Kevin Saunderson on the Made in Detroit stage (Nick Kassab |Detroit Music Magazine)
Detroit techno legend Kevin Saunderson recently visited Ford Motor Co.’s Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne to look for some inspiration and brought along field recording equipment, as well as a film crew. The producer commented on the high-pitched tones and the rhythm of the clanging chains, which reminded him of drums and synthesizers — his own tools of the trade.
Having just returned from a two-year stint in Chicago, Saunderson is excited to be back in Detroit. “We’ve gone through a few generations and there’s a lot of young talent that’s coming up. It’s keeping the pulse going,” Saunderson said.
Even while he was away, the techno pioneer visited the city often, performing both at the annual Movement Electronic Music Festival in Hart Plaza as well as alongside Disclosure, Schoolboy Q, and Ryan Hemsworth this summer at Freedom Hill.
Since returning to his home studio, Saunderson has been working on a three-track EP that he hopes to release next year. Techno fans can also look forward to a new documentary piece about Saunderson’s life and experience in the early days of the Detroit scene. When asked about his fellow producers, Saunderson said, “We were young college students making this music, but we were creating an industry.” It’s a fitting way to look at a music scene birthed in the Motor City.