Today we continue to profile the artists you will be seeing at St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival this Saturday at Meadow Brook Music Festival in Rochester Hills. Movement, Paxahau, and Ghostly International are three names synonymous with electronic music in the Detroit area and known elsewhere around the world for their high standard of quality when it comes to the artists they manage and work with. Ghostly International is actually based out of Ann Arbor, but has strong roots in Detroit working closely with Paxahau, the brains behind the Movement festival in Hart Plaza each May. The five acts on the Ghostly International label chosen for the stage at Laneway represent a full spectrum of electronic styles that fit effortlessly into the indie genres most of the artists at Laneway can be categorized in — think of their stage at Laneway as a miniature Movement.
Heathered Pearls
- Taking the Movement/Ghostly Stage from 2:40-3:25 pm
Heathered Pearls is the alias of Ghostly International artist Jakub Alexander, who is not only a seasoned DJ, but also a record label founder in his own right with Moodgadget. Disco has always been an influence on Alexander’s style, as his first stint out of Ann Arbor was playing alongside Brooklyn disco duo Worst Friends. Listeners can hear influence from atmospheric rock, synth, and disco in the work of Heathered Pearls, a sure way to get the Movement/Ghostly Stage crowd in the mood without wearing them down right away.
Beacon
- Taking the Movement/Ghostly Stage from 3:30-4:15 pm
Thunderous bass, R&B sexuality, and dark ambient electronics sound like an enticing and appropriate trifecta for a music festival, which is exactly what Brooklyn duo Beacon want to bring to the Movement/Ghostly Stage at Laneway. Thomas Mullarney III and Jacob Gossett were studying fine arts at the Pratt Institute and blending their two aesthetics together, created a sound that is one part smooth, and one part sinister. The Ways We Seperate is the latest release from Beacon on Ghostly International, come check them out at 3:30 to see how the songs translate on the stage.
Shigeto
- Taking the Movement/Ghostly Stage from 4:20-5:10 pm
Zachary Shigeto Saginaw goes by simply Shigeto, but the sounds he creates are anything but simplistic. The Ann Arbor-born Shigeto plays off of shades of jazz, hip-hop instrumentals, and layered melodies to create a vibrant style of electronic that triumphantly grows bigger as the music plays on (Shigeto translates to “to grow bigger”). Shigeto will provide listeners with a cool breeze of electronic in the early evening beginning at 4:45.
http://youtu.be/Vh5E7HwfAks
ADULT.
- Taking the Movement/Ghostly Stage from 5:30-6:30 pm
Detroit’s ADULT. have been called electropunk pioneers for good reason — they have been around since 1998, helping to shape the sound that punk rock creates when it fuses with drum machines and dark synths, which resonates with Detroit listeners and fuels their popularity in Europe. Adam Lee Miller and Nicola Kuperus have been married almost 15 years, and in their music as well as in their other art-world pursuits (film, painting, photography, etc.) they collaborate to explore every possible outlet for their creative visions. ADULT. will cast their spell on the crowd beginning at 5:30 on the Movement/Ghostly Stage.
Matthew Dear
- Taking the Movement/Ghostly Stage from 6:50-7:50 pm
Matthew Dear is perhaps the most well-recognized artist on the Ghostly International label. Not only did he co-found the label with Sam Valenti, Matthew Dear has also collaborated and produced music for some of the most well-known artists in the contemporary indie & electronic genres today (The xx, Hot Chip, The Chemical Brothers, and The Postal Service to name a few). It comes as no surprise that he was chosen to headline the Movement/Ghostly Stage with his avant-pop sensibilities and affinity to hypnotize festival crowds with distinctive vocals and deep rhythms. Matthew Dear’s finale on the Ghostly/Movement Stage will be a set for electronic and indie lovers alike to come together and groove.
Check Laneway’s official website for more information leading up to Saturday’s festivities and check back here tomorrow for more profiles of Laneway artists!