Marshall, the renowned global music brand shut down the block with a three-day music takeover during this year’s South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas. The carnival-themed Marshall Funhouse drew lines of local and international musicians and music lovers to the iconic venue Parish for performances by crowd favorites, including Dinosaur Jr., King Nun and Kid Bookie. With back-to-back gigs, the three day experience included an ample amount of activities, including carnival games, local food and vinyl vendors, and a panel discussion centered around the power of community in music. Under a red and white striped carnival tent in the lot, one group in particular caught my eye (and ear!) – HiTech.
The emcee, producer, DJ trio HiTech set out to reinvent the sound of Detroit club music. And they’ve done pretty well for themselves. King Milo, Milf Melly and 47CHOPS are the brains behind the beats. They had been making music independently and formed their group after meeting at what was none other than an orgy in 2022. “Detroit created and innovated a sound, and plenty of sounds that stem from one sound that we came from. And that’s exactly what we’re doing. “We’re trying to innovate and create and embellish it,” explains Milo. Their music can be classified as ghettotech, a genre of electronic music that dates back to the late 1980s and cleverly mixes techno, house, juke and provoked lyricism at an upbeat tempo of 145 to 160 BPM. 47CHOPS refers to it as “the indigenous sound of Detroit''.
“Late enough on the radio, they would start playing mixes and shit, DJing, saying all this crazy ass shit on the radio. It's like what nightcore is today, but back then. It was already made, but back then they didn’t put a name to it.” says Milo. They’ve coined their unique sound ‘D-Warp’, which Milo explains is a technique of their own.
The members have strengths as individuals too. “We all bring that shit to the table and we all Etch A Sketch some cool ass shit from that,” says Milo. “I’m an engineer and producer and emcee, Melly is a producer and emcee, CHOPS is a producer and DJ, and sometimes we all throw our hats in a ring and switch it up.”
CHOPS recalls what it was like growing up into the role of a DJ. “I was like 8 years old when I first really started tapping into music and asking what song was being played and going on YouTube and diving in myself and finding different shit. Then as I grew older and graduated high school, I started throwing parties and spinning. Then I met these cats and the rest was history and we made it make sense.”
The trio is selling out venues around the world, including Paris, Berlin, Spain and Portugal. They also have their foot in the fashion industry, forming a bond with the Detroit based brand Carhartt, as well as the brand’s recent luxury collaborator Sacai. And this is just the beginning: “We actually did a promotion run for them so we’ve been all over those billboards in Paris.” They’re also currently working on their next album and will be back on tour in April. Their goal is to change the current state of club culture, a scene that many can agree is slowly fizzling out.
“Everything is gonna to be turned on its head, we’re about to make it a little more intimate, a little more personable, so nobody's gonna feel left out and alone. We’re bringing ghettotech, sextech, everywhere around the world..”
