密歇根新闻广播 techno音乐重回故乡底特律

 

This weekend, the electronic musical festival called Movement will bring in more than 100,000 people from around the globe to the birthplace of techno: Detroit. 

Techno is actually a much bigger deal in Europe than it is here. A lot of Detroit techno artists still live in the city, they just have to travel overseas in order to make a living, but changes to Detroit's techno scene might change that.

Detroit Techno artists have to travel overseas to make a living

When Detroit techno artist Kevin Reynolds performed in London for the first time, he got stopped on the subway by a stranger.

"A guy grabbed¹ me and asked if I was Kevin Reynolds, and I'm like, ‘yeah, are you the police?'" Reynolds says, "(In Detroit), I'm just a regular guy."

Like a lot of Detroit techno artists, Reynolds still lives in the city, but in order to make a living he has to travel to Europe or Tokyo to perform every other month or so. Overseas he plays shows for thousands of people.

"Here in Detroit I play for 50 people, 100 people, maybe a couple hundred if I'm lucky," Reynolds says.

But that might change.

A big idea from Berlin to bring techno back to its hometown

Dimitri Hegemann is the owner of one of the first electronic clubs in Berlin. He wants to bring the scene back to the hometown of techno. He has his eye on the abandoned and run-down Fisher Body Plant in Detroit.

Hegemann is full of big ideas.

Not only does he want to have an electronic dance club in the Fisher Body Plant, he also wants to have a hostel², a pop up restaurant, and another space that could be used for art exhibits³, dance, or even opera performances. 

"I think people would come from all over the world to see what's happening, and this is what Detroit needs," Hegemann says.

Detroit vs. Berlin

But Detroit isn't Berlin. Berlin gets a ton of funding to support the arts. It's also easier to use old buildings there.

If you want to open up a creative space in a vacant⁴ building, and the city doesn't know who owns it, they'll let you use it temporarily until the owner is tracked down.

And Berlin doesn't have a curfew. Electronic clubs start hopping⁵ around 1 am Friday and the party does not stop until Monday morning.

A less ambitious⁶ idea so Detroit can embrace⁷ its techno artists

Meanwhile, a less ambitious electronic club recently opened up in Detroit's Midtown. Amir Daiza is the owner of the new club, called Populux.

I went to the club on a Friday night, and by 10:30 there were only about 30-50 people there, and no one was dancing.

Daiza says business could always be better, but he says he has "confidence enough that this is going to be a great place, [but] it takes a while to build a business."

Why techno artists stay in Detroit

In the meantime⁸, Detroit artists like Reynolds will keep traveling overseas to find work to perform, but as Reynolds says, there's just something about Detroit that keeps this city his home base.

"I don't know what it is. There is something in the air. There's something in the water. There is something in the ground. There is an energy here," Reynolds says. "That struggle of living in Detroit -- I like that struggle."

Support for arts & cultural reporting on Michigan Radio comes in part from a grant⁹ from the Michigan Council¹⁰ for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the arts.

1 grabbed   

v.抢先，抢占( grab的过去式和过去分词 )；（尤指匆忙地）取；攫取；（尤指自私、贪婪地）捞取

参考例句：

• He was grabbed by two men and frogmarched out of the hall. 他被两个男人紧抓双臂押出大厅。
• She grabbed the child's hand and ran. 她抓住孩子的手就跑。

2 hostel   

n.（学生）宿舍，招待所

参考例句：

• I lived in a hostel while I was a student.我求学期间住在青年招待所里。
• He says he's staying at a Youth Hostel.他说他现住在一家青年招待所。

3 exhibits   

v.陈列，展览( exhibit的第三人称单数 )；表现；显示；[法律]当庭出示（证件、物证等）

参考例句：

• Many exhibits with characteristics of the Chinese art are on display. 许多具有中国艺术特色的展品陈列出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• One is dazzled by the endless array of beautiful exhibits. 展品琳琅满目，美不胜收。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 vacant   

adj.未被占用的，空着的；空缺的

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• He stared into space with a vacant expression.他茫然地凝视着天空。

5 hopping   

n. 跳跃 动词hop的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The clubs in town are really hopping. 城里的俱乐部真够热闹的。
• I'm hopping over to Paris for the weekend. 我要去巴黎度周末。

6 ambitious   

adj.有雄心的，劲头十足的，有野心的

参考例句：

• One may be poor but never ceases to be ambitious.人穷志不穷。
• He is an ambitious young man full of enthusiasm and vitality.他是个充满热情与活力的有远大抱负的青年。

7 embrace   

vt.拥抱；包括；包围，环绕；n.拥抱，怀抱

参考例句：

• He held her to him in a warm embrace.他热列地拥抱她。
• The hills embrace the village.山丘环绕着村庄。

8 meantime   

n.其时，其间；adv.同时，当时

参考例句：

• I continued working,meantime,he went out shopping.我继续工作，这期间他出去买东西。
• In the meantime we pressed on with the airlift.与此同时，我们加紧进行空运。

9 grant   

vt.同意给予，授予，承认；n.拨款；补助款

参考例句：

• If you grant my request, you will earn my thanks.如果你答应我的要求，就会得到我的感谢。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

10 council   

n.理事会，委员会，议事机构

参考例句：

• The town council passed a law forbidding the distribution of handbills.市议会通过法律，禁止散发传单。
• The city council has declared for improving the public bus system.市议会宣布同意改进公共汽车系统。