Hi-Tek-Soul

No, Derrick May won't be dropping by at Air this weekend. The 'Hi-Tek-Soul' moniker that's usually reserved for Detroit techno's original godfather is being appropriated – appropriately enough – for one of his acolytes. In 2009, Toronto-based producer Greg Gow provided the first release on the revitalized, newly digitized Transmat – May's influential record label, which many had assumed was gone for good. He followed that up this year with the Twilight Soul EP, and it's as affectionate a tribute to the classic Detroit techno sound as they come. Gow should find a sympathetic foil in Tokyo's DJ Wada, one of the most respected figures on the local techno scene, and a man who's far from averse to a bit of Detroit action himself.