: [Mike] We’re always experimenting and looking for new ways to make tracks, and we definitely wanted to make Disappear Here a more thoughtful and restrained LP. That meant leaning a little less on the instrumental orchestral side and focusing on the songs, which are essentially the most important part of an LP. Every album from a band should grow and change. If we banged out a million variations on “If I Survive,” then that wouldn’t be much fun for anyone to listen to, so we try our best to reach a little further without veering off the path too much. With that said, we’re planning to get back into the studio at the end of the year to start album 5, and all the things we didn’t get to do on this record we’ll try out on the next one!

Q: Your music has always been multifaceted. Some of your tracks are dance-oriented while others are more contemplative. That said, is there any common tie that binds all of your music together?
A: [Charlotte] At the end of the day, we’re not really aiming to be anything but what we are. This new direction for Hybrid is for us just a natural progression in where the sound should go, so in general, songs tend to tell you where they want to go, and our combined input steers them in that direction. There will always be dance / electronic elements to the tracks, as that’s part of our musical heritage, but there are just so many other avenues to explore, and it’s hard to be confined to just one style of music.

Q: After the release of Disappear Here, what’s next for Hybrid?
A: [Mike] We’re currently finishing off a truck load of remixes of the album and tinkering with some special versions for release later in the year. We’re getting ready to play live this summer and have just shot a video for our second single, “Can You Hear Me,” so it’s been great to get the whole band in one room again.

Eddie B