- If there's one thing I took away from this year's edition of Movement Torino, it's that Italians love a drop. The crowd, mostly locals in their early '20s with a fondness for drawstring bags and two-piece tracksuits, had a unique, focused and unwavering energy. Eyes and bodies remained glued to the DJ, and every slight change in the music was met with roof-raising cheers and whistles.
Movement Torino, sister to the original Detroit festival, is a European meeting point for the heavyweights of techno. For the first time, the main event, which usually takes place on Halloween, expanded to include a second day, resulting in its biggest lineup yet. (Rather that take place consecutively, the main days were Saturday the 28th and Tuesday the 31st.) Once again the action went down at Lingotto Fiere, a colossal 44,000 square metre exhibition centre that once housed a Fiat factory. Turin, after all, is Italy's Motor City.
Saturday's party got off to a baffling start, as security personnel confiscated everything from portable chargers to hairbrushes on entry. Inside, the venue felt like a strange combination of an industrial warehouse and a corporate conference centre. On the one hand, the cavernous rooms with concrete pillars and steel beams suited the booming music. But on the other, the view of the stage and the visuals in the main room was skewed by rows of ticket machines and huge signs pointing to facilities that weren't open to the public. The corridors were too shiny and brightly lit for a techno party.
Despite last-minute cancellations from Robert Hood and Kerri Chandler, Saturday's lineup remained strong across the venue's three rooms. I spent most of the night at Techno Stage, which sat in the corner of a vast hangar and had the strongest sound. Its positioning meant that the pillars running down the centre boxed off a more intimate dance floor, outlined by icicle-shaped LEDs that flashed from the ceiling in reds and icy blues. Here, amid a lineup that—across the entire festival—was disproportionately male, Monika Kruse shone. Thumping basslines shook ribcages as she weaved her way through slamming techno cuts like Julian Jeweil's "Space" and Alan Fitzpatrick's "Magnetic Dog." Later, Luigi Madonna looked right at home in front of the Italian crowd, leaping up and down as he unfurled cuts with trancey toplines, such as General Base's "In Trance (3 A.M. Tec Mix)."
On Tuesday, the Techno Stage became the Detroit Stage, hosting a jubilant live show from Octave One, who made everyone smile when they dropped "Black Water." Derrick May was another highlight, nodding to Robert Hood's absence with Floorplan’s "Music" before closing with the uplifting melodies of "20 Years In The Land Of Love" by Vince Watson.
If you wanted respite from the techno, there was Jägermusic Lab, a space some of the punters called "Yellow Box" due to its glaring exterior. It was here that I heard some of the most melodic sets. On Saturday, Denis Sulta reached for Da Hool's "Meet Her At The Love Parade" and Johannes Heil's "Exile 007 B2," while Lil' Louis closed with a sweaty three-hour set of bouncy Chicago house. RPR Soundsystem took things deeper on Tuesday, before Sonja Moonear brought Movement to a close with a sophisticated bang. Flanked by pale purple spotlights, she began with deep and percussive house (Danny Tenaglia's "Read My Lips feat. Lula"). Later, she gently cranked up the tempo with tunes from Todd Terry, Catz 'N Dogz and Planetary Assault System ("Booster").
The Burn Stage hosted some of the best-attended sets. Sven Väth's techno masterclass on Tuesday was met head on by Nastia, who made light work of keeping the large crowd onside. Too often, though, the vast space felt more empty than full. Unless you were right in amongst it, it was hard to properly lose yourself.
From spending only a few days in Turin, I got a strong sense for how proud its residents are of their city and its music culture. Everyone I chatted to spoke fondly of Movement. This pride and engagement with the festival shone through particularly strongly one evening, as I was taking a taxi. When I told the driver why I was visiting, he immediately changed the radio station without saying a word, turned up the volume and smiled broadly as the opening bars of Kölsch's "Liath" blared out the speakers.
Photo credit /
Simone Arena / SimPol Lab
Despite last-minute cancellations from Robert Hood and Kerri Chandler, Saturday's lineup remained strong across the venue's three rooms. I spent most of the night at Techno Stage, which sat in the corner of a vast hangar and had the strongest sound. Its positioning meant that the pillars running down the centre boxed off a more intimate dance floor, outlined by icicle-shaped LEDs that flashed from the ceiling in reds and icy blues. Here, amid a lineup that—across the entire festival—was disproportionately male, Monika Kruse shone. Thumping basslines shook ribcages as she weaved her way through slamming techno cuts like Julian Jeweil's "Space" and Alan Fitzpatrick's "Magnetic Dog." Later, Luigi Madonna looked right at home in front of the Italian crowd, leaping up and down as he unfurled cuts with trancey toplines, such as General Base's "In Trance (3 A.M. Tec Mix)." On Tuesday, the Techno Stage became the Detroit Stage, hosting a jubilant live show from Octave One, who made everyone smile when they dropped "Black Water." Derrick May was another highlight, nodding to Robert Hood's absence with Floorplan’s "Music" before closing with the uplifting melodies of "20 Years In The Land Of Love" by Vince Watson. If you wanted respite from the techno, there was Jägermusic Lab, a space some of the punters called "Yellow Box" due to its glaring exterior. It was here that I heard some of the most melodic sets. On Saturday, Denis Sulta reached for Da Hool's "Meet Her At The Love Parade" and Johannes Heil's "Exile 007 B2," while Lil' Louis closed with a sweaty three-hour set of bouncy Chicago house. RPR Soundsystem took things deeper on Tuesday, before Sonja Moonear brought Movement to a close with a sophisticated bang. Flanked by pale purple spotlights, she began with deep and percussive house (Danny Tenaglia's "Read My Lips feat. Lula"). Later, she gently cranked up the tempo with tunes from Todd Terry, Catz 'N Dogz and Planetary Assault System ("Booster").
The Burn Stage hosted some of the best-attended sets. Sven Väth's techno masterclass on Tuesday was met head on by Nastia, who made light work of keeping the large crowd onside. Too often, though, the vast space felt more empty than full. Unless you were right in amongst it, it was hard to properly lose yourself. From spending only a few days in Turin, I got a strong sense for how proud its residents are of their city and its music culture. Everyone I chatted to spoke fondly of Movement. This pride and engagement with the festival shone through particularly strongly one evening, as I was taking a taxi. When I told the driver why I was visiting, he immediately changed the radio station without saying a word, turned up the volume and smiled broadly as the opening bars of Kölsch's "Liath" blared out the speakers. Photo credit / Simone Arena / SimPol Lab