Carl Craig is taking his Detroit Love DJ set to Washington D.C. for a rare event at The Depot on Saturday, November 19th. Craig will be joined by Detroit’s Godmother of House Stacey “Hotwaxx” Hale, Kevin Saunderson’s Inner City and Juan Atkins feat. Milan Ariel. Detroit Love is about bringing together and supporting the sounds of Detroit and taking a little of the techno brotherhood to clubs and festivals the world over. Craig says, “Love is what I have for my city, Detroit.” 

Craig is one of the founders of The Movement Music Festival in Detroit and has released over 100 electronic music tracks and albums on his influential Planet E label including his Innerzone Orchestra collaboration with Herbie Hancock. Kevin Saunderson’s Inner City hit paydirt in the ’80s with the anthems “Big Fun” and “Good Life.” He also released groundbreaking singles under his many aliases including Tronikhouse, E-Dancers and Reese & Santonio. His son Dantiez Saunderson is now a member of Inner City. 

Stacey “Hotwaxx” Hale is the first woman to play house music on Detroit radio. She made a name for herself in the city for her flawless mixing and for winning several DJ competitions. Her legacy continues with current residencies at Spotlite and Marble Bar. 

Juan Atkins is known as one of the Belleville Three which is comprised of him, Saunderson and Derrick May for creating Detroit Techno. Atkins is responsible for seminal tracks like “Cosmic Car,” “Alleys Of Your Mind” and “Clear” as Cybotron. He will be joined by his daughter Milan Ariel for a live set. 

The doors open at 10 PM and the party ends at 5 AM. Tickets are available here. The show is presented by Flash DC and will be one of the last before The Depot warehouse closes on New Year’s Day. 

Kevin Saunderson just released the video for his Inner City and Idris Elba collaboration “We All Move Together.” Saunderson linked with Detroit Will Breathe, an organization formed after the killing of George Floyd to fight police brutality, systemic racism and exploitation, for the video. In July Saunderson released his first album as Inner City in almost three decades which is also titled We All Move Together. The Detroit Techno pioneer enlisted Elba for the single which was originally about people moving on the dancefloor but is ultimately about humanity. 

Inner City reemerges after a 28-year hiatus with the full-length We All Move Together. Kevin Saunderson and Paris Grey set the standard for techno when  “Big Fun” and “Good Life” became international dance hits 32 years ago. They would have more success with “Whatcha Gonna Do With My Lovin'” and “Pennies From Heaven” that included Saunderson’s ex-wife Ann. The group disbanded after the release of Paradise, Fire and Praise and Saunderson continued to make music under his many different monikers including E-Dancer, Tronikhouse and Reese. Inner City regrouped in 2017 with Saunderson’s son Dantiez and then singer Steffanie Christi’an joined the fold. We All Move All Together has brought the Inner City sound into 2020 by staying true to the original blueprint that was already futuristic. Idris Elba opens the album with a poetic introduction on the title track. There are also guest vocals from ZebrA OctobrA. The group played a series of European festivals last year including the Glastonbury Festival. Their touring plans for the new album were stopped like everyone else’s due to the pandemic. Despite their inability to go on the road, We All Move Together has the driving energy needed to help people get through the unrest taking place around the globe. 

Kevin Saunderson also known as Tronik House, The Reese Project, Reese And Santonio, Reese, E-Dancer, Kaos and KS Experience was born in Brooklyn, New York but moved to Belleville Michigan with his family when he was nine years old. By now most dance music heads over thirty are familiar with the story of him Derrick May and Juan Atkins going to the same high school and discovering the music of the city’s legendary Electrifyin’ Mojo, a local DJ with a cutting edge radio show in the ’80’s that consisted of rock, R&B, techno and funk. After watching Atkins and May create their own music Saunderson started making his own and had his first single “Triangle Of Love” under the name Kreem on Atkins’ Metroplex label in 1986.