Electronic Music Event To Offer Fellowship and Learning For Music Lovers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Rod Wallace, roderick.wallace@gmail.com
(Ypsilanti, Mich.) - Detroit’s Spin, Inc. and Washtenaw County’s Amplify Project are working together to bring back an area yearly music gathering that features veteran music minds, diverse music producers, and businesses seeking to support musicians and other artists.
Spin, Inc.’s Detroit Electronic Music Conference, also known as the DEMC (pronounced “D Mack”), will take place on Saturday, March 2 from 10am to 5pm at the Morris Lawrence Building at Washtenaw Community College. The free conference’s schedule includes masterclasses provided by veteran producers like DJ Dez and DJ Head of Detroit, beat sets by teenage music prodigy Knox Boogie of Flint and others, and a panel discussion about the future of music led by Hip Hop educator Dr. Rod Wallace of Eastern Michigan University that will include Detroitrap.com’s Uncle P. Sponsors for the free event include music technology companies like Melodyne and Splice, local arts-based nonprofit supporters like the Enterpreneurship Center @ WCC and the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, and local music-based businesses Grove Studios and Leon Speakers.
Spin, Inc. is a Detroit 501(c)(3) organization that provides DJ and Music production education for young adults advocates for positive initiatives for youth that involve music. Beginning in 2015, the event was held at the Detroit Institute of Music Education until it closed in 2020. Spin, Inc.’s Executive Director, Ron Johnson, sought to re-energize the event’s roots in education by partnering directly with a local college, and Washtenaw Community College’s digital media programs are among the best in the state.
The conference is being powered by The Amplify Project, whose partnership with WCC’s Arts Management program includes teaching a capstone course for students seeking certification in Arts Management. The program’s students The Amplify Project is a 501c(3) nonprofit that identifies and mobilizes resources for independent Black musical artists in Washtenaw County. The initiative has supported Washtenaw County artists like Ki5, London Beck, Dani Darling, and Kenyatta Rashon to release critically acclaimed projects, and 2023’s fellowship program supported independent releases by Baddie Brooks and The Chill Place. A project by Ann Arbor jazz bassist Gwenyth Hayes will be released during the second quarter of this year.
“We feel that Spin and Amplify fit very naturally,” says Dr. Wallace, who leads The Amplify Project and centers Hip Hop as a teaching perspective and the use of music technology in STEM. “Spin, Inc. shares core values with us and a commitment to connecting education and music within communities. We look forward to sharing and working together to strengthen the musical ecosystem of the area.”
Participants can register at http://tiny.cc/demc24. Vendors who seek to support musicians can register at http://tiny.cc/demcvendors.
Contact Information
Dr. Rod Wallace, Executive Director
roderick.wallace@gmail.com
The Amplify Project
http://amplify-fellowship.org