by RAF KATIGBAK

It’s no secret that, since the early ’60s, the automotive industry has been the biggest single influence on Detroit music. Legendary producer Berry Gordy Jr. used the Ford assembly line as a model to build the Motown hit factory. By the late ’80s the car manufacturing process no longer relied on people but instead had morphed into a mechanized world run by computers and robots, inspiring a whole generation of Detroit techno producers like Juan Atkins and Carl Craig.

Now, 15 years later, a new breed of artists are drawing on Detroit’s car plants for inspiration. Multimedia artist DJ Kero (aka Sohail Azad) is a prime example. Born in Windsor, Ontario, Kero moved across the river to Detroit to attend design school. "They’ve got better schools here," he explains over the phone from his home studio in Detroit. "They’ve got more money to put into it. All the computer labs were paid for by Ford and Chrysler, and all their car designers come out of there."

Kero’s relationship with the automotive industry extends far beyond his academic and professional life as a graphic and industrial designer (he did some logo and GUI button work for the company that builds the diagnostic machines that test cars as they come off the assembly line). As a video artist, Kero has presented several A/V installations at galleries, spaces and events throughout the greater Detroit area. "I use a lot of clips from local factories, with a lot of robotic arms and pumps moving to the beat." As a graphic designer, he’s drawn upon his knowledge of complex mechanical systems to add his own teched-out flair to various flyer and record-sleeve designs.

With EPs and singles releases already out on forward-thinking labels like Shitkatapult and Bpitch Control, musically, Kero is being hailed as part of the next wave of Detroit techno stars. His whirling, grinding and constantly evolving IDM compositions have drawn obvious comparisons, from Autechre and Aphex Twin to Richard Devine and Venetian Snares - a fact that suits him just fine. "I think these comparisons are great, I got into those guys because they were doing something different. Chaos and randomness is just what I like to hear."

Although his tools are firmly rooted in technology, Kero’s sound is an attempt to breathe life into the lifeless transistors and microprocessors of his laptop. "I’m trying to have a lot of organic sequencing, y’know, really generative, where it’s kind of being made by itself. It’s really just an experiment to see how far I can go and how good I can get.

"The reason I don’t make a straight 4/4 beat is because I already know how to make that music. I want to hear something I don’t understand. I just have this whole idea about the future and how it should be. How the sound will sound and about the design of everyday things. But we’re not there yet, because nobody’s ready for it. Sure, it’s cool when people like your music, but I think if I really wanted to do that, I’d make trance." :

With Tinkertoy, naw, Mike Shannon and VJ Rohnny Ranger at SAT on Saturday, Feb. 8, 9pm, $15

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