The God Said Give ‘Em Drum Machines team in partnership with the Smithsonian Year of Music and Flash DC, are hosting the film’s director Kristian R. Hill, producer Jennifer Washington. The music/art historian and DJ Adrian Loving will open the evening with a discussion on Detroit Techno History and after the screenings, he will host a conversation with Hill and Washington, featuring the luminary Detroit DJ/Producer Delano Smith.
The screening will be a special rough-cut work-in-progress presentation of the upcoming documentary God Said Give ‘Em Drum Machines: The Story of Detroit Techno (2020). Our film features film stars Juan Atkins, Kevin Saunderson, Derrick May, and Eddie Fowlkes. We capture the story behind one of Detroit’s greatest contributions to culture: Techno. The electronic music phenomenon that was created by black artists in the 1980s before emerging to become the multibillion-dollar industry we know today as EDM. The film also stars Mike Huckaby, Blake Baxter, Delano Smith, Stacey “Hotwaxx” Hale, John Collins, Darryl Shannon, Santonio Echols and Neil Rushton and includes special appearances by Jeff Mills. The program will begin with a screening of Electric Roots: The Detroit Sound Project to set the stage for a screening of God Said Give ‘Em Drum Machines: Act One. We will also showcase the Film Electric Roots which made its European premier at the Cannes Court Metrage Short Film Corner in 2014 and it made its North American debut at the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles.
Program Schedule 1:30 pm | Doors open to Ring Auditorium 2:00 pm | Setting the Stage: Adrian Loving 2:15 pm | Electric Roots: The Detroit Sound Project (24:53 minutes) 2:45 pm | Intermission 3:00 pm | God Said Give ‘Em Drum Machines: Act One (Rough Cut) (38:20 minutes) 3:50 pm | In Conversation: Adrian Loving, Kristian R. Hill, Jennifer Washington, Delano Smith (45 minutes)
About the Films Electric Roots: The Detroit Sound Project (24:53 minutes) Established in 2011, a production team made up of native Detroiters set out to raise awareness about Detroit’s most natural resource—music. Through the powerful medium of film, The Detroit Sound Project has become a movement and a social brand that promotes the music of Detroit, its creators, and the influence it has all over the world. DSP’s first release stars DJs Richie Hawtin and Black Coffee, and documents the DSP team’s journey in electronic music from Detroit to South Africa. Electric Roots: The Detroit Sound Project is currently on a film festival tour. God Said Give ‘Em Drum Machines: ACT One (38:20) 3pm-3:40pm) Invited Guests and General Public are invited to screen Act One of the acclaimed documentary God Said Give ‘Em Drum Machines, The story behind Detroit’s 1980s Techno music scene and how its underground culture revolutionized electronic dance music (EDM) forever. Starring Juan Atkins , Kevin Saunderson , Derrick May and Eddie Fowlkes . Also starring Mike Huckaby, Blake Baxter, Delano Smith, Stacey “Hotwaxx” Hale, John Collins, Darryl Shannon, Santonio Echols and Neil Rushton. With special appearances by Jeff Mills and Mike Banks.
