Mike Servito is from a very special yet temporary and partially lost fertile crescent of techno / house / party DJing. It was a time when raves were still a fresh idea, almost felt like a revolution, and DJs like Claude Young, D Wynn, Derrick Carter and Mike Huckaby were informing an upcoming generation. If you look directly to that inspired generation you will find the lost threads of Detroit Techno, House and beyond, you will find a group of DJs with insanely deep mixing skills, the ability to rock almost any kind of party with an improvisational approach that is so skilled it makes everything seem so well thought out that even they don't know where their set will go. But, it will take you there! In the future, this special generation of deep midwest mixers will be remembered and revered as the wizards they are, long after the trendy players have lost their luster.

Detroit never forgot about Mike Servito, his upfront dirty deep and bitchy taste has had an impact on Detroit nightlife for over a decade. From debuting in 1995 at Dat's Poorboy parties, to being a resident at blackbx and Ghostly's Untitled (along with Derek Plaslaiko, Tadd Mullinix, Matthew Dear, and Ryan Elliott), contributing to the bizarrely popular, wild and free Dorkwave, and progressing that concept into Sass (the hippest queer party in Detroit at the time), to blowing minds at Interdimensional Transmissions' No Way Back parties, Servito has made his impression. Moving to Brooklyn, Detroit's loss has been their gain, as he has found a proper home with a residency at The Bunker, and representation by Beyond Booking in North America and Odd Fantastic in Europe.

Many DJs have reputations defined by a certain place and time. Not so for Derek Plaslaiko, whose 20-year career behind the decks has seen him gather a loyal fan base wherever and whenever he may be.

Some will know Derek as a favorite of the mid-90s Detroit warehouse scene, which lead to a personal invite from Carl Craig to appear at the inaugural Detroit Electronic Music Festival in 2000. Others recognize him from his near decade-long residency at The Bunker New York parties, during which time he was named “Best Techno Party DJ” by the Village Voice in 2006. Then there was the summer of 2011 spent behind the decks at Berlin’s infamous Club der Visionaere, as an honorary resident at the weekly Visionquest nights—a worthy introduction to the city he now calls home.

Of late, there is a new generation of party people who will know Plaslaiko from his extended sets (up to 12 hours) in New York, Paris, Seattle, Los Angeles and Philadelphia, or his regular appearances at clubs like Tresor, Hot Mass, Beta, Output, Smart Bar and Berghain, and festivals like Decibel, Communikey and Movement. Or some who caught his name on the flier for the No Way Back series of parties put on by Interdimensional Transmissions, the Detroit imprint that has put out several of Plaslaiko’s rare original releases, along with Perc Trax and Minus.

There are tens of thousands of others who caught on to Plaslaiko following his record-breaking 12-hour Boiler Room set, where he gave viewers a look into his living room, while friends and friend’s toddlers enjoyed the day. This landmark session properly archived the full Plaslaiko musical experience, from flawless house and techno, to hip-hop, classic rock, and whatever other musical moment this life-long record obsessive chooses to share. And let’s not forget the thousands of folks who have befriended Plaslaiko while sharing the dance floor with this committed clubber who refuses to hang out in the booth and will always skip the DJ dinner in favor of catching one of his peers behind the decks.

Wherever one picks up Plaslaiko’s story, maybe during his days dealing discs in Detroit’s famed Record Time dance room or possibly the years spent moving serious weight at Watts and Syntax Distribution, the one constant is top-shelf musical taste, as defined by Plaslaiko’s personal heroes—names like Laurent Garnier, Daniel Bell and Zip, and colleagues including Carlos Souffront, Jason Kendig and Mike Servito—and a passion for music that over-rides the usual trappings of the modern DJ industry.

This may mean to some that Plaslaiko is still unsung. But for those who know better (and there are many all over the world), praise for Derek has been sung for decades.

For more than a decade, The Bunker New York has been a nexus point for the transnational techno community. A chance meeting at The Bunker in 2011 brought together Gunnar Haslam and Johannes Auvinen (also known as Tin Man), who became fast friends and collaborators soon after, conceiving a joint project called Romans. The Bunker New York is proud to present Romans' Ambulare Aude, a collection of atmospheric acid techno tracks following the project's debut on Auvinen's own Global A in 2014.

