Around 10AM on Monday morning this week, I stumbled out of No Way Back—one of the most legendary parties surrounding Detroit’s annual Movement festival—into the searing sunlight of the venue’s outdoor courtyard. The afterparty, cheekily named Industry Brunch, was just revving up.

No Way Back Party Is Still Searching for Something Deeper on the Dancefloor

Slouching against a wall and grinning like an idiot, I surveyed the wacky scene: grey-haired ravers eating plates of fruit on worn-out car tires; bearded gay men bumping chests to Pittsburgh DJ Shawn Rudiman’s live set in a nearby tent; a crew of Brooklyn kids in all-black climbing on top of some rusting bulldozers. My friend DJ Volvox slung her arm around my shoulders and rasped something into my ear, something I’ll never forget: “What you’re witnessing right now is America taking back techno.”

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Lyndon French

All photos by Lyndon French

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