"The Roman theme opens a world to explore beyond both of our past endeavours," says Auvinen, explaining the conceptual genesis of the collaboration. "In the same way Ennio Morricone may have conceived the 'Spaghetti Western' genre by fusing together various contemporary motifs and moods to conjure the spirit of a past era, we're imagining stories and scenes from the Roman era, trying to manifest narratives while celebrating the distortions we see looking through the murky lens of time."

"I like to think what we make sounds simultaneously like both of us and neither of us. We both push each other in different ways," Haslam says, recounting their production process. Auvinen adds that "[Collaboration] offers a chance to hear from someone else's perspective. Working with others, I'm often reminded of how radically different the way people hear things, and relate to them in a musical context, can be."

Tough, to the point, no-nonsense machine music is a longstanding Midwestern tradition. Drawing a line all the way back to the old guard, The Bunker New York's latest EP is Walk The Distance, courtesy of Mark Verbos, a techno veteran and New Yorker by way of Milwaukee who put together four pieces of heavyweight dancefloor artillery, informed by an intimate, inside-out knowledge of the machinery used in the production of these tracks.

"I've been doing this for a long time. In the beginning, there was only hardware, and it feels better to make music with physical objects. Plus, I make hardware, too," says Verbos, recounting his production processes. Verbos not only produces music, he also produces the hardware he uses to make music—his company, Verbos Electronics, manufactures Eurorack synthesizer modules with a vintage sensibility. When he's making music, Verbos says, "I try to get to know the devices I use well enough that whatever I imagine can come from them. Techno is machine music. When I'm recording, it's just me and the machines."

The music, however, speaks for itself. No punches are pulled here—the record starts in top gear with "Start Up Drive," a devastating techno bomb centered around a throbbing, repeating bassline and a meaty kick drum that builds to a massive climax in the span of five minutes. "In The Back Room" kicks the tempo up a notch, featuring spaced-out atmospheric synth leads floating atop syncopated percussion. "Just A Little Late" is funkier than the other two, built around a rubbery, insistent synthesizer groove that worms its way deep into your head and doesn't let go.

The aforementioned three tracks alone would comprise a solid techno EP suitable for any number of dancefloors. But the last track on the record—its namesake—shifts gears entirely. "Walk The Distance" is a moody, pulsing slow burner, introspective and emotional. It's a haunting listen that adds remarkable depth and complexity to the record. "Walk The Distance, the track, is a reference to the fact that music is not a career. Any advice you could offer someone on how to have a successful career doesn't really apply to a career in music. By that I mean to say, process is everything, and the results don't really matter."

Sage advice indeed, but judging by Walk The Distance, Mark Verbos has figured out how to produce results that matter.

For the past 13 years, The Bunker New York has led the way for American techno by bringing together hundreds of artists from all over the world. More than a mere techno party, The Bunker unites diverse sounds from across the electronic music spectrum, connecting the dots between house, techno, experimental sounds, and much more. The Bunker New York began as a party, grew up into a record label, and has become a collaborative community, fostered by founder and curator Bryan Kasenic since its launch in 2003.

Kasenic's roots in the world of music go deep. In 1993, at the age of 16, he began DJing on Carnegie Mellon’s WRCT in Pittsburgh. He went on to launch his own radio show on WNYU in 1997. The radio show, and his interest in the many weird corners of the NYC music scene, eventually morphed into the creation of a weekly email newsletter, which included noteworthy party and event listings at a time when nothing of the kind existed online. As Bryan became more established in New York City, he created Beyond Booking, the agency that would become a core part of The Bunker New York. During this time, Bryan was also a sought-after DJ, performing at parties and events on a weekly basis. Currently, Bryan also hosts a weekly show on Red Bull Music Academy Radio, featuring The Bunker's friends and family.

Bryan is much more than a mainstay at The Bunker New York. He has also played in many of the finest clubs and venues around the world: Berghain, Panorama Bar, and Atonal Festival in Berlin; Output, Verboten, and MoMA PS1's Warm Up series in New York; Air Tokyo and Circus Osaka in Japan; Smart Bar in Chicago; the Communikey and Decibel festivals in Boulder and Seattle respectively; Public Works in San Francisco; and many more. Additionally, he has co-produced numerous events and festivals, including several years at Unsound Festival New York. Unsound is one of the leading electronic and experimental music festivals worldwide, and he subsequently brought The Bunker to Krakow, Poland, Unsound's native city.

To understand Kasenic as a DJ one needs only look back at his decades of passion promoting electronic and experimental sounds in New York, and towards the sound of the artists that have become key members of The Bunker New York family: the psychedelic, cerebral bent of Atom™, Voices From The Lake, and Reagenz; the swirling, atmospheric soundscapes of Clay Wilson, Zemi17, and Marco Shuttle; and the industrial-strength hardware dynamics of Løt.te, Mark Verbos, and Romans. 12 years after its founding, The Bunker is stronger than it has ever been and continues to grow, thanks to Kasenic's vision and effort.

Inspired by the electronic music emanating from Detroit's airwaves while coming of age, Jason Kendig has been immersed in the dance music community for over two decades. From his first residency at Detroit's infamous club Motor to his current residency at Chicago's highly lauded Smart Bar and as an integral member of Honey Soundsystem–a queer collective of musicians, artists and djs known for elevating nightlife in San Francisco and beyond–Jason never fails to make others move through his ability to reference dance music's past yet keeping an ear to the future.

The write up Ron Morelli did for the L.I.E.S. podcast Bill recently made is pretty perfect, so just gonna put that right here:

"Bill Converse resides in Austin Texas, by way of Detroit Michigan. Hardly a new kid on the block, Bill like many of us, simply has been doing what he loves to for years committing himself to his passion: producing music and djing. Quietly making a name for himself in his local scene he has built a bit of a cult following around him and is the go to dj in Texas when delving into the world of subversive electronics.

Having self released various tapes and maybe even an odd comp track here and there, Bill will see his debut release on the prolific and amazing Dark Entries in the coming months.

Undoubtedly Converse is one of the artists spearheading an ever expanding and extremely interesting scene which is spreading far and wide in the massive state of Texas. There will be alot more to hear from him in the future guaranteed."

More than a myth, Gay Marvine (aka Chuck Hampton) is a life long fan of great music, great dance music especially. Having been a skilled DJ for decades (studying the greats and becoming one) gives Gay Marvine a unique perspective into music. Being of Midwestern blood he hears and feels the music in a direct way and shapes everything he touches into the sound of the early cutting-edge Detroit DJs and the music they played, reimagined with the technology available today. With the world at his digital finger tips he can take the raw essence of even the most overheard radio mix of a song and emerge with raw hypnotizing juice. His records are edits and recontextualizations, but just as records are physical relics of a bigger movement or thought, Gay Marvine's records are totems of what DJs actually do in their sets, somehow a document of how a DJ hears music and what a DJ does. Look out for his records on Bath House Etiquette. (Bio by BMG)

Techno producer Justin Cudmore’s coming-of-age as a fan and creator of dance music happened amidst the wide expanses of central Illinois. As a kid growing up in the state’s tucked-away capital of Springfield, he played the drums at home and in school as a jazz percussionist. But where most of his peers were tuned into pop music, Justin was wearing out self-made mixes and classic disco compilations. Then as a student in the college town of Champaign Justin dove further into electronic music, workshopping new-wave influenced beats in bands and DJing parties, primarily at the club night Physical Challenge, which he started in 2007.

But he fully came into his own in cities across the country and world. While studying in Norway, Justin was a regular at monthly parties thrown by Todd Terje and Prins Thomas. He moved to Chicago after college and began working for the influential dance music blog Little White Earbuds, which opened him up to the city’s thriving underground house and techno scene. Currently, Justin is a fixture across Brooklyn, popping up on dance floors and behind booths, where he has spun records at his Hotmix parties along with Mike Servito and Gunnar Haslam.

Through it all, Justin has remained a student of history who recognizes that house and techno still drip with the sweat of its pioneers. Much like the teenager who burrowed deep into his own mind, Justin prefers old sounds over new. He has spent years digging into crates both digital and physical, gathering inspiration for his own productions, which marry snaking acid lines and bouncy grooves to samples that have remained close to his heart. 2015 saw his track, "Feeling,” released on the Denver-based label Deep Club. His newly released 12" on Honey Soundsystem records is currently the talk of the town, and he has a track on techno veteran Heartthrob's ISNISNT label coming this summer